Esme did her best to keep up with Dean as they walked up the hill to the cars with Duke, his longer strides making it a little challenging. Nearing the top of the hill, she glanced over at Dean to see which car they would take. At his signal, she walked with him around the Impala, also noticing Mika picking something up off the ground. Once at the driver’s side backseat, and the door was open, Esme did what she could to help Dean get Duke lying in the backseat, which wasn’t much because of the room. She stood at the side while the two exchanged a few words, her head popping up to look over the Impala as Mika spoke. “What?” she said in surprise, moments before Dean jogged over to Mika. When Anna murmured, Esme’s eyes shifted over to her, her words causing her to tense up. Her gaze went back to Dean as he growled, then flinched at his scream. This night was just getting worse and worse, and she knew Dean wouldn’t be able to take much more. None of them could. It was all getting to be too much to handle. They didn’t need more.

When Dean looked back to Mika and asked her his question, Esme turned her gaze to the woman. Esme could clearly see that the woman was struggling to get out the words to tell Dean. Making sure Duke was all the way in the Impala, Esme shut the door and quickly walked around the back of the car. She stopped beside Mika, looked at the items in her hands, and then took the pamphlet. She lifted the pamphlet to look at it. As soon as her eyes fell on the picture of the asylum, her face went ghostly white, and she began to tremble. All the memories she had suppressed from that place flooded her mind instantly. Esme fell back against the Impala, nearly falling through the open door. It was then she realized that she and Natalia had more in common than she thought. They had both been taken to that god-forsaken place, held captive, and tortured. Taking a deep breath to collect herself, she looked up at Dean. “She’s been taken to the asylum.” she told him, her voice shaking. She sat on the edge of the backseat and turned the pamphlet over, seeing a note written in red. She read it in a shaky whisper.

Little Dove,
You’ve been away from home for far too long.
It’s time to come home, Little Dove. Come alone, or the little Winchester girl dies.
If you’re followed, she dies, and I’ll let you use your imagination for what will happen to the others.
Valdin


Esme quickly got out of the Impala as the nurses rushed out. As soon as they had Duke on the gurney, she was at his side, holding his hand as they made their way inside. When a nurse stopped Dean, she looked back and met his gaze, giving him a look to say she would update him when she could. She turned back to look at Duke as the nurse that had stopped Dean came up and put a respirator on Duke. “Stay with me, Duke.” she whispered, then kissed his fingers. She pulled her eyes from Duke when the nurse spoke to her, feeling how suspicious the woman was of her. “I am.” she replied, her voice cracking. Esme followed as far as the nurse would allow her and reluctantly let Duke’s hand slip from hers as the nurse stopped her. “Come back to me.” she whispered. She watched after Duke until he was out of her sight, barely earring the nurse's words. She knew there was nothing she could do at this point but let the nurse take her blood and wait. The nurse was right; it would take a miracle for Duke to walk out of here.

Esme was then led to a room and placed in a chair to have her blood drawn. The nurse went to roll up the sleeve of her jacket, but Esme pulled her arm away. She unzipped her jacket and pulled her left arm out with a wince as pain shot through her shoulder from the movement. Once her arm was free of the sleeve, she laid her arm out in front of the nurse, who looked at her concerned. “We’ll have to take a look at that shoulder later.” the nurse said, then went to work drawing Esme’s blood. She nodded silently to the nurse, closed her eyes, and reset her head in her right hand, praying for a miracle to happen and have Duke come back to her alive. Once the nurse had Esme’s blood, she told her not to move before she quickly left the room. Esme said nothing as the nurse left. Opening her eyes, she lifted her head from her hand, pulled her arm into her lap, and pulled her jacket over her shoulder. She pulled out her phone with shaky hands and texted Dean. “Duke’s in surgery, and they’ve taken my blood to give him.”

A few minutes after she texted Dean, a male nurse came with juice and crackers for her. She couldn’t bring herself to eat the crackers. Her stomach was too knotted up to eat anything, even something as small as crackers, but she did drink the juice. “Can I look at that shoulder?” he asked after she had drank a bit of the juice. “Yes.” she said, her voice cracking again. She could have said no, but she knew he would insist and not leave until she said yes. As he examined it, she winced as he moved it around, and then he asked the dreaded question: how did they end up in this shape? She turned her head from him and closed her eyes tightly. Everything played out behind her closed lids, and she began to cry silently. After a bit, the nurse left her alone with her thoughts, not saying much as he went. Now alone, she pulled the pamphlet for the asylum from her pocket, looking at the words in red as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I never thought I would have to see that place again.” she whispered. “How can I go? I can’t just leave Duke here.”

NATALIA

With a signal, the water stopped pouring on her head and the cloth got removed. Natalia started coughing as she felt air reach her lungs once more. "now let's start again shall we? Why is Cason obsessed with you?!" Davos asked once more, "he isn't!" She said back, still determined to protect Cason and herself, even if it meant this torture continued. Davos again didn't approve of her answer, "lies. We all know that's pure lies. You think we don't know he betrayed us by keeping you alive here last time? Oh we knew he was taking pity on you!" Davos retorted, deciding to play dirty with his words sooner than he originally planned. Natalia's eyes went wide when he told her they knew the whole time. She was certain all that time ago Cason got away with not being found out. Her memory was foggy at best, but being reunited with Cason did open up memories enough for her to know what was real and what was false. Seeing her reaction brought glee to Davos, he knew in that instance he was getting somewhere, despite Natalia's insistence on lying. "if I died you'd have never gotten any information about my brother's or dad. You'd have never found a link to get close to them!" Nat quickly started to concoct an idea in her head to try and spin a theory of Cason not actually betraying them, but playing her instead. It seemed to be enough as she saw Davos' eyes twitch as he thought about her words.

"Think about it. Playing good cop with me means he'd get close. If he's betrayed anyone it's me!" She continued, of course she didn't believe any single word she was spinning but she was desperate and now thinking 'what would Dean do?' in this situation. Mind games. She had to try and mind games. This however didn't seem to go down well as Davos quickly punched her in the side of her face. "You may have a point but you know why I'm not believing it fully? Of course you don't, you're a mere human and a cocky Winchester at that. The reason why is because he's still hanging around your little group! Word has it he's gone soft for you. But here's the thing....we got word he's dead. Alastair didn't like his games and got bored, so we just killed Cason. No more demon lap dog for you!" Davos spoke, smirking finally feeling smug once again as his words clearly had the desired effect. Nat thrashed her arm against her restraints, desperately trying to break free to attack him before beginning to cry at the thought of Cason dead. He can't be dead, he just can't be. He was her solace to recovery, her reason to keep fighting and living. She loved him even if he couldn't ever feel the same toward her back, even if he was never able to tap into his old human feelings, she still loved him.

Davos and his lackie started laughing, finally. They were wetting somewhere with the most stubborn hunter they've had to deal with in a short while. "I knew it! You do have feelings for him!" He chuckled. "It's not like that!" Nat cried, trying to convince them of something she couldn't lie about. "as if we'd ever believe anything you'd say! You do realise even if he WAS alive, he's a demon! He'd never love you!" Davos said with malice and conviction, really twisting the verbal knife into her heart. She shook her head, being in denial that Cason didn't feel ANYTHING for her, tears streaming down her now rapidly swollen cheeks. Davos then looked to his lackie and have the signal to have his fun with the Winchester. "have at her. After tonight's ambush, the boys won't be able to stand much more, so if this one dies, she dies and it all goes in our favour" he explained, turning on his heel to leave. But before he exited the room, he paused by the door frame and looked over his shoulder, "try not to die too quickly for him pet. Keep that false hope that your demon bodyguard will come save you. If youre lucky, maybe you'll see each other again back in Hell" he smirked, then left the room.

Natalia's screams echoed through the building, she couldn't take much more, the seering pain coursing through her a hammer came down on her shoulder, breaking it. A knife carving through the skin on her abdomen. She didn't know how much more she could take, the pain from the broken shoulder just overtaking everything else. Tears streaming down her face as she tried to ignore the pain and come to terms with the news that Cason was gone. He wasn't coming to save her like last time, no one was coming for her. For all she knew they were all dead or if any were alive then they were too focused on themselves. She wouldn't blame them if they chose to ignore her and leave her for dead. She was the ticking time bomb emotion wise, she was the one Dean considered a liability in her eyes. Maybe it would be better if she did just die here in the place that started it all.

In the distance, she heard screams and growls of hellhounds. 'whats one more new torture to add to the list?' she thought to herself, thinking the hounds were here for her.

SAM

Anna's cries and begging was tearing Sam apart. He did want to go back for Cason, he really did but he knew if he did it would just get them all killed. He saw how the barn lights began to flicker, a sign he knew all too well when it came to demons. "Anna we can't....I'm so sorry...to you and him...." He told her, trying to his hardest to not let his voice crack.

When she stopped screaming as they got half way up the hill he felt equally relieved and terrified of her silence. He just somehow knew she was beginning to resent him and not have faith in his decision making. He didn't like he was following Dean's decision so blindly but he didn't know what else he could have done. He couldn't have carried Anna and Cason and he knew as strong Mika was, she couldn't have carried Cason by herself. He continued to walk up to the cars, deciding that as Dean and Esme were choosing the impala to take Duke to the hospital, he would take Duke's truck. He saw Mika picking up something off the floor after plucking something out of the impala's window. It was weird and highly suspicious to him, he knew they had all doors closed when they left Natalia in there, but why wasn't Natalia in the car? "What's going on?" He asked but wasn't expecting anyone to answer him as Mika soon answered his burning question by talking to Dean.

His blood ran cold, he felt like all colour drained from his face when he heard those dreaded words: 'They've taken Nat'. It felt like the world was crumbling away from under his feet and he was ready to brace himself for the neverending fall. He couldn't speak, the very basic skill knowledge to do so just vanishing out of his brain. He barely heard Dean ask Mika to say again what she just stated, all their voices sounding like far away echoes. He only mentally came back into the scene when Dean screamed his frustration and fear. He knew Dean wouldn't be able to take much more, that his brother on the edge of just throwing it all in and declaring he was out. His own hands balling up into fists to try and stop them from shaking. He watched as Mika's hands shook as she held onto the three things. Two of which he recognised instantly, the old photo Nat had on her from the day they saved her and her asylum wristband. The third he didn't recognise. That was until Esme came round from the other side of the impala and took it from Mika's hands.

Seeing Esme react the way she did told him that she knew more about whatever was on that pamphlet than she had ever let on in the past. But he couldn't even be suspicious of why Esme was reacting this way because he was too scared he was about to lose their only sister. He vowed from the first day they discovered Nat was a Winchester that he would protect her and would never let her get taken back to the asylum, but here Esme was suddenly saying that's exactly where Nat was. He wanted to punch something...anything but there was nothing to punch. He stepped round in a restless and hopeless circle, holding his head with his hands as he tried to not cry. He listened to Esme read the message out loud, analysing the words she had spoken, "you were there too....that's why you know where she is" he said in disbelief. Lowering his hands once more he felt more antsy and like a complete failure to Natalia.

MIKA

She never thought she would be telling Dean those words, especially on an already tightly strung chaotic and emotional night, but here Mika was saying exactly those words: Natalia has been taken. She looked at everything in her hands, the pamphlet in one hand and the photo with wristband in the other. Her hands were shaking as she stared at the items, tears pricking the edges of her eyes. Over time she had begun to feel so responsible and maternal towards Natalia even though she would be more like a sister to her, she still felt like it was her job to be a mixture of a sister and morher like influence on the girl.

She let Esme come round the car and take the pamphlet from her hands, unable to stop Esme. She really didn't want to say the words a second time so when Anna said them for her as Esme took the item, she just stood there. She looked up at Dean as he grappled with thoughts in his head and the new bit of information. Hear him scream into the night sky about this situation made her wince slightly and finally let the tears fall. She didnt know whether to comfort Dean or keep her distance as he tried to compute everything going on. "Dean.... we'll get her back" she said before Esme read the note out loud, making her look to the woman. "You're not going alone...no frigging way. Nat is our family we're getting back" she said. She couldn't just sit back letting Esme do a rescue mission alone. Looking around at their group, she saw how Sam was also struggling with everything, she knew what Sam had always promised Nat and knew this must be absolutely tearing him apart thinking he had failed Nat.

After a few seconds of compressing their dire situation, she finally spoke up. "Okay...we all get Duke to the hospital and then we decide what to do to get our girl back. I'll take Nat's car, Sam you and Anna take Duke's truck and Esme you go with Dean in Baby." She instructed, not even thinking about what she was telling Esme to do. Only Nat mattered right now.

AT THE HOSPITAL

Mika stood and leaned on Nat's car as she waited outside with Sam and Anna whilst Dean and Esme helped the doctors and nurses put Duke onto a gurney and rushed him into the hospital. Her arms folded across her chest, left foot over her right, dwelling on the little information they knew about where Natalia was. It was either think about the rescue mission or continue getting worried sick about Duke and hoping he survived this injury. She loved Duke like another brother. He always had her back even when he was off hunting with Dean and Esme, and she always could talk with him via a burner phone in secret to find out how Dean was doing during their long break. He was the only one other than Bobby who actually had any kind of empathy or sympathy for her. She couldn't bare loosing him, she just took scared to admit that to either Dean or Esme incase they thought she had no right to feel this way.

"Please survive this brother" she mumbles under her breath as a silent prayer to Duke. Her thoughts got interrupted when Sam came over and hugged her, "I get it Meeko...they both need to come back to us in their own way" Sam told her, making Mika just break and clung tightly to him. "I'm scared we won't come back this if Duke dies and we don't get Nat back. I'm more terrified Dean won't come back from this....I can only be his anchor to such a limit. If we lose them, I'll lose him, I can't go through that again" she admitted to him, burying her head in his chest to try and stop her crying. "We'll get them both back, I'm determined to fight til my dying breath to make it happen. I swore to Nat I'd never let her get taken back there, I have to make this right" he told her, before sighing and pulling away, wiping her tears from her cheek and stepping back to Anna.

Seeing her still in the truck, he got back in in the driver's side and sat there in silence. "I need you to forgive me Anna" he quietly said before a nurse came out and started talking to Anna about her own injuries, then giving him a suspicious look. Even though it didn't make him look any more innocent, he looked down at the steering wheel, his hands firmly on it as his brain told him exactly what this nurse was thinking. "They're right Anna...go get checked out, I'll be here" he mumbled.

He let Anna go into the hospital with the nurse before lowering his head onto his hands. "This is such a mess" he sighed to himself. Outside, Mika saw Dean come back outside to them all, still looking as worried as ever. Hesitantly at first, she walked over to him and just hugged him. "He's a fighter Dean...he's too stubborn to die on us" she told him, refusing to let him go. "so for now, let's get a plan together to get our girl back" she suggested, pulling away just enough to look him in the eyes, stroking his cheek with her thumb. She only pulled away more when his phone off with a text from Esme.

Anna sat in silence as the male nurse sewed up her shoulder. Her mind was racing with what felt like absolute betrayal, as she stared at the wall in front of her. She could hear the nurse asking her questions, but they felt far off, and she didn’t answer any of them. Then the nurse mentioned Sam and Anna sighed, shaking her head.

“No. It wasn’t him. He saved me, dragged me out.” Anna spoke matter of fact, not looking at the nurse.

“Is he hurt?” The nurse asked, finishing the knot on her shoulder, and cutting the thread. He peeled open a bandage, and smoothed it out over the wound.

“I don’t think so. I didn’t ask. Everything happened super fast.” Anna explained, leaning away from the nurse to stand up as he finished fixing up her shoulder. The nurse seemed to want to stop her from moving, so he could look her over, but Anna turned to him with a sigh, “I was barely injured in that whole fight, alright? It’s just the shoulder. I need to go.”

The nurse protested behind Anna, but the sound was far away as she stomped out of the triage, and back toward the door to walk outside. As soon as she pressed through the double doors, the cold air hit her and that’s when the tears hit. She wiped the tears roughly with her dirty wrist, and kept walking, her aim set to Duke’s truck.



“He’s crashing. We need that blood!” The assistant surgeon called out, right as the nurse busted through the doors, handing off the bags of blood to another assistant. As she placed the bags on a pole and began the process of giving Duke a transfusion, the surgeon tied of a knot, and began the process of attempting to patch the hole in Duke’s stomach.

“We need to stabilize fast, but the rest is going to be up to him…” The surgeon said softly. Just as the words came out of his mouth, Duke began fighting against the tube down his throat, tilting his head back as the heart rate monitor went crazy. “Oh no…”

“Should we sedate him further?” A nurse asked, but the surgeon shook his head sadly.

“We can’t. He won’t wake up from that. He’s…” He started, just as Duke went completely still, his head falling limp and the monitor by his head slowly flatlining with a loud screech. Bowing his head, the surgeon stepped back, “Call it. Inform the family. There was never much hope anyway.”

“Time of death…1:38 am.”



Dean didn’t know what to do with his hands, in that moment. He wanted to run off and go get Nat on his own, but he knew it was a suicide mission. When Mika hugged him, he nearly lost it. He sighed, holding onto her for dear life, “I can’t lose anyone else. Mika, I can’t do it. I’m so tired of losing people…”

He glanced up at the sky, tempted once more to pray, until Mika touched his face and he was brought back to her. Scanning her face, he nodded softly. She was right. They needed to get Nat back, or Duke wasn’t the only family they would lose that night. But then his phone buzzed.

“Apparently Duke is still kickin’. They’re giving him blood. We can’t stay here. Mika, we have to go, you and me.” Dean murmured, trying to figure out the best way to sneak them away, without Sam being able to chase after them. As he was thinking, Anna pushed through the doors, looking more upset than she did when she walked inside. Dean reached out as she walked by, scared to death to touch her, but needing to. “Anna I need to talk to you.”

“Not now, Dean. Things are a little fresh. Maybe pull the manipulative big brother speech when we’re not all on the cusp of death…” Anna snapped at him, but Dean interrupted her.

“Do you care about my brother?”

“What? Of course. How could you ask that…especially now?” Anna snapped back, and Dean sighed in frustration, glancing back at Duke’s truck.

“If you care about my brother, you’ll tell him to not follow us. I need both of you to stay. I need both of you away from the demons we’re going after.” Dean explained as gentle as he could, causing Anna to shift from foot to foot. “Look. You can hate me for the rest of your life. You can shun me, beat me…Hell, I’ll even give you a shot at me, when all of this is over, but I need you to trust me.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“But I NEED you to, right now. If you don’t trust me…trust my instinct on this. Me and Mika are going to get in that car, and we’re gonna go get my sister. I need you and Sam to stay away. Please.” Dean begged her, and even as angry as Anna was with him, she couldn’t deny that Dean’s instincts were rarely wrong. She sighed, and shook her head.

“You know this is a suicide mission.”

“I know…” Dean muttered, causing Anna to shake her head and walk away from him and Mika, straight for the truck. Dean then turned to Mika, and gestured toward the Impala. “Let’s go.”



Cason landed with a thud, his knees buckling slightly as he hit the hospital floor and stood there for a moment, allowing the spinning to stop in his head. On cue, he glanced to the side, and there she was, Esme. As he prepared to approach her, a nurse came into the room, seemingly breaking the news of Duke’s death to the woman. Cason tilted his head back, a pang of sympathy burning through his brain as the nurse spoke to her. From what he could hear, it was a simple: “Unfortunately, he crashed and there was nothing we could do. I’m so sorry, ma’am.”

“Great. One down…” Cason sighed, his leg twitching with anxious frustration. Dean Winchester couldn’t see him here, but he also had to go and get Natalia. Even if Esme was upset, distraught…name your useless human emotion, she was coming with him.

As soon as the nurse stepped out of the room, Cason whipped around the corner into the room in front of her. “C’mon. We gotta go. I know. It’s so sad. I feel for you, I do. But we gotta go. You’re the only person who will understand what is waiting for us when we get to the asylum and as much as it pains me to say this…I guess, your boyfriend is dead. You’re no good to him here, anymore, but you can get revenge on the ones who killed him.”

Cason turned on his heel, holding his hand out with an expression that made it clear Esme didn’t have a choice but to come with him, or he would carry her, “And no…I won’t make a deal. He wouldn’t want you to do that.”

Esme sat in the chair, fighting her emotions and thoughts, which caused her to crumple up the pamphlet as her fist curled around it. She then balled up the pamphlet and threw it in the trash can next to her chair. Sarah, who she hadn’t realized had followed her into the hospital, came over and placed her paw on Esme's leg with a worried whine. Esme flinched, taking a sharp breath, then looked at Sarah with a sad, heavy sigh. She placed a hand on Sarah’s paw and squeezed it. “I can’t lose him, Sarah…. Not like this.” she whispered to the Hellhound. Sarah moved closer and gently nuzzled Esme’s cheek in an attempt to comfort her. Esme leaned into the nuzzle before she pulled up her legs and curled herself up in a ball. This caused Sarah to move in closer and lean against Esme to comfort her the best she could. “Come back to me, Duke. Please. Fight to get back.” she whispered softly into her knees. “If I don’t have you…. I’m… Alone…. Again. Then what do I have to live for after we get Natalia back and take care of the demons that caused all of this?”

A little time passed before Esme heard someone walking towards the room. As she sat up, Sarah moved back to let Esme set her feet back on the floor. As soon as the nurse came through the door, Esme took to her feet, waiting to hear what news the nurse had for her. It wasn’t the news she wanted. “No! He can’t be!” She screamed the words, not believing her. She looked the nurse in the eyes, seeing that it was true. Esme couldn’t breathe. All the air had left her lungs. Placing a hand on her stomach, she collapsed to the floor on her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. Sarah was quick to sit at her side. When the air came rushing back to her, she took a deep breath and let it out in a sob. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t get it out. All she could do was scream internally. She didn’t hear the nurse leave or when Cason entered the room as she was overtaken with grief, but that grief was gradually being taken over with anger. Demons had taken away the man she loved, and now she felt alone all over again.

The moment Sarah saw Cason, she ran over to his side, her tail wagging happily as she did so. She nuzzled his leg and hand before returning to Esme’s side to comfort her. As Cason spoke to her, it fueled her anger, turning it into rage. The thought of how the hell he was even alive never crossed her mind as she lifted her head to glare at him with tear-filled eyes. A demon was the last thing she wasn’t to see. Using the chair beside her, she pushed herself onto her feet, slightly swaying. “Yeah, I’m sure you do feel for me.” she nearly growled at him. “We both know you didn’t like Duke. So don’t pretend you're not happy he’s….” She couldn’t say the word, even in her rage. It made her sick to her stomach. Esme thought about Cason saying she could get revenge. Revenge wouldn’t bring Duke back to her, and it would only make her feel better for a short time. So she looked past that. She would be saving Natalia. She’d be saving a life from those assholes that look Duke away from her. At Cason’s next words, she shot him a daggered glare.

She could hardly believe he’d bring that up at a time like this. As much as she wanted to bring Duke back, she couldn’t bring herself to make a deal with Cason. She looked down at his outstretched hand and back up at him before walking over without taking it. If she had taken it, she would have fried it, which she was tempted to do out of frustration from his words. Sniffling, she wiped the tears from her cheeks with both hands, then slid her arm back into her jacket sleeve. “I don’t know how the hell you know I was in that hell hole, but it doesn’t matter right now.” she sighed, closing her eyes briefly. “What does matter is that we get Natalia out of there.” she told him. Esme then turned and looked at Sarah with a gentler look than she had given Cason. “You’re coming too, right girl?” she asked the Hellhound. Sarah barked and came over to her side, and Esme scratched her head before turning her attention back to Cason, her features going serious again. “Let’s go get Natalia.”

NATALIA

The torture and attacks felt like they were going on forever. It wasn't the same as last time, this felt so much more brutal than before. Natalia almost couldn't take anymore and was ready to give up fighting, but she knew somewhere in the back of her mind that her family wouldn't want her to give up. She had to keep fighting to survive, even if it seemed no one was coming for her. Soon enough the growls and howls of hellhounds seemed to disappear, strangely giving Nat a deeper feeling of dread as it meant one of two things, the demons had killed the hounds and we're more powerful than she could ever imagine, or the demons were defeated and the hounds have just gone. Then came another attack making her scream loudly. "I'm begging...stop" she finally started to say, not being able to play the tough guy any longer. "I do love it when they beg!" Her torturer boasted proudly.

He gave her a moment, pretending to give her some solace but in actuality he was just thinking up what to do next. He had so much around him to use, it was a tough call to make. "Now....what should we do next? I gotta admit, didn't think we'd have all this time together. Clearly your family don't love you that nyuch if they're taking their time. Everyone in Hell knows how much Dean never wanted a sister, he resents you being in his life. You're a weak link....a liability" he rambled on, going for more psychological games. "No...he loves me! He does!" She cried, trying to focus on him saying as such at the car. "wrong! Dean doesn't care about anyone other than himself and Sam!" He snapped at her, rushing to her bed and slamming his hand on her broken shoulder, making her scream once again.

He had enough, she was being too difficult to break even more, so with his patience lost, he pushed her bed into the bath that was in built into the floor. "No..no....Plea--!" She begged before water splashed right over her and she began to get pulled under the water, the demon using his power to keep her down. She tried to get free from her restraints but every move hurt too much, she couldn't scream for fear of loosing breath. Eventually she couldn't fight anymore.....her eyes wanted to close so much, the water now stinging her eyes. She truly thought she was going to die alone with none of her family coming for her. Her whole life felt like her family was ripped from her. Her mother, her father, for 4 months she lost Dean which in turn made her feel like she lost Mika due to her grief. She was alone yet again, "no one has ever cared enough to save me...." she thought to herself, when in her blurred watery vision she caught an almost silhouette figure taking out the demon before her eyes closed and she decided to just welcome death....

SAM

Waiting in the truck, using all of his strength to not go after Anna, Sam kept his head on the backs of his hands that were resting on the steering wheel. He felt like every single time he tried to get Anna back and safe, something or someone came along and ripped her away from him. He knew deep down she was very warranted in hating him for leaving Cason but he was too concerned about getting as many people out as he physically could whilst not disobeying Dean. Yet again his need to keep on Dean's goodside won out over his instincts in at least trying to help Cason reach the door of the barn. His thoughts raced through all the possibilities that could be happening to the man and it just made him feel even more guilty. He couldn't deny that Cason hadn't exactly betrayed them yet, even if Cupid did make him sleep with Mika to get back at Dean's old feelings towards Esme and how it seemed Cason had become incredibly close to Natalia. Oh god...Nat. his mind raced a million miles an minute at what Nat could be going through in that blasted place. Another promise broken. He promised Anna to never let her get hurt again and that's exactly what happened- she got hurt to the point the nurse thought he hurt her, and now the promise of never letting anyone take Nat back to the asylum was also broken.

Tears finally got the better of him and he began crying into his hands, knocking his forehead against the backs of his hands a couple of times out of frustration. "Why do I keep messing up?!" He scolded himself, not even realising that Anna was coming back out and had been stopped by Dean. He was so tempted to just take Duke's truck and go after Nat but he couldn't bring himself to actually make the motions of doing so.

When Anna eventually did make it back to the truck, he quickly lifted his head up and wiped his tears away with the sleeve of his shirt. Sighing to try and gather himself so he didn't start bawling once more, glancing towards the passenger side door waiting for her to get back inside. "You okay? Medically I mean...I know emotionally you're not" he quietly spoke to her.

MIKA

The moment Dean clung onto her for dead life, she knew he needed this more than she did and he was so close to breaking point. She knew him too well. His words only confirmed what she assumed, "we're not gonna lose anyone else and we're definitely not losing Nat. We're not out of luck yet" she told him just as his phone buzzed with the update about Duke. She sighed with relief that he was seemingly still kicking and fighting to survive, it meant that although he may not be out of the woods just yet, his survival rate was getting higher than Nat's. "Okay...that's good...he's still got fight in him and okay, we'll go together and get our girl. We can't let her think she's been abandoned again" she told him, looking towards the impala before back at Dean again and subsequently Anna as she came back out.

She let Dean grab Anna to ask her to keep Sam here. Mika knew that if Sam came along he'd be a liability. He could barely keep his head together from tonight's situation and he needed to talk things through with Anna. She couldn't blame Anna for being hostile towards Dean, it was his word that made them all leave Cason behind after all. She kept quiet as she let Dean beg Anna to just do this one thing for them both. "Thank you Anna" she spoke, in the hopes the girl heard her as she walked off back to the truck and to Sam. Turning her head back to Dean, she gave a firm nod in agreement, taking his hand and walking to his car with him, getting in the passenger side with no other words spoken.

Closing the door once in, she kept her head forward, me tally going through all the scenarios they could be getting into but she had quickly shake them off her mind because every one was trying to prepare her for finding Natalia dead somewhere in that damn place. She couldn't think like that, she had to believe Nat was still kicking and screaming and making it as difficult as she could for the demons that had her. She also had to force herself not to put some blame on Esme for Nat being taken as the message was for Esme on the pamphlet. They took Nat to get her to go back and that didn't sit well with Mika in the slightest. She was trying so hard to like Esme and get passed her past with Dean, but this current situation wasn't helping. She just couldn't express that thought to Dean.

"No matter what....we get her out and alive. She has to know we didn't abandon her" she remarked as she waited for Dean to start the engine and drive off.

----

It took a good while to reach that dreaded sight before them that was the asylum. The hour it nearly took to get there felt like an eternity to Mika. The longer they were on the road, the more anxious she got. She felt like every minute that went by it was a minute closer to loosing Natalia. But then the decrepit building came into view. A view she thought she had erased from her mind, but the moment she saw it again, she remembered that night like it was yesterday. Her waiting by the impala as lookout whilst Sam and Dean went inside, fought demon after demon before she saw them running out with Sam carrying Natalia out in his arms. Nat looked like a skeleton in comparison to what she looked like now. The building looked even more worn down than before if that was even possible. More vines and weeds had grown up the walls and through broken windows that were badly boarded up. The staircase to the entrance was even more broken up and didn't look safe to step in the slightest. Even a lot of the roof seemed to have caved in so ce they were last here. "I don't like this Dean...." She said, worried about what they were about run into.

After a few deep breaths, she opened the door and got out of the car, walking round to the trunk and cranking it open to grab whatever she could carry to arm herself. If the last time they were here was anything to go by, the demons in there were not going to make life easy for them. She waited for Dean to get out and kitted up, before she then headed to the building, gripping her gun tightly in her hand, flashlight above it. As they reached the door she quickly went on guard and stopped in her tracks as demons came out from all angles, surrounding them both. "You think we didn't plan for you to come for her when we specifically told the blonde to come alone?" A brunette female demon spoke, all arrogance in tone and body language. "Get 'em!" She ordered before demons started charging them all all around.

Anna wanted to turn around and tell Mika that she wasn’t necessarily upset with her. But truth was, Anna didn’t even want to look any of them in the eyes. She didn’t feel like a part of the group before, and now? Even less so.

She made it back to Duke’s truck, quietly opening the door. She tossed her jacket on the seat between her and Sam, and climbed in with absolute silence. She pulled her legs up in the seat and twisted them like a pretzel before running her hands through her thick hair with a sigh. She knew Sam was dying to talk to her and honestly? If she wasn’t so angry, she would have been happy to have that conversation with him. If anything, it would clear the air.

As if reading her mind, Sam asked her if she was okay physically, and Anna didn’t look at him but she did nod, “Yeah. Just a few stitches in my shoulder from the Hellhound bite. I’ll be fine.”

Dean’s words to her suddenly flooded her mind, as she tried to avoid having a conversation with Sam. She didn’t want to talk to him. She didn’t want to talk to any of them, or be near any of them. She wanted to just…be alone for a while. Then again, angry or not, she loved Sam and she wanted to keep him safe.

“We’re um…we’re not going after Dean and Mika. We’re supposed to wait here. I probably wasn’t supposed to say anything, but Dean asked me to stay here, with you.” Anna murmured, staring down at her hands as she picked at her nails, only then realizing that she hadn’t washed Cason’s blood from her skin and was covered in dried blood. “I guess as long as there aren’t any demons around, we should be covered, right?”



Dean climbed into the drivers seat of the Impala with an exhausted sigh, bringing the engine to life without pause as he stared blankly through the windshield. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel for a moment, and then turned so he could see out the back window to back them out of their space, just as Mika spoke up. With a sigh, he put the car in drive and peeled out of the parking lot. “She knows. Nat knows I would never stop until I found her. I just hope she’s strong enough to hold on until we get there.”

—-

During the long drive, Dean ran over many possible scenarios for how this night would go. The fight was going to be brutal either way, and the odds of them succeeding weren’t the highest. If only they had Cason there as a buffer, they could be in and out in no time, and Nat would come home with them…safe, even if Cason had to revive her himself. He shook those thoughts from his head as they pulled up to the asylum. For the most part it looked the same, to Dean, but older…forgotten. He stared at the building, looking for any sign of life before shutting the car off and taking a deep breath as Mika spoke up.

“Yeah, well…it’s not like we’ve never been here before. Same crappy gothic building, different demon era.” He quipped, stepping out of the Impala. He stepped around to the back with Mika, loading himself down with every weapon he knew could take down a demon, including Ruby’s knife, which he kept in his hand as he closed the trunk and began to walk to the doors with her. As he reached for the door, all the crickets and cicadas stopped singing, and the entire area went quiet, heightening Dean’s senses.

With a huff, he pulled the door open and ushered Mika inside, only for the door the slam behind them and within seconds they were surrounded by demons. One particularly snarky demon showed up and called them out on their codependency, which caused Dean to snarl, glaring at the demon. But they were surrounded, and Dean flinched, turning around in a full circle before the fight began.

“Son of a bitch…” He growled, stabbing the first demon and shoving it against the wall, before turning to another who landed a heavy blow to Dean’s jaw.



Cason frowned as Esme accused him of being happy that Duke was dead. He wasn’t happy that any of their cursed little gaggle died. It didn’t make anyone stronger…except Dean Winchester’s anger. He flinched even more at the look that Esme gave him as soon as he brought up a demon deal. It was the Winchester way. He had just assumed that she wasn’t so different from the two stooges he was unfortunately tied to.

He followed Esme’s eyes down to his hand and then glanced back up at her face as she mulled over her options. He didn’t feel the need to explain anything to her. He didn’t need for her to know how much he helped her, or that his attachment to her started while he was working at the asylum. In this moment, she probably would have taken it as a sign that he had helped with all that happened, not helped her escape.

His eyes then fell on Sarah, who he was tempted to call back, and have stay behind. He was a little bit attached to the pup. But he also knew that she would be a fierce protector of Esme, something he was going to need if he was going to save Nat.

“I sent dogs after Nat. That’s how I found out where she is. They’re not mine, but they’ll do. You keep Sarah close. You’re gonna need her.” Cason explained simply, as Esme finally made the decision to come with him. “Sarah, you know where to go? Good girl. We’ll see you there.”

Without giving Esme much of a choice, he pulled his jacket sleeve down over his hand and wrapped an arm around her and disappeared as Sarah took off toward the door of the hospital. They landed in the broken down asylum, the glass crunching under their feet from the various broken windows and doors of the corridor they had landed in. Cason released Esme’s waist and stepped away from her, quickly popping into a nearby storage room, a room that he had used often while working the halls of the institution. He returned, his covered hand now holding an iron wrench the size of a small baseball bat.

“Not that you technically need it, but the last thing you need is to pass out in the middle of this whole thing. So, use the wrench.” Cason ordered Esme, as he turned and listened closely, his fists clenching as he heard Nat screaming from far off in the building. Sarah stepped up beside him, nuzzling his knee as the other two dogs also appeared next to him. The three Hellhounds growled to each other and Cason composed himself quietly. He turned back to Esme with fear in his eyes, and stepped close to her, “I will come back for you. Sarah will stay with you, and you can use her to find the others.”

Cason stared into Esme’s eyes with a knowing look, his fear and anguish evident on his face. It was new from his normal stoic behavior he showed toward the humans he was forced to work with. Without another word, he took a deep breath and disappeared, suddenly appearing in front of Dean and Mika. Dean nearly fainted, he flinched so hard. Releasing the dead demon he was holding, just as he and Mika finished the first wave of assailants.

“What the hell?” Dean breathed, staring at Cason as if he was seeing a ghost…and wasn’t Dean Winchester. He stared at Cason’s face for a long moment, seeing the danger that stood right in front of him, but Cason’s face wasn’t exactly showing anger as much as fear and resolve. Cason stepped up to him, their noses nearly touching as the shorter man stared him in the eyes and reached down to Dean’s hand.

“I need this.” He murmured, taking Ruby’s knife from Dean with a snarl. He stepped back from Dean, and Dean still didn’t move, glancing down at the knife, now clenched in Cason’s fist. Cason looked away from Dean, up at Mika as he took a deep and even breath, “Down this hall. Take a right. She’s in the second door on the left. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Cason nodded at Mika, and then disappeared once again. When he reappeared, it was behind a demon that stood near the door, as a separate demon was in the process of slowly drowning Nat in a pool that he had seen them use…way too many times. With a snarl, Cason stood up straight, cracking his neck as his dogs took care of every demon that came between Dean, Mika and the door he didn’t bother to use. The demons’ screams curled a smirk into the corners of his mouth.

“Well there he is…” Another demon called from the dark corner of the room that Cason hadn’t bothered to check. The demons knew he was alive, well before he showed up. With an evil smirk, he turned and held the blade out in front of him, guiding every demon in the room, except the one torturing Nat, to attack him. “I’ve waited ages for this. Lilith will be so pleased.”

“She really doesn’t take breakups well, does she?” Cason teased back, turning in a circle as more demons slid into view, a clear ambush they had sat up for him. Cason tilted his head with a nervous scoff, “And it’s going to take six of you to take me down? I’m flattered.”

“We’re making sure that the job stays done. There’s no universe in which you’re walking out of here…with or without the girl.” The head of the snake sneered at him. “Palling around with the Winchesters is one thing…but falling in love with one? Wow. That human soul is just clinging on for dear life in that brain, isn’t it?”

“Could explain the temper and the drinking…and the self preservation.” Cason shrugged, scanning each of them as he made a plan to survive the scenario.

“But you’re not 100% there, are you? You’re still injured.”

“Yeah. Iron will do that to you. Maybe I’ll have to show you, while I gut your lackies.” Cason quipped, his stance getting lower every time the demons took a step toward him. And then all at once, they rushed him. Now would be a good time to have a Winchester. But alas, he was alone.

Twisting on his heel, he drove Ruby’s knife into the first demons stomach, slicing all the way across until the demon fell to the floor, burnt out. Another demon rushed him, placing his arm across Cason’s neck and driving him into the nearest wall, tilting his chin up, while grabbing his knife hand with the other hand. Cason growled, his eyes turning black as he struggled, eventually dropping the knife and catching it with his other hand. The demon bashed at his face, breaking Cason’s nose in the process.

On the third hit, Cason flipped the knife up and stabbed the demon in the chin, between his own arms. With an evil smile, Cason twisted the knife and shoved the demon’s body off himself, turning to the other four.

“C’mon! We all know how this ends. We all know who walks out of here alive. We’ve been here before.” Cason called to them, his nose bloody. The blood began to seep over his teeth, making him look even more unhinged as he stood straight, “Who’s next?”

Out of nowhere, an iron rod swept across Cason’s face, knocking him down to the ground in a daze, and he brought his empty hand to his temple, groaning. The demon with the iron then brought it down on his upper back, once, then twice, until Cason was lying face down on the floor, groaning in pain. He reached out for the knife, and the demon stepped on his hand, grinding his fingers into the floor as he gasped.

At that moment, a bark ruffled Cason’s hair, as one of the hellhounds made it into the room, standing over him with a snarl. He recognized that growl instantly. Violet had found him, after all this time. She had come back for him. She always was one of his favorite pups, and one of his most vicious.

He couldn’t see the demons behind him, but Violet stepped over him, backing the demons into a corner, before pouncing on them. Their screams caused Cason to smirk, as he struggled but eventually sat up on his knees and then pushed himself onto shaky legs to stumble across the room. The Hellhound ripped each of the demons apart, scattering limbs all over the room, and Cason did nothing to slow her down. He simply turned the knife over in his hand, as the demon over Nat continued his job, holding her harshly under water with no emotion.

With a flick of his wrist, Cason threw the knife, lodging it in between the demon’s shoulder blades. The demon stood, it’s body sparking and glowing as it slowly faded. Cason growled, his eyes jet black and his body numb with rage as he staggered forward, shoving the demon to the side and leaning over the tub.

Reaching his hand into the water, he didn’t bother to bring the table up, simply busting the straps that held Nat down, and with a sharp tug to her collar, he pulled her from the water and wrapped his arm around her back. All that rage subsided, as he looked at her face, and all of the pain she had suffered while he was stuck in that barn. Guilt was an emotion he wasn’t familiar with, but he was suspicious that it was creeping into his bones in that moment.

“Hey princess…” He smirked, reaching his other hand up to wipe some of the water away from her eyes as he held her in his arms. “I got you.”

As Esme decided to go with Cason, she was relieved to hear that he had sent dogs to find Natalia, and that’s how he knew where she was. “I plan on it.” she replied to his comment about Sarah. She had been a lifesaver and a great companion to her since Cason had given her the ability to see her, and she still wondered why he allowed her to keep the ability after their almost-relationship failed. Before she had time to think much more about going for Natalia, Cason had wrapped his arm around her waist and teleported them into the asylum. When she heard the glass crunch under her boots, she knew she was in the asylum. When Cason released her and stepped back, she looked around the hall as he disappeared. It hadn’t changed much. Everything that happened in that god-forsaken place flooded her mind, sending a shiver down her spine. She never thought she’d find herself within its walls again, but there she stood in one of its dimly lit halls. Esme balled up her fist and clenched her jaw. She knew this would be one hell of a fight to get Natalia out of this place.

Esme breathed deeply through her nose, pushing the memories from her mind and trying to focus on the task at hand. That’s when she heard Natalia’s faint scream just before Cason popped back into the hallway. She spun around to face him, noticing the wrench in his covered hand. She took the wench from him as he spoke, sighing slightly. Of course, she knew she didn’t need to pass out in the middle of it all. He didn’t have to tell her that. She also didn’t like him ordering her to use the wrench. Esme was about to say something but stopped when she noticed his reaction to hearing Natalia’s screams in the distance. Her eyes then went to Sarah and the two hounds that appeared, and she watched them for a moment before lifting her gaze back up to Cason. The fear she saw in his eyes was hard to miss, and it was something she hadn’t seen since they met. She almost stepped back when he stepped back up to her. His words and his new behavior caught her off guard. At that moment, she saw how much he cared for Natalia. She knew they’d get her out.

“At least there will be one happy ending tonight.” Esme whispered after Cason disappeared. “Let’s go kick some ass.” she told Sarah. Turning on her heel, she walked down the hall with the wrench in a death grip. She planned to keep demons from getting past her and to find Valdin. She didn’t know what shape she’d leave this place in or if she’d leave at all. All she knew was that if she were to die in this place, she was going to take down as many demons as she could with her, including Valdin. He had to pay for sending his minions to do his bidding and taking Duke away from her and to keep him from torturing another poor soul. Esme walked down the hall with Sarah, not attempting to keep her footsteps quiet. There was no point with all the glass blanketing the floor. It wasn’t until they rounded a corner that they found their first three demons. As soon as they were spotted, the demons ran at them. Sarah tackled the first, ripping him to shreds as he screamed. Esme took the second, knocking him upside the head with the wrench, then bashing his head when he was on the ground.

Esme moved for the third, but Sarah beat her to him. After knocking him to the ground, she bit his head to silence her screams. “Good girl. Let’s keep moving, girl.” she told Sarah, moving up to her and patting her head. As they moved on, Esme could feel more coming. Their anger was intense and growing stronger the closer she got, which fueled her own rage. The demons were on them before they could even round the corner. This time, a large handful had been waiting. Esme beat and punched her way through the group, hearing the sizzle of their skin when her fist made contact with their faces, bringing a grin to her lips. Sarah and Esme had taken out five before the rest backed up and circled them. There were six left, and they all had smirks on their faces as they stared down Esme and Sarah. “Valdin didn’t mention you had a pet.” one spoke up. “He also failed to mention you could fry us with a touch.” another chimed in. Esme grinned back at them. “Yeah, he never was one to give details.” she sneered. “Like you’d know.” a female demon snapped back at her.

Sarah growled at the female after she snapped at Esme, and Esme laughed, now recognizing her. “You don’t remember?” she questioned. “I was trapped in this hell hole for two years. You and Valdin both tortured me, along with three others. You were keeping my presence here a secret from your boss.” She watched the female look at her in surprise. “Yeah, I remember you, Morana. I also heard most of your conversations back and forth when you thought I had passed out.” Esme glared at the female with a grin, watching her angrily shake. “Your torture tactics were weak compared to Valdins. I’m surprised he’s kept you around this long.” she teased. “Shut up!” Morana screamed. “Oh, have I struck a nerve?” Esme grinned. “Your name means death. Some death bringer you are. I’m still alive.” Morana took a step towards Esme, a growl in her throat. “You would be dead if those Winchesters hadn’t shown up that night and ruined everything!” Morana screamed at Esme. Esme grinned widely and shook her head with a laugh. “You’re a coward, just like Valdin. The Winchesters didn’t find me that night. You could have come back and finished me off. Even though Valdin ordered you to keep me alive.”

Morana had had enough and charged Esme with a scream. “I’ll kill you now!” Morana collided with Esme, sending her through the gathered demons and into a wall, causing her to drop the wrench in her hand. The others advanced only to be stopped by Sarah by her mauling them. Esme and Morana matched each other blow for blow. “Valdin will be pretty pissed with you if you kill me.” Esme said, connecting a punch to Morana’s face. “I don’t care!” Morana punched at Esme, but she moved just in time, causing her fist to connect to the wall behind Esme. Esme spun around, grabbed Morana by her jacket, and slammed her into the opposite wall. She then took the woman's face into her hands, frying it with her touch. Morana screamed in pain and fought to get out of Esme’s grip, only for Esme to bash her head against the wall and turn to take on another demon. Esme punched him in the gut, then kneed him in the face when he doubled over. Esme reached for her belt, finding her knife’s sheath empty. She never picked up before they left the barn with Duke. Laughter sounded behind her.

“Aww, poor thing doesn’t have any other weapons to defend herself with.” a demon laughed. Four demons closed in on Esme while Sarha took on the other two. Esme grinned, plunged her hand into her pocket, pulled out a handful of salt, and then threw it in their faces. With them screaming, she placed her hands on two of the demon's faces, melting them to the bone. Pulling her spare knife from her jacket pocket, she plunged it into one demon's chest and twisted it. She moved to the next demon, doing the same. Before she could pull her knife from their chest, another had come up behind her and wrapped his arm around her throat. “You're mine now.” he whispered in her ear. “Don’t count on it.” Esme growled. Lifting her feet, she kicked off the wall, sending them back into the opposite wall. He let go when his back made contact. She spun around, jammed her knife into his chest, and twisted it before pulling it out. As she turned to face the last one, more could be heard heading their way. Lifting her arm, she flicked her wrist and sent the knife straight into the demon's heart.

“Sarah, you good?” she called to the hound. Sarah barked just as Esme turned to face Morana, where she had left her, but she had bolted. “Cowered.” she growled. Esme had just enough time to run over and pick up the wrench before the next wave of demons showed. Esme was growing more and more irritated as time passed. She knew they were all being sent by Valdin to tire her out before he revealed himself. She and Sarah were hardly moving forward with how many demons were coming out of the woodwork at once, which further irritated her and fueled her rage more. Esme placed the hilt of her knife in her mouth and ran at the demons with a frustrated growl, with Sarah right behind her. She could feel the heat that was radiating from her body growing hotter. She met the demons swinging the wrench with a newfound strength that surprised her. When she hit the third demon, a female, across her face, Esme heard her jaw break and her neck snap. After that, the rest were easy to take out with Sarah. They had almost seemed afraid to come at her head-on with how she took out the last female.

One last demon came running at her from around the corner towards her. Taking the wrench in both hands, she brought it back over her hand and threw it at the demon. The wrench hit its mark and lodged into the demon’s head. Esme tucked away her knife, walked over, pulled the wrench from the demon, and looked down the hall. It was quiet and deserted. It didn’t feel right after the waves of demons that she had just dealt with. Suddenly, a voice ran out in the hall, and Sarah began to growl. “Welcome home, my Little Dove. It’s been far too long. Oh, how I’ve missed you.” A delighted laugh then echoed through the hall. “My, how strong you’ve gotten.” “Valdin! Come out and face me, you cowered!” Esme yelled. “You’ll see me soon enough. Come to where it all happened.” Valdin said with a sadistic laugh. Gripping the wench tightly, Esme took off with Sarah hot on her heels. It took a little time, but she found the room with little hits here and there from Valdin. She stopped in front of the open, hidden door. She stared into the room, the only light coming from an old oil lamp on a table.

Esme was suddenly shoved inside, and the door closed behind her. Esme hit the floor hard and slid a couple of feet across the floor. She quickly got to her feet and spun towards the door, noticing Sarah wasn’t with her. “Sarah!” she yelled. She could faintly hear Sarah attach the demon outside the door before whining to get to Esme. “Hello, Little Dove.” Valdin called out behind her. Esme spun around and glared at Valdin, who just grinned at her. “Valdin.” she growled, brandishing the wrench. He grinned more at her as he stepped towards her, causing her to step back. “I’m so happy you’ve come back to me. Now we can continue our fun that got interrupted.” he cooed. “Don’t count on it!” she growled. Esme charged Valdin and took a swing at him, but he dodged it, hitting her in the stomach. She hit the ground, and she swiftly kicked her, sending her sliding across the floor. “You’re still as feisty as ever, Little Dove.” he laughed. Esme coughed and groaned as she returned to her feet, glaring at Valdin again. Esme charged at him again, then dropped to her knees, slid across the floor, and took out his legs with the wrench.

She spun on her knees when he hit the floor and waited for him to get up. As soon as he was on his knees, Esme threw the wrench at him, lodging it into his back. Valdin screamed in pain and tried to remove the wrench, but it was just out of reach. “So, you want to do things the hard way? Fine.” he growled. He rushed at Esme, sending the two into a fistfight, each returning the other's blow. During this, Esme realized he was wearing gloves, which explained why he was about to touch her. Valdin got in a hit to her stomach, knocking the air from her. He took this opportunity to grab her and throw her across the room and into a wall. “Dammit all.” she growled after hitting the floor. She could really use Sarah’s help right now. She could barely hear her outside the door, scratching and whining to get in. The next thing Esme knew, Valdin was at her side, hoisting her up and slamming her into the wall. He slammed her against it again, her head making contact with the wall. Bringing up his free hand, he took hold of her face and held it tightly, forcing her to look at him.

“You’re not leaving this place again, Little Dove.” he said in her face. “The cowboy is dead. The Winchester is with someone else. They don’t want you around. You’re a ticking time bomb of emotion. There’s no room for you in that little group of theirs.” he told her. He grinned brightly in her face as he took her by the throat and lifted her off the floor. “Besides, would they even take you back if they knew you were one of us?” he questioned. Esme struggled against his grip. “I’m not.” she choked out. “Well, maybe not a demon, but damn well close enough.” he laughed. Esme struggled to get her knife out of her pocket, then slashed Valdin across his cheek. She cried out and smashed her into the wall again. He wrestled the knife from her and plunged it into her left shoulder. She screamed in pain as he laughed. “I know you think I’m lying, but it’s true. Your father never told you why that Hellhound came for your mother, did he?” The look in Esme’s eyes as she gasped for air told him his answer, and he smirked. He was overjoyed to fill her in.

“Allow me to fill you in, Little Dove…. In truth, you shouldn’t even be here. You were never meant to be born.” Valdin told her, grinning from ear to ear. As Esme gasped for air, she could feel her tears burning her eyes. What he was saying couldn’t possibly be true, could it? His grip around her throat tightened, and she could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness. “Don’t pass out on me yet, Little Dove. You haven’t heard the best part.” He loosened his grip just enough for her to get a little air. “You’re here only because your mother made a deal. Unknowingly. She thought she was talking to a “Miracle Worker” when, in reality, she was talking to a crossroads demon at that bar with your father.” “Lier!” Esme screamed angrily, tears rolling down her cheeks. Every word he spoke was pushing her closer to the edge. She thrashed against his grip, trying to kick him to free herself. “I’m afraid not. You’re also barren. You’ll never be able to have a family of your own.” Valdin lagged, squeezing her throat. “So, why don’t you just give up and spend the rest of your days with me as my servant.”

Esme gasped for air and tried to free herself. Her vision was blurring, darkness was closing in on her, and then she snapped. Her eyes rolled back into her head. The heat radiating off her intensified, and Valdin's exposed skin began to burn. He hissed in pain and threw her across the room. She hit the floor with a sickening thud, but she quickly pushed herself up on her feet. “I’d rather die than be your servant. I won’t ever give in to you.” she said flatly with a growl. It was as if she were a completely different person or she was taken over by something. “I may have nothing, but that won’t stop me from killing you.” Esme’s eyes glowed as she ran at Valdin, whose eyes had gone black as he waited for the impact. When close enough, Esme threw a punch, connecting with Valdin’s face and burning it. He hissed, stumbling backward, his black eyes showing slight fear from what he had awoken in Esme. She punched him in the stomach, then the face, sending him to his knees. Then she pulled the wrench from his back, looking down at him as he screamed, then brought it down hard on his back.

Valdin screamed as a couple of his ribs shattered from the blow. “What the hell are you?” he cried out. “No one said you were this.” He tried to scramble to his feet, but Esme knocked him in the head with the wrench, sending him rolling across the floor. Esme walked towards him, hearing his skin sizzling. With the heated energy radiating off of her, his skin couldn’t heal. “It ends here, Valdin.” she growled. She advanced on him, pushing him closer to the wall behind him, then threw the wrench at him, lodging it into the wall mere inches from his head. It was time to finish this. It was time for him to die. Esme swiftly pulled the knife from her shoulder and advanced on Valdin to finish him off.

NATALIA (AND CASON COLLAB)

At first, Natalia didn't move the slightest bit when Cason pulled her from the pool. She heard his voice but she just thought it was a dream or a reaper in her head trying to convince her to cross over. She never thought for a single moment that it was actually him, until she began to open her eyes. At first, oxygen managed to find it's way back into her lungs, making her come round with a cough and gasp before she winced at the pain that still ran through her whole body. Looking up at Cason, she couldn't believe her eyes, it wasn't just a dream, he really was here and saving her. "....you're really here" she managed to croak out, tears mixing in with what water was still running down her face from her hair.

Cason just held Nat loosely as she coughed, letting her get it all out of her system. As she looked up at him, a relieved and shaky sigh left his chest seeing her eyes adjust to his being alive. He pulled her closer to his chest and smirked, "Yeah. It's me...most of me." With the confirmation that she wasn't imagining Cason being here, she wrapped her arms around him and cling to him, despite it absolutely hurt her right shoulder to do so. She didn't care, she needed to cling onto him. Her face burying into his chest. "They told me you were dead" she began to sob. "I thought...I thought I was dying here alone..." She added.

He held her steady, allowing her to wrap her arms around him. It was a small human comfort he could give her in that moment, even though every fiber of his being just wanted to sweep her out of the pool and away from this place. He brought a hand up to her wet hair, gently massaging her scalp with his fingers with a sigh, "Yeah. I kinda thought I was dead too. But there was never...listen to me..."

He pulled her head back from his chest, cradling her face with one hand as he looked into her eyes, "There was never a time that you would have died alone, here. I would have ripped this world apart to find you, understand?"

She listened to him admit that even he thought he was dead for a moment and Nat couldn't help but just be glad that he wasn't. She wouldn't have coped if he had died, she was ready to give up on fighting for survival thinking he was dead. the massaging of her scalp becoming a very soothing action to her, calming her and wiping away that fear she had felt for what seemed like forever. She strangely now had a sense of empathy for Dean and what he must have endured in Hell. When he pulled her head away from his chest and made her look at him, she listened to what he was saying. It was the most earnest and sentimental thing she had ever heard from him, slowly nodding at his question if she understood. His words hitting her heart hard, as she fell silent not knowing what else to say. "I...I'm glad you found me..." Was all that could come out of her mouth, even though every part of her wanting to say 'i love you'.

Cason sighed once again as Nat confirmed that she understood he was dead serious about doing anything he possibly could to get her back. Her next words caused him to chuckle. He didn't have the words to tell her how relieved he was. The word that Anna had stopped him from saying when he was on the verge of death definitely wasn't slipping out of his mouth, now.

He leaned in, kissing her deeply with a touch of desperation to pour all of that emotion he refused to express into the kiss.

She didn't know what she was expecting out of Cason next, she was too focused on looking at him and taking in the fact he was truly here and back with her. Then came the very thing that totally surprised her, him making the first kiss. She felt so much from him in that kiss and she couldn't help but kiss him back deeply. Completely unaware that Mika was in the door way with Dean looking flabbergasted at the sight before them. A massacre and a moment of romance. She didn't want to pull back, but she needed air, her body still trying to accept she could once more breathe. Her breath hitched from the kiss and recovery, she smiled as much as she could at him before wincing as smiling hurt. "...ow...." She grumbled. "I'm a mess ....".

Cason chased Nat's lips as she pulled from the kiss, suddenly being reminded that she was human. He smiled back at her, but frowned at the pain that etched itself onto her face.

"I never said you're a mess but...I'm sorry about the outburst." He laughed softly, brushing his fingers over her cheek gently.

She didn't want to make him frown, but she really couldn't ignore the pain her whole body was in at this moment. She was grateful he denied she was a mess, even if it wasn't true. Though it was incredibly welcoming to see him laugh softly and feel his touch on her very sore cheek. "They really didn't hold back this time..." She told him honestly. "pretty sure my shoulder is broken...." She added, just wanting to curl up in his grip.

Mika couldn't take it anymore, they didn't have time for the two of them be all romantic. So she faked a cough from behind Cason in the doorway. "We gotta move" she told them flatly. "Even if you have to carry her loverboy, we're getting outta here NOW" she instructed.

SAM

Sam wasn't even sure if Anna would give him any information about her wellbeing whatsoever, but when she did, he was thankful she spoke to him about something. He nodded, relieved that it wasn't anything worse. "Good..." He sighed before once again falling silent. He looked forward again, out the windshield and wondered what to say next. He was so lost in his own mind and his situation with Anna that he hadn't even noticed Dean and Mika sneak off in the impala. At least, until Anna spoke up mentioning Dean.

He looked back at her as she told him what Dean said which made him look around the parking lot to see that the impala had indeed gone. "They've gone without us?!" He asked, feeling a little betrayed that Dean would go after Nat without him. He wanted to protect and save his sister as well, he had just as much right to. He sighed frustrated that he got left behind, but nodded in understanding. "...can't say I'm happy being left behind but fine, we'll hold back...." He commented, seeing her looking down at her hands that were covered in Cason's dried blood. "We'll be okay in here. I'll make sure of it" he told her in response to her demon comment. he then fell silent yet again for a few moments before plucking up the courage to speak to Anna. "I am sorry Anna....I know you must hate me right now...hate all of us....I hate myself for how the night turned out. But I won't ever stop trying to prove to you I do love you and care about you and your feelings. I'm so sorry for leaving Cason behind....I regret following Dean's orders..." He told her slowly, and calmly but honestly.

"I just hope that one day you can learn to trust me again" he sighed, trying not to cry yet again but remained looking at her with puppy eyes the entire time. He had to force himself not to reach over and grab one of her hands as he figured she wouldn't want him to and probably pull her hand away if he tried.

MIKA

Being circled by the demons made Mika feel like prey for the first time in a very long time. Yet she also just got angrier because all they were doing was so far successfully delaying them getting to Natalia. Nat's screams echoed through the empty building as if it was on a tannoy and it made her skin crawl. The scream had distracted her just enough for a demon to get a move in and land a strong blow to Dean's jaw whilst another kicked her in the back of her legs, making her kneel and grit her teeth from the pain. "right where a female hunter should be... Grovelling at my feet!" The male demon who attacked her sneered. "I ain't grovelling asshole" Mika practically spat at her, "I don't grovel to anyone!" She added, swinging one leg out to knock the demon onto the ground where she quickly stood up and with a crushing blow, slammed her boot right down on his neck, snapping it swiftly. Natalia's faint screams just spurred on her anger and in a weird way, gave her that extra boost of strength to keep her fighting.

As a second demon rushed her, she rapidly dodged it, spinning round to get behind him, pulling out a knife from her belt and slicing his throat. Her fight mode was so heightened she didn't even think about the fact a lot of these demons were probably possessing innocent people. All she cared about was that she wasn't the one dying tonight and she won't stop until she reaches Natalia, getting Dean to his sister. Seeing the body spark and drop, she turned her attention to another that was trying to get a jump on Dean whilst he dealt with his own attacked, throwing her knife into the skull, letting the body drop to the ground. Now she could focus on using her gun, she fired off around four rounds into the heads of demons when Cason just popped up in front of them out of nowhere.

She took looked utterly shocked, having been convinced like the rest of them that he was dead in the barn. She watched her back as she also watched the exchange between the two men, seeing Cason stealing Ruby's knife. She couldn't get any words out of her mouth, only able to look at Cason when he addressed her with the directions of where Nat was being held. She gave a nod back to Cason as he rapidly left the same way he appeared. "Let's get moving!" She told Dean, hearing one demon crawling on the floor in agony. Rolling her eyes, she aimed her gun at their head and just put them out of their misery. "shut it" she said as she shot to kill. It seemed to let up just enough for her to stand next to Dean, placed her hand on his shoulder to check he was good, "you good? Let's go" she spoke to him, remembering the directions that Cason gave her of where Nat was. As she started to run through, glass crunching under foot, she heard demons screaming and smoking out of they were able to. "Seems Cason ain't holding back" she spoke between her breaths from running. Almost sliding round the corner, she found the door in question from the clues that were bloodied dismembered bodies scattered on the ground. It was clear to her that this was the work of hellhounds. "Shit...." She gasped.

She cautiously stepped forward and covered her mouth when she saw the state of the room. It was utter carnage, extreme even by her standards and I actually she didn't see Natalia, but when she saw Cason knelt down and cradling a very soaked Natalia. She didn't seem to be moving at first and her fears bubbled up. "Please no..." She whispered watching on, but then Natalia coughed and jolted awake, making her sigh with relief. Yet Cason didn't let her go, and she could have sworn she heard him her Princess. She held her arm infront of Dean, signalling for him to keep back and stay beside her just for a moment. She watched as Natalia fought through pain and hugged Cason, clinging onto him for dear life before sobbing in relief he was alive. For the first time she saw an incredibly soft and human side to Cason. He was so gentle with her, wiping water off of her face, moving her hair out the way and generally being really tender with her. This wasn't emotional fakery going on, this was genuine and it shook Mika deeply. Then came the kiss, a kiss that surprised Mika greatly that seemed to validate her realisation of how much Cason truly cared for Natalia.

She let the two of them talk as the kiss broke away until they really couldn't stay here any longer. "We gotta move" she spoke up to break up the tender moment, "even if you have to carry her loverboy, we're getting outta here NOW" she explained firmly but politely enough.

Anna scoffed at Sam’s comment about keeping her safe from demons. She could still feel the buzzing in her brain from all the demon blood and she was covered in it. There wasn’t much that Sam would be able to add to the equation, other than his size, when she was apparently a demonic flame thrower.

As the truck fell into silence, Anna sighed with relief, not wanting to hear any sort of apology or anything from Sam. She just wanted to get away from the entire group. She wanted to meet up with Cason and hash out…

But Cason was dead. She had no one. In this whole mess, she felt really alone, even with Sam sitting right next to her, but then he spoke up and Anna held her breath. His apology was sincere. She could feel it in his heartbeat, as their hearts tried as always to even out and match up. He was scared. She couldn’t quite place why he was scared…her leaving? Her hating them? His brother and Mika being hurt? Either way, his discomfort was hurting her chest.

The tears pricked at her eyes as the gravity of what they had done set in. They had left Cason behind. After everything he had done and risked for the group, Dean Winchester was allowed to make a decision out of emotion. Anna didn’t believe for a second that they couldn’t have saved him. She didn’t believe for a second that he was left behind for any other reason than malice.

“Dean left him behind because he wanted him dead, and didn’t want to upset Nat. You know that.” She whimpered. As she turned to look at him, her eyes full of angry tears, her face softened a bit at the look in his eyes. There was no anger in her face, only hurt and betrayal. “I know that we weren’t close, after what happened between us…but he deserved better than that, Sam. And I-I don’t know…”

She paused, shaking her head as she fought a sob, “I don’t know that I can trust you not to do the same to me…if push came to shove and Dean told you to. You follow his lead. You’ll always follow his lead.”



Dean was rattled by Cason popping in and popping out like he did, but he was even more rattled when the Hellhounds seemed to growl at him to follow them. He followed them reluctantly, making sure that he and Mika were touching, or at least within touch distance as he quieted his steps behind the giant invisible dogs. Without hesitation, the Hellhounds began going to work, taking down demon after demon as they were slashed at.

He passed a demon that swung a knife at him, grabbing the demon by the collar and pulling his foot up to its chest. With a kick, he kicked the demon directly into the jaws of a Hellhound he couldn’t even see. Looking back to make sure that in all the chaos, Mika was still holding her own.

“No…he isn’t.” Dean gasped, as the Hellhounds bit the heads off the last few demons by the door, leaving the path open but strewn with body parts. He walked past the Hellhounds, uneasy with them breathing on him, and reached for the handle of the door. One of the Hellhounds jumped up and pushed the door open, breaking the lock with ease, and leaving Dean and Mika standing there in the doorway.

What he saw as he looked around shook Dean to his core. Cason had done all this? There were body parts everywhere. The floor, walls and ceiling were painted in blood. Dean’s eyes turned to Cason, who stood there with Nat, as if she was this breakable thing he had to protect and hold onto. He recognized the look on Cason’s face, but shook his head, refusing to believe the body language. He began to step forward, but Mika’s arm barring him from doing so told him that she wasn’t concerned with Cason hurting Nat, despite the little pained sounds his sister was making. He sighed, shifting on his feet and then Cason kissed Nat, and Dean’s face changed to something more protective as he turned to Mika.

“Are we going to do anything? Just…let this happen?” He asked, but Mika had apparently read his mind. As she coughed, Dean smirked, proud of her for stepping up and being the less awkward, bigger person here.

“We really do need to go.” Dean spoke, turning his eyes to Nat to give her a knowing look. “And I want to take a look at you, the second we survive this hell hole, you got it? He didn’t hurt you did he, because if he did…”

“I wouldn’t hurt her. I told you that, already. And Yes, let’s get out of here. Lilith will send more, now that she knows I’m here.” Cason agreed, wrapping an arm around Nat’s waist. He reached under the water and picked up her legs, turning to carry her out of the room.

“So, they’re here for you. Great. All roads lead back to…” Dean started, a sarcastic and annoyed expression sweeping across his face.

“So leave me behind, tough guy. That’s a solid plan, right?” Cason reminded Dean, causing Dean to narrow his eyes at the tone of Cason’s voice. Cason was threatening to call him out in front of Nat…right then. “Take a swipe at me when I get your ass out of here. Until then, keep your mouth shut and follow close.”

Without another word, Cason pushed past Dean and into the hallway, flanked by all three Hellhounds. Dean stood, frozen for a moment, until a Hellhound pushed past him and pulled him out of his thoughts, his heart thumping in his ears. He didn’t even want to think of how much Natalia would hate him for leaving Cason behind. It was worse than killing him.

The dogs pushed in front of him, as Cason stopped to listen, for any sign of Esme in the asylum. After a moment, he picked up on her, and lifted his eyes to the right side of the ceiling, switching them to black. At least Nat wasn’t new to his demonic side. He turned his head to her, and scanned her eyes.

“I’m going to have to leave you for just a second. I promise, I’ll be right back. Stay with Mika.” He explained to Nat, his eyes still glossed over in black as he slowly lowered her to the ground, making sure she was firmly on her feet. He snapped at one of the Hellhounds, who stepped over, standing almost chest level with Nat. The giant dog leaned against her, offering it’s back as support. “I’ll be…right…back.”

As Cason disappeared, Dean quickly jogged up to Natalia, squatting in front of her to offer his back. He didn’t give her much of a choice, backing her into a wall and wrapping both her legs around his waist, before lifting her up, “Let’s get you out of here. I’ll come back for him.”

Dean glanced to Mika, letting her know that he was serious. He wasn’t leaving Cason behind, even if every single fiber of his being wanted to.

Cason landed just inside the door, his eyes instantly changing back to blue and nearly bulging out of his head as he watched Esme. She was vicious, and at that moment, Cason wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to be locked in the same room with her. His fight or flight mode was kicking in. He backed toward the door, ready to disappear back to Natalia and let Esme hold her own. But Violet showed up, bursting the door down with a quick jump into the metal plate. Cason flinched as if a gun had fired next to his head and he quickly looked from the door to Esme, holding a hand out. There was no way she didn’t know he was there.

“So…I came back.” He chimed sheepishly.



“Mr. Hatfield, we don’t know what is happening but you can’t just leave. We made a mistake and we need to be able to document the mistake by giving you a once over.” A nurse called from behind Duke. He was naked, standing in the middle of the holding area of the morgue, thoroughly confused. He had woken up with no explanation, covered in a white sheet that was smothering him, naked, and alone in the morgue.

“I have to find my brother. I have to…My brother will know what to do.” Duke spoke with a shivering voice. He grabbed the effects bag they had packed for him, and quickly ripped it open, pouring it out on the gurney, before rummaging through it. He picked up his bloody pants, slipping them over his bare legs, then picked up his belt. He buttoned his pants and slipped the belt through the loops before buckling it with some effort, due to the shaking in his hands.

“Sir, no brother was here with you.” The nurse explained, holding her hands out in front of her as if Duke would hurt her. He frowned at her, and then realized that Dean must not have been the one to bring him to the hospital, and wouldn’t be listed as his brother anywhere in his records. “Your girlfriend hasn’t been seen since we…since the doctor spoke to her. We could t-try to get ahold of her, but Mr. Hatfield, we really need to figure out how you’re alive, alright?”

“Nah. I’m good.” Duke answered simply, shoving his wallet, and phone into his pocket. He unrolled his jacket, and slipped it over his bare shoulders, before turning and walking through the door of the morgue. As he walked down the hallway, he could hear the nurse calling behind him, but he only had one thing on his mind.

Find his family.

An exit door stood out to him, and through his blurry vision, he limped toward it, shoving it open with a loud alarm blaring after him. As soon as he was outside, he glanced down at his stomach and frowned. He needed bandages. For some reason, the nurses had stitched him up but they didn’t bandage the wound.

That was a worry for down the road, as the chill hit him, and he pressed forward.

As Esme stepped closer to Valdin, her glowing eyes took on an eerie lavender hue. Valdin scrambled back, pushing himself up against the wall behind him and holding his hands out in front of himself. She was projecting a heavy load of fear onto him. He opened his mouth to speak, but his words caught in his throat, and his eyes went wide with fear. He grabbed his throat as if fighting for air as Esme tilted her head to the side with a malicious grin on her lips. “There’s no talking your way out of this, Valdin.” she growled. “It all ends here tonight.” Esme quickly closed the rest of the gap between them and jammed her knife into Valdin’s shoulder as she knelt in front of him. His scream bounced off the walls of the room. Grabbing a handful of his hair, she threw his head against the wrench protruding from the wall so hard it left a large gash. “Goodbye, Valdin.” she growled, placing her hands on his face. While Valdin screamed in pain from his melting face, Esme hadn’t noticed that Cason had entered the room behind her. All of her focus was on killing Valdin.

She didn’t stand and collect her knife until Valdin was nothing more than a puddle of bubbling goo at her feet. She stood over the puddle of goo, breathing heavily and angry tears running down her cheeks. At the sound of the door coming down, Esme spun around with an almost feral growl in her throat, her glowing eyes locking onto Cason. His words barely registered in her brain. She was still in fight mode and looked like she would attack him at any moment. Sarah came running into the room toward Esme but skidded to a halt and backed up beside Cason with a whimper. Sarah was scared and didn’t know how to take this side of Esme she’d never seen before. Suddenly, Esme threw her knife toward Cason. It flew just inches from his head and stuck into the forehead of a demon coming up behind him. “You sure took your sweet time getting here.” she growled between breaths. Just then, Morana appeared in the room behind Esme, her face still charred, and screamed when she saw what was left of Valdin. “You little bitch!” she shouted, hitting Esme in the back of the head with a pipe.

Esme fell forward with a growl, then quickly took to her feet, spun around, and charged her, ramming her into the wall. Morana screamed in pain as her skin burned and sizzled from being so close to Esme. “Now, it’s your turn.” Esme growled in Morana’s face. She placed her hands on Morana’s face, watching it melt beneath her hands. She then took the screaming woman by the collar and threw her toward the two Hellhounds in the room. Sarah jumped on Morana and bit down on her head, silencing her. Esme turned back to Cason and the two Hellhounds growling and breathing heavily. She fought against the urge to attack Cason, even though her stance said she would attack him at any moment. As Esme stood there, she was slightly surprised she was still standing, surprised she survived all that she went through that night. Part of her wished she hadn’t. She had nothing to go back to now that Valdin was dead. If she were to attack Cason, would he put her out of her misery?

NATALIA

The pool water was beginning to make Natalia cold, but not enough to start shivering just yet. She figured that would happen no doubt once she was out. She looked at Dean when he turned to her, talking to her her attention. She figured he or one of the others would want to check her over when they got out of this place, hells, she WANTED someone to check her over. She couldn't bare to do it herself, she was too scared of just breaking down at the sight of her injuries. It was difficult enough to not burst into tears again right now when Dean was being so protective. She shook her head slowly to answer his question about Cason hurting her to co firm that what Cason said was indeed true. He saved her life by pulling her out of the pool, there was no way he'd hurt her. "Okay...." She simply said in response to the order he was going to check her over himself when they were out of here. She held onto Cason as he shifted into a position and lifted her out, carrying her close to him. Water dropped off her clothes, hair and boots onto the ground, mixing with the blood pools already on the floor from the carnage Cason unleashed and from the previous torture she got put through.

The movement made every part of her body hurt, making her hiss as she tried to stop herself from screaming in agony. She gripped Cason's coat tightly as he and Dean still had a moment of a verbal fight, not wanting to know what Cason was implying about the leaving him behind. She let him just carry her passes Dean and Mika and put of the room she never wanted to see again for the rest of her life. Her head resting against his chest and shoulder as he walked, with her family behind them both. Then he stopped which made her lift her head ever so slightly to look at him confused, she didn't know Esme was also here, she thought it was just the three of them that came for her. When he looked at her with his black eyes, she didn't flinch or turn away from him, she looked him in the eyes, not feeling any danger from his eyes unlike the other demons. She looked scared about being put down and him leaving for a moment, she had shake her head in slight protest before he repeated that hee was coming back and she felt a hellhound using it's back to prop her up when she was on her two feet. She never felt safe in this building without Cason being there, but she reluctantly let him go, just watching him disappear after Esme. She felt the strange invisible warmth coming off the hound as half her body was propped up by it.

When Dean jogged right up to her and knealed down in front of her, she knew exactly what he was implying even though she didn't want it, but Mika gave her the nod to say 'just do it, he's been scared crapless' so she let Dean back her into the wall, hoist her onto his back, wrapping her legs around him which made her drape her one good arm over his shoulders. She hissed again from the pain, "ow...Dean this hurts..." She complained like a child, even though from all his fighting, his body heat was welcome as she was feeling colder and colder, shivering beginning to take hold as she laid her head against him as he told her he would come back for Cason. She watched him look at Mika and Mika back at him, the glances she knew well enough: he was telling the truth.

She let him carry her even though it hurt with every step Dean made. Nat couldn't even stop some of her whimpers and complaints from escaping her mouth. "Someone should burn this place to ash..." She finally said, not wanting to risk being brought back here for a third time. No one deserved the experience she endured in the building they were leaving behind.

SAM

Anna's scoff at his initial words tugged at Sam's heart. Sure he probably deserved the silent stand off-ish response from her but that didn't mean it hurt any less. He felt like everything he tried to win her over and prove he was trustworthy, he failed on a greater scale each and every time. He hated himself for it, he wanted to be a better person than Dean, than their dad. Yet he was feeling like he was anything but better.

When she finally looked at his guilt ridden and scared face, he hoped she could tell he was genuinely feeling those emotions in that moment. He was terrified he was losing family left, right and centre, terrified of losing her and terrified they were going to lose this massive fight for what's to come.

Then came a sentence that he never wanted to admit to himself. He didn't want to believe that a sole reason for leaving Cason for dead in the barn. He watched her as she had looked away then looked back at him tearful and angry. He looked down at his hands still on the steering wheel of the truck and slowly nodded. "I didn't want to believe that was the reason....but...since I've been sitting here it's something I keep thinking about. That Dean let his emotions get the better of his judgement." He admitted to her, hoping that some admittance to what happened might help in some way. He didn't know how it would help but he hoped it would anyway. He let her continue talking, taking her time to get her words out when suddenly the last thing she said absolutely ripped his heart out and stomped on it. He quickly looked up at her, tears spilling over and down his cheeks, "I could never leave you behind" he told her truthfully, "I know that's going to be hard to believe right now....that I've done nothing tonight to deserve your belief in what I say, but I wouldn't ever blindly follow Dean if it meant leaving you behind....." He told her. "I love you so much and every fibre of my being wouldn't let me leave you" he continued saying.

MIKA

One reason for Mika tactfully interrupting the two of them was down Dean. She knew he wouldn't like Cason kissing his sister, much less his sister kissing him back. She aware of him smirking at her words , knowing he would have been happy with her choice of interruption.

She watched, ready to jump into action if Cason struggled to get Nat out of the pool but he seemed to be able to lift without too much trouble. She saw properly for herself when Cason turned to face the door again just how beat up Nat was. Cuts on arms and legs, swollen face on one side, soaking wet and bruised. It made her feel guilty for taking as long as they did to find her, even though there was no way of getting to her any quicker. She tried to not look too worried but she had a feeling she wasn't succeeding too well in that regard. "boys stop with the bickering...Nat is our priority" she told them both firmly as they trash talked with each other before finally Cason pushed passed Dean and exited the room with the hellhounds. The feeling of the hellhounds so close always made her so feel uneasy, she didn't trust them in the slightest after witnessing Lilith's tear Dean apart. Gathering her thoughts Mika walked towards the exit of the room when she saw Cason stop in the main front area of the building, looking up to the right.

Raising an eyebrow, she wondered what he was picking up on when he told Nat he was leaving her with herself. This made Mika instantly step towards Nat to help keep her upright as Cason let her down, but she was uneasy herself at a hellhound propping Natalia up opposite her. Yet it unnerved her more that Natalia didn't seem in the least bit phased by it. 'pht it down to her pain making her not care Meeko' she thought to herself to try and rationalise the whole situation. She glanced back at Dean who also seemed to have a better idea as he jogged up to Nat, backed her into a wall and picked her up onto his back. She helped him balance her onto his back and stepped to the side when Dean had a firm grip on Nat. She agreed in just getting out of there but when he said about going back for Cason, even she raised an eyebrow.

Did he really tell Natalia the truth? She wasn't sure until he glanced at her with a look that reassured her mind. Giving him a nod, she helped him exit the building, keeping an eye out for any remaining threat as they headed for the front door. She couldn't help but smirk ever so slightly when Nat started complaining about how much the piggy back hurt, sounding like such a child.

Sam’s quick burst of emotion toward her words caused Anna to frown and watch his face even closer. She had made him cry. It wasn’t something she ever wanted to do and he was usually so good at keeping his emotions in check, even if he was devastated. He didn’t hide them. They read all over his face, but tears falling from his eyes were jarring. Him correcting her so quickly and with so much conviction caused her heart to do a flip, as she grappled with believing him, or believing that he would always choose his brother.

Another tiny sob broke from her throat as he continued, and in that moment, she believed him. Against every part of her brain screaming not to, she believed every word he was saying. Taking a deep and shaky breath to calm the sobs that threatened to break through, and derail her confidence, Anna looked down.

“I believe you.” She whispered, turning her eyes back up to meet his. She looked between his eyes, her own eyes frantically searching for a reason to stay away from him, a reason to run, but she couldn’t do that either. She couldn’t forgive him for following his brother, even if it meant driving off a cliff. But she did have to admit that she loved him. “And I love you. I do. So much. I just don’t know how much more of this prophetic control mess I can take. I-I’ve lost everything to this, like you have. And I don’t want to lose you, but I-I have a…I have a feeling I will, before this is over. I’ll lose you too.”



Dean held onto Nat’s legs tightly as she settled onto his back. Feeling her arm drape over his shoulder, he reached up and wrapped his fingers around her hand, holding tightly as he started to walk away from the disgusting scene behind them. Her complaining caused him to roll his eyes, and he turned his head, his forehead brushing hers, “Will you stop crying like a baby and let me save your life? A little bit of pain is a lot better than staying here, right?”

As she pitched the idea of burning down the asylum, Dean raised his eyebrow. The idea was solid, but he didn’t have any of the tools he would need to burn down a building this big. Maybe, as touchy feely as Cason was feeling, he could call in some favors and get the thing taken care of for her.

“Well, maybe your boyfriend can take care of it. He seems to have some pull.” Dean joked with her, trying once again to push the idea that he was cool with Cason, if it would keep the truth of him trying to kill someone so special to Nat from coming out.

The trek to the front door was pretty straight forward. No demons. No trouble. But Dean could feel that more demons would show up at any second, and he didn’t want to be here when they came. He carried Nat to the Impala, and carefully lowered her to the ground against the car, so she had something to stand against.

“I’m going to go get him. He’s taking too long, and we’re not leaving him behind.” Dean explained simply. He stepped over to Mika, and pressed a tight kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be right back. Stay with her. Keep her still and safe. I would say keep the dogs around, but I don’t know what they’ll do if I talk to them.”

He turned and jogged back up the stairs of the asylum. The first place he ran to was the room they had rescued Nat from. Glittering in the light of the moon was Ruby’s knife, covered in blood. He ran up, swiped it off the floor and then began searching for Cason, as he held the knife in front of him for coverage, just in case Lilith showed up.



Cason’s eyes were saucers as Esme finished off Valid, melting him into a puddle. He couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. He didn’t know how he was going to explain it to anyone who would understand and he also didn’t expect that he would be walking out of this room alive. He threw both his hands up as Esme spun around, looking like an absolute animal but also, something he had never seen before. He stared at her, trying to find the right words to get through to her and convince her that they had to leave. Before he could make that decision, she flung her knife at him and with a gasp, he tilted his head to the side, right as the knife embedded into the demons head over his shoulder.

“Holy shit!” He cried out, breathing heavily as he looked down at the demon and then back up at Esme with wide eyes. He wasn’t sure what to even do. He couldn’t touch her. He couldn’t possibly fight her, considering what he had just witnessed. But then she said something so human that his shoulders fell…only a bit. “I know. It took a minute to take care of the shit downstairs. HEY BEHIND YOU!”

Cason stepped forward, to help Esme and take care of the demon that was attacking her, but other than the Hellhounds, he had no weapons. He was more helpless than she was. And as he suspected, the demon was taken care of quickly by Esme’s hands and Sarah’s strong jaw. He winced as Sarah finished Morana.

Hearing footsteps jogging down the hall behind him, Cason stepped carefully toward the doorway, watching Esme’s every move, “Darling…we have to go. You’re gonna be okay and we can figure out what the hell is going on, but we have to go. I came to get you.”

“Cason, what the hell is taking so long?!” Dean shouted as he stepped through the doorway and his eyes went wide, staring around at the carnage in the room. He saw the pile of goo, and the headless demon, and then his eyes turned up to Esme, Ruby’s knife clutched tightly in his fist.

“Dean, I wouldn’t make any sudden movements…”

“Yeah, I gathered that.” Dean huffed back at Cason. He turned his eyes back to Esme and took a careful step forward. “Hey sweetheart. Why don’t we go somewhere together? Hmm? We can get out of here, you and me. We can go anywhere you want but you have to…you have to calm down.”

[h2]Esme[\h2]
Esme’s white eyes didn’t waver as she gazed at him and watched him approach the door when he heard footsteps approaching. Clearly, he wouldn’t fight her if she attacked him. When Cason spoke, she shook her head. “No!” she growled harshly. She had no intention of leaving with him now that she felt she had nothing to return to. Everyone in their little group had someone but her. She also felt like the ticking time bomb of the group. She never knew when her emotions would get the better of her and she would lose control. Esme planned to use the oil lamp in the corner of the room to aid her in burning down the damn place. Esme’s eyes darted to Dean when he came through the door with Ruby’s knife clutched tightly in his fist. She knew he would try to talk her down even before he spoke to her. She didn’t want to be talked down. Esme just wanted it all to end. She didn’t want to feel the pain of loss again, and she didn’t want to look upon Duke’s truck without him in or near it. It was just too hard to cope with now.

At Dean’s words, Esme shook her head. “No, Dean!” she said harshly. “I can’t leave this place until it is burned to ash! Even then I can’t go with you! I know I promised you I’d stay after that night we all had with Cupid, but I can’t anymore!” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked at Dean. Her hands balled into fists, her nails digging so deep into her palms they bled. Taking a deep breath, she briefly looked over at Cason and then back at Dean, her body shaking from everything she felt coursing through her. “As much as I still care for you, I can't stay. There's nothing for me here now that he’s…… gone!…… He’s gone, Dean! And there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening!” Esme’s growl had nearly turned into a scream as she let every emotional word pour from her. She brought a fist to her burning chest and the other to her aching head. She was getting close to going nuclear. Strangely, she welcomed it. Maybe the blast would cause this hellhole to crumble. If that happened, no one would have to worry about this place anymore.

Esme whimpered as the pain in her head and chest intensified. She was at the point where she didn't care if she went nuclear as long as everyone got out. She didn't even care if she got caught in the building when it crumbled. “You need to get out of here, now!” she warned them in a pain-filled voice. “Hurry!”

NATALIA

Dean half heartedly scolding her about her complaining wasn't exactly surprising. He always took I juries slightly better than she did, but this felt so different to her. She almost died in this hellhole, and was practically ready to accept it if Cason hadn't shown up and pulled her out of the water at that exact moment he did. Every single tiny movement or jolt that went through to her broken shoulder felt like a train was going over it, the pain was beyond anything she had ever felt before. Then the slashes being pressed against Dean's back as she rested on his back just made those hurt also, not to mention her face hurting as the swelling came close to her eye but not quite enough to make her eye swell shut. "...right..." She finally replied, even though this was far more than a little bit of pain.

If it wasn't for the pain however, she would have just let herself close her eyes and pass out on his back right there and then. She still didn't like the idea of Cason still being in the building somewhere, she almost lost him once, she couldn't bare to loose him properly again. So she was putting her full trust in Dean telling the truth to go back for him. At the comment to her burning the building down, she couldn't help but attempt to smirk even though it made her wince. Her boyfriend. He actually used those words about Cason and she never even thought about using that word herself yet. Could Dean really be trying to make an effort when it came to whatever it was her and Cason had going on right? It seemed almost like a dream.

Outside she winced and hissed as he let her down by the impala, making sure the car was the very thing propping her up. Her one good arm lifting up and to try and hold her bad one, before deciding itd be better to use it to hold onto the impala. She didn't know in her half dazed manner if the hellhounds were even still around the three of them or not, she didn't bother to care either way. She just wanted to have Cason back and to leave and never see this place again. She lightly nodded at his words as he told her he was going back for Cason, "okay...thank you Dean...." She told him honestly. She remembered how callously she spoke to him near the barn, especially as Dean had pressed all the wrong buttons by instantly accusing Cason of betraying them. It seemed he was genuinely trying to make up for that and she respected him for it.

She looked down, not wanting to look at the building as Dean then kissed Mika's forehead. All she heard was Mika speaking back before Dean was running back into the building.

MIKA

Nat's complaining and Dean's response really showed what complete siblings they were. They may still only be half siblings but they were so alike, she figured Natalia may as well have been Mary's kid as well as John's. it was these kind of moments that made her see just how similar the two of them were and why they probably butted heads so often. Yet she wouldn't change Natalia for the world, no matter how fiery her temper could get at times or her questionable choice in men. Then again, there was a time when her own family thought she had a questionable choice in men when it came to Dean. So was she to truly judge? Even if Cason was quite a bit further up that meter than Dean.

She watched for their surroundings and the two of them as Natalia got let down, her stepping forward ever so slightly but enough to give Dean space to make sure Nat was stable enough on her own two feet. It was when she was actually standing that Mika saw just the full extent of her injuries and that wasn't even taking into account her earlier head injury. Looking up at Dean when he turned to her, she closed her eyes at the kiss to her forehead before opening them to look at him as he spoke. She gripped his jacket as they changed words and looks, "I got her, no one is getting to her whilst I'm still breathing. Go get Cason. And stay safe, I love you" she told him, just wanting him to come back to her as much as Nat wanted Cason to come back to her.

She sighed as she watched Dean run back into the building, whilst she stood beside Natalia, being close enough that if Nat needed to, she could use her body as another pillar to lean against. "They'll both come back....right?" Nat asked her, glancing over to Mika and making Mika look at her. "Of course they will. They're both too stubborn to not come back. If Dean says he's getting Cason out of there, then that's exactly he'll accomplish to do. Just like he did with you." She explained, lifting her hand up and carefully brushing Natalia's wet hair back off her shoulder. "Really?" Nat queried, still finding it surprising that Dean would drop everything to find her when Duke was missing. The demons really had gotten into her head when they said Dean didn't care about her. "Really. We all got Duke into the hospital and seen to but the moment he came out he was terrified he had lost you, he didn't even tell Sam we were coming after you because he just wanted to get you back as soon as. He does love you sweetheart. He truly does, even if his way of expressing love is unconventional. But he adores you and he's terrified of letting you down like your dad did. He feels so much pressure on wanting to right John's wrongs even if he doesn't say it- I can tell." Mika explained to her, not wanting to hide anything from Natalia, except for the fact Dean did leave Cason to die initially.

Nat tried to not cry, but salty tears still stung her face as they escaped her eyes and ran down her face, letting herself lean into Mika's side. Mika I stably wrapped her arm round her, kissing the top aide of her head. "We all love you sweetheart. So whatever those demons said or did to you, it's not true. You're always going to be a solid part of this family and we'll never leave you behind" she reiterated once more.

SAM

Sam never wanted her to see him cry the way he was as he didn't want her thinking he was emotionally playing her, but he couldn't stop the tears from coming. He loved her so so much and he couldn't shake the guilt of hurting her off. He just wanted to keep her safe and it felt like everything he ended up doing to ensure that, he made the wrong decision to make it happen. He continued to look at her as she didn't look at him, just listened to him say he wouldn't ever leave her like he reluctantly left Cason.

When she finally spoke up and said she believes him, he only then realised he was holding a breath as he exhaled with relief. He knew that wasn't going to be the end of this and that he still had a lot to prove to her, but it was a start and that's all he could ask for right now. He let her speak, get everything she was thinking out in the air, he owed her that much.

He was also relieved when she said she did still in fact love him, but everything that was happening was getting too much for her to handle. "I am so sorry so much has been dumped onto your shoulders. I wish with every fibre of my being that I could rip all of this crap off your shoulders and let you have a normal life. But I am so determined to not have you lose me too. I'm sticking by your side until the very end and if that means I take hits aimed at you to keep you safe then so be it, but I'm not going to go getting myself killed either because I don't wanna lose you just as much. You're my world Anna....now I've got you back in my life I don't want you to exit it.

I have never loved anyone like I've loved you. You are my world and if you're not around then that world is gone. I can't take any of this prophecy crap either, I wanna defy every single ounce of it. But you go down, then I'm going down with you. Not in spite of you, not instead of you, but with you and ONLY with you" he told her.

Anna sighed, scrunching her nose to try to quell the tears as Sam said everything she could possibly want to hear. He was in the same boat with Hell that she was. He was chased by the same brand of demon that she was. His fate was basically written for him, and ended the same way as hers. As he finished, Anna’s breath caught in her throat and she wasn’t even sure she could get it back if she tried.

“You go down, then I’m going down with you.”

The words echoed in her mind a few times as she stared at him. She didn’t want him to die with her. She didn’t want him to die at all. She just wanted him to be safe, and to not blindly follow his brother but the idea that he would be careful if it meant making her comfortable made her heart flutter, her heartbeat breaking contact with his, which was rare when they were together.

Not only had he just admitted that he refused to live without her, and fully planned to ‘blaze of glory’ things to die with her, but he also admitted that she was the love of his life. That was something that seemed so petty in the moment, but to Anna…it was overwhelmingly open for Sam. It was the most open he had ever been with her.

Taking a deep breath, Anna unfolded her legs, her brain trying to decide how to handle the rage of emotions in her mind. Every part of her wanted to run away, just open the door and run. But a small part of her mind kept her in place, stuck. Maybe it was their hearts which were hammering in unison, or the demon blood calling to the demon blood in his veins. She couldn’t place it.

After a moment of thinking it over, she moved onto her knees and her hands came up to brush through the hair behind both his ears, a gesture that had always comforted her when they slept together, quieting the images and voices in both their minds. She clenched his hair in both hands, and pressed her forehead to his tightly, “I’m with you.”



Dean flinched, having to force himself to keep his eyes open at Esme’s sudden outburst toward him. He nodded at her proposal to burn the asylum down. He was more than happy to let her, but her next words struck him a bit. Why couldn’t she go with him? What had he done that was so bad she couldn’t come home with him? Even when they weren’t together, off and on all those years ago, there wasn’t a single moment that she wouldn’t have followed him out of this room.

And then it came.

Duke was dead. He had died in the hospital and none of them knew, except Esme, who had stayed with him. Cason turned his eyes down to the floor and Dean shook his head in disbelief, his eyes filling with tears as she stared at Esme. Everything inside of him wanted to scream, or kill something, or go and try to make a deal for the one person in this world that deserved a chance. Duke deserved a chance to be happy, and for a moment he was. He and Esme both were. But that moment was over, and Dean’s heart shattered in that moment.

“Esme…” Dean started, but Esme’s voice grew louder as she continued the ascent into exploding. He watched her, his breathing uneven as the tears took over his eyes and began to fall down his face. He would save her, if he had to go down with her.

When she warned them to leave, Cason recognized what was happening immediately, and he nodded, grabbing Dean’s arm to pull him through the door. “Let’s go. Dean let’s go.”

“NO! You go. You take care of my sister. You get Mika out of here. You go.” Dean ordered Cason, shoving him toward the door. Cason stared at him with wide eyes, astounded and in disbelief. Cason grabbed the collar of Dean’s jacket, trying one more time to convince him to come with him and when Dean turned and made eye contact with him, his eyes flooded in tears, Cason sighed and disappeared.

Dean instantly ran over to Esme, reaching back to shove Ruby’s knife in the back of his jeans. He then stepped up to her, ignoring the heat that was radiating off her skin. If he burned, he burned, but he wasn’t letting her die alone.

“Please…” Dean begged her, raising his shaky hands to place them on her nearly fire hot cheeks so that he could try and get through to her. His first instinct was to pull his hands back, the second he felt the heat, but he refused. “Please come with me. Please. I’m not leaving here without you. If you jump…I jump. Remember that? I still believe that. I still believe that, Esme. You can burn this place down. You can blow it to pieces…but not like this. I will help you burn it down. I will light the fire myself.”

Dean closed his eyes tightly and looked down, a little more afraid than he would let on. He was probably about to die in this place, which seemed poetic, considering Natalia’s history there. Taking a deep breath, Dean whimpered quietly, a tear trailing down his cheek, “Just please come with me. Don’t jump…If you can’t do it for me, do it for Duke. He wouldn’t want us to go out this way.”



Cason landed in front of the Impala, without Dean. He knew what that meant and he knew what was coming next. He instantly stomped toward Mika, no emotion on his face as he wrapped an arm around her and pushed her back toward the car. “Get in the car.”

His words were simple, but told everything. Dean wasn’t coming with him. Chances were, Dean was going to die in the asylum, being the self sacrificing idiot he tended to be. But he had made a promise to Dean, and he had made a promise to Nat a long time ago. Both these girls were leaving with him.

“Get in the car. Nat, get in the car.” Cason repeated, opening the backseat of the car for them both to get inside. He turned back to Mika and grabbed her wrist. “I will break your legs if I have to but you have to get in the car!”

He stood next to the Impala, waiting for the girls to follow orders, which he was expecting a massive fight with. Glancing up at the asylum windows, he saw the glow from the room he had just escaped, and a pang of regret flooded the back of his head, the human emotion burning like acid. There was no way that the wayward group would survive losing Dean Winchester…as much as he wanted to murder the guy.

NATALIA AND MIKA

Mika's words to her took her by surprise. She would have opened her eyes wide if it didn't hurt so much, but instead she remained wrapped protectively in Mika's arms. Her words repeating constantly in her head as she forced what the demons told her out and let Mika's words take their place.

Waiting outside she was getting anxious about how long Dean was taking getting Cason. She and Mika both were noticing how he was taking far too long and if they didn't leave soon, they'd have another ambush on their hands. Yet neither of them wanted to leave without either man. "come on Dean....." Mika could t help but remark, gently rubbing Natalia's good shoulder, in a way to show protection and in another way to keep her warm. The poor girl was still soaked through and it wouldn't be long before a chill set in. Then came Cason appearing in front of them but without Dean.

"Where's Dean?" Mika asked as she stepped closer to him, but her question got completely ignored as Cason ordered them to get into the car as he wrapped an arm round her and pra finally pushed her back toward Baby. She shrugged out of his grip, "not until you tell me where Dean is!" She ordered, trying to remain calm but it was getting difficult to do so. She watched as Cason told Nat to get in, opening the backseat for them to get in. Nat cautiously did as she was told, not strong enough to fight him on the subject. Mika however refused to get in, even yanking herself out of Cason's grip once again. "I am not getting in the damn car until you tell me where Dean is!!" She snapped, her arm pointing towards the building. "We're not leaving without him, do you hear me?! I've lost him once, I'm not doing it aga--" she began to say to him when there was a strong light brightening up the windows on a top floor.

She knew what that was, she went wide eyed, tears starting to appear but not yet falling. "DEAN!!!!" she screamed, wanting to run after him, get him, try and prove he wasn't what she thought he was.....dead. Yet as she began to step to make a run towards the building, her legs just crumbled beneath her, dropping her to her knees. "Please no!" She screamed, the tears now falling down her face. This isn't how it was meant to be, he was meant to be the one to survive all this. He was meant to be seeing to Nat, tending to her, being a brother he wanted to be to her. Being a brother to Sam. He can't be dead... He just can't be. Especially not going out with Esme! Her heart felt like it got ripped out of her chest and stomped on with both feet. She couldn't do this grief again.....if she loses Dean yet again she couldn't come back from that grief.

"I can't do this again....." She cried, this time somehow feeling so much worse than before. She clutched her fists on the gravel ground, praying for someone or something to give her hope and give her back Dean. "I refuse to accept him dying...I refuse!" She almost screamed up at the sky as if some higher being would hear her.

Nat found herself watching everything from the car window, in disbelief at what she just witnessed. "Dean please....walk out of that building alive...I'm begging you. I haven't even told you I love you too brother" she whispered.

SAM

He didn't even think about how much of a big deal it was for him to admit as much as he did. He just knew that he HAD to, he had to let her know exactly what he was thinking and nothing else mattered in this moment. If Sam didn't say what was on his mind now then he would probably close it all up in his mind once more and let it bubble up until he couldn't take it anymore. He knew it made him a hypocrite as he always complained when Dean bottled everything up, but he did the exact same thing to a certain degree.

If he wanted to keep Anna, and prove to her he was serious when it came to her and acknowledging her feelings? Then he had to be more open and honest with her, as she was with him. It broke his heart just thinking about how much of a strain this whole prophecy stuff was taking on Anna and he realised in this truck, that he barely ever asked her about it to share that fear and stress.

He continued to give her space, at least, as much as the truck would allow him to as she contemplated and thought about he said to her. It was a lot he acknowledged. He went on a long ramble of emotions but he knew he couldn't stop until it was all spoken out loud. He watched her every move, seeing her unfold her legs and think about it all. He was terrified she was going to run even though she always promised him she wouldn't do that again. He felt a level of anxiety he never felt before, it made his own hands begin to shake a bit until he witnessed her get closer and sweep her hands through his hair, as she always did to calm her.

He closed his eyes, taking in the soft and calming action before he slowly opened them to find her forehead upon his and her simple words spoken to him. Those three words meaning more to him than any other three worded sentence could in that moment. He kept his forehead on hers but lifted his head enough to make his nose touch hers. "thank you....." He simply replied.

As soon as the words about Duke left her mouth, she felt how hard they hit Dean. She wanted to be the one to tell him first, but not like this. Not in this state. Not when she was about to blow and take out the whole place with her. She clutched her head more, watching Dean and Cason trying to get each other out, with Dean refusing to go. “Get out of here!” she yelled at them, not even sure they were listening. Suddenly, Cason disappeared, and Dean ran up to her, causing her to step back. She didn’t want to hurt him more than she already had with her words. She also didn't want him to get caught up in the rubble after she went nuclear. But Dean quickly closed the gap and placed his shaky hands on her cheeks as he begged. As he spoke, she took in his words. They stirred up the memory of the first time he told her he would also jump if she jumped. More tears streamed down her cheeks, and a glow started to take over her body. It also tore her up seeing him begging her to go with him.

When Dean closed his eyes and looked down, Esme pulled her face from his hands, walked past him, and stood in the center of the room, clutching her head with both hands with a whimper. “I remember,” she replied with a tear-filled voice. She then turned around to face him once more. “I remember the first time you told me that, and every other time we said it to each other... when we were in desperate situations.” She fell silent except for the whimper that escaped her from the pain engulfing her, and the glow of her body grew steadily brighter. She heard his whimper and saw the tear trailing down his cheek. She didn’t want to take him with her. She didn’t want to take him away from the others. They needed him. Esme doubled over with a cry, closing her eyes tight and holding herself as the next wave of intense pain, just as Dean spoke again. She looked over at Dean, her eyes returning to normal. “I know he wouldn’t.” she cried. She then collapsed to her knees, muffling a scream. “That’s why you have to leave now…… You have Mika….. Natalia and Sam…. They need you.”

She breathed heavily as she looked over at him through blurring vision. “I’m not jumping because I want to…… I can’t stop it….. I’m not strong enough.” she cried to him. The glow around her got brighter, almost blinding. “You still have time to get out….. If you go now.” Esme leaned forward with a cry, trying to hold it back longer to give him a chance to run for it, but something told her he wouldn’t. “I love you….. Dean….. Please…. Don’t jump with me.” She knew she couldn’t hold it back much longer and was terrified of the blast's strength. She was afraid of dying alone but didn’t want Dean to die with her. She hated the thought of him dying because of something she did. Her soul would never find peace after that. Esme reached the point where she couldn’t hold it back any longer. She took a deep breath as her body reacted on its own. Her glow intensified, filling the room. Her torso lifted and arched back, her face lifted to the ceiling, and then a gut-wrenching scream erupted from her throat, followed by a strong blast of energy that shot out in all directions.

The walls of the asylum shook and cracked from the force of the blast, then started to crumble slowly. When everything passed through her, Esme took a shaky breath as her body rocked forward on its own accord, she couldn’t hear anything but ringing in her ears, she couldn’t see, and she was numb all over, but she knew the building was going to come down around her and on her. She didn’t know if Dean got out or not, but she prayed he did. Esme sat on her knees shaking and breathing heavily. She couldn’t move, and her body felt made of lead. Esme closed her eyes and waited for everything to end for her. Unbeknownst to Esme, Sarah and Violet stayed behind after Cason left, watching over Esme. They had braced themselves during the blast. At the first signs of the place coming down, they ran over to her and tried to get her to move. When she didn’t respond, they stepped closer and used their bodies as shields from the crumbling walls and ceiling. Not long after that, the whole building crumbled into a heap of rubble around them, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

A little later, Esme opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness, but she could smell the dust in the air from the building collapsing. She coughed and winced at the pain she felt. She wondered if she was dead, but that was soon answered when she saw Sarah’s eyes shining in the darkness. “How am I still alive?” she whispered from the lack of a voice. She still couldn’t move, her body was still numb, and there was still a ringing in her ears. She was trapped under the rubble. There was no reason she should be alive except for Sarah shielding her, but she knew there was no way she was getting out from under it.

Anna almost smiled as Sam seemed to breathe in her actions. He always seemed to calm along with her as long as she was playing with his hair and holding him close. Their heartbeats syncing could be stressful at time, because there was never any warning for which of them was going to be ‘the one’. So, if either of them was particularly stressed, there was a chance the other would feel every bit of it.

As Sam’s nose nudged hers, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to keep herself under control, being this close to him. She had to restrain the urges to just let everything go, kiss him, and make up. Her proclamation of sticking around wasn’t the end of this. It was just the beginning. She wouldn’t run, but she couldn’t promise that things would just go back to normal.

“How horrible is it that this is the closest I’ve felt to you?” Anna spoke, her right thumb brushing over his ear as she opened her eyes and stared into his. She knew her skin was burning hot and that she was probably in for a rough few days of detox, but she was going to ride her current high until it faded. And she didn’t want to send him mixed signals, “All this time, and in the one moment I can’t kiss you…I really want to.”



Cason glanced back at Nat as she willingly got in the car, causing him to sigh with relief, but Mika was beginning to raise her voice as the reality of what was happening was setting in. As she saw the light, and Cason recognized the cry of anguish and the motion of her feet to run into the building, he stepped forward. He reached for her, right as she fell to the ground and he groaned.

He felt like the odd man out in this situation. He couldn’t empathize with Mika at all. He didn’t care if Dean lived or died. All he cared about was that Nat was safe, and that he could pick up her pieces after this was all over. He stomped over to Mika, and wrapped his hand around her upper arm, dragging her to her feet as she cried.

“Come on. We have to go. You can hate me. You can cut my head off. You can do whatever you feel like you need to do later on, but you have to come with me. NOW!” He shouted, wrapping both his arms around her in a mixture of control over her body and an actual hug to attempt some sort of human comfort. He dragged her back toward the car, and turned her to him, wrapping his arms around her again in a tight hug. “He wouldn’t want you to fall apart and get yourself killed. Get in the car.”

Cason opened the back door, gesturing for Natalia to scoot aside, and then he roughly shoved Mika into the seat, just as Castiel appeared next to the car. With the wave of his hand, the Impala roared to life with no keys, and drove itself with a squall of the tires, straight backward, all the way into the field adjacent to the asylum.

As the car rolled to a stop, Cason stared out the window as the entire asylum crashed to the ground in a massive pile of rubble and dust. His eyes were saucers as he turned slowly and stared through the windshield.

There was no way Esme and Dean survived that.


Dean watched Esme walk away from him, his heart racing as the light within her grew brighter with every anguished scream. Every time she told him to leave, he shook his head and tried to yell over the sound of the rumbling beneath his feet, “NO! I’m not leaving. I’m not leaving you here!”

As she professed her love, something he hadn’t heard from her mouth in what felt like forever, his stomach lurched and he looked toward the window. He realized this was the point of no return. He could jump out the window, break a few bones and survive this. But his mind wouldn’t let him run for it. He turned back toward Esme, shielding his eyes from the light as she began to erupt. He ran over to her, and wrapped his arms around her as tight as he possibly could. He placed a hand on the back of her head, pressing his chin into her shoulder as she screamed, piercing his ears and the light engulfed both of them. “I’ve got you. It’s okay. It’s okay, Esme.”

A little later, Castiel walked over the rubble, his face blunt and unmoved as he searched for any sign of life. He glanced around, and after a few moments of kicking at stone and glass, he saw a hand hanging out of the rubble. He recognized the ring instantly, and began moving the heavy stones away from Dean’s body, until he completely uncovered him.

“I found him.” Castiel barked toward the Impala, not really caring if anyone heard him. He tilted his head to the side, squinting as he pushed a foot forward and kicked a piece of rubble next to Dean’s head, uncovering part of Esme’s shoulder. Two of the Hellhounds were alerted to things moving around and unburied themselves, shaking dust and pebbles from their invisible fur as they fluffed up. They stepped over the rubble, but had uncovered the majority of Esme’s upper body.

“Dean. Hey…Dean.” Castiel called to Dean, uncovering the rest of his body. When Dean didn’t respond to him, he sighed, and looked around for a moment, watching the Hellhounds pacing around on their way back to the Impala to meet back up with Cason. He didn’t waste much more time, as he looked back down and noticed that Esme was awake. “Hey! Are you hurt?”

He leaned down and pushed some of the rubble aside, before lifting Esme onto her feet. He held onto her, and bent slightly to wrap his other hand around Dean’s wrist, dragging him over the rocks and rubble with full plans to fix whatever was broken once he got him safe.

Castiel approached the Impala, still mostly carrying Esme and dragging Dean as Cason quickly jumped out of the car and ran over, hesitantly wrapping an arm around Esme’s back to help her stand. He walked her over to the drivers seat of the Impala and eased her down, holding a hand out, “Are you alright? I mean…physically? What about him? Is he alive?”

As Cason turned to Castiel, Castiel shrugged and tilted his head, “Yes. More or less. He has several broken bones, and his brain seems to be bleeding. I was hoping he would wake up on his own.”

Without another word, Castiel squatted next to Dean and pressed his fingers to his forehead, causing Dean to awaken with a loud gasp. He sat straight up, feeling around him for Esme. “Esme?!”

NATALIA AND MIKA

Seeing the building coming close to coming down was cathartic for Natalia but that sense of closure was completely overtaken by knowing Dean was still inside and Mika was out here screaming her lungs out for Dean to come back to her alive. The tears that streamed down her face not only for herself but for Mika was great, mixing in with the already soaking clothing and face she had.

Mika refused to leave from her spot, she couldn't. Her whole world was crumbling quite literally in front of her and she couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. Then Cason grabbed her and dragged her up onto her feet to get her to the car, making her fight him to get out of his grip. "no!!" She cried, but no fight in her could beat Cason off of her. So when he just hugged her, she froze, sobbed and thumped him before just accepting what she had seen. "I can't lose him.....I can't...." She sobbed into Cason's chest until with Nat's help, he threw her into the backseat of the impala. Natalia wanted nothing more than to hug her but she just couldn't in her state.

Then Cas came out of nowhere, making Nat look out the window and wondering why he only appeared now and not before it got this bad. She watched Cason eventually get in the car as Cas just walked up to the building. Nothing good could come out of this in either of the girls' minds but both hoped that Cas could at least do something. He was like a guardian or something to Dean in Nat's mins after all. They both stared at the front of the car as it roared to life and Cas made it drive them backwards towards the field nearby, Mika still in fight or flight mode and wanting to just break out of the car and go chasing after Cas.

Yet the car stopped and after trying to lock by stretching over the front seat, she found they were locked in for the time being to keep them safe. Nat reached out and put a hand on Mika's back which made Mika flinch out of her touch. Sighing, it was clear that Mika didn't want anyone touching her unless it was Dean. The biggest flinch came from both her and Mika however when the whole building came crashing down. Nat instantly put a hand up to her mouth in shock, whilst Mika just stared motionless. "please no....." Natalia thought to herself, not knowing how any of them were going to bring able to console Mika if Dean comes out dead.

Then it happened....Cas walked to the impala beside Esme whilst dragging Dean like he was just a sack of potatoes. Both girls let Cason get out first and watched on, neither still being able to move out of shock that Esme was even walking on her own two feet, but Dean wasn't. From the back seat they watched as Cason and Castile exchanged a few words but Castile knelt down and healed Dean. But what broke Mika's heart for a split second was hearing Dean cry out Esme's name the moment he came to. If she wasn't so distraught at nearly losing him she would have known and accepted why, but in that moment of distress and heightened emotions, she couldn't figure it out. She quickly tried to use the lever to move the front seats forward to no avail, so she just kicked it forward and clambered out haphazardly.

Almost falling out of the car, she scrambled over to Dean, skidding to the ground in front of him and instantly looked him over. "Oh my god, I thought you were dead!" She cried, throwing herself onto him in a tight hug. "don't ever scare me like that again!!" She scolded him.

Nat slowly got out of the car, being more careful than Mika was, getting onto her feet but leaning against the car for support. "I'm glad you're both alive" she said in a much less frantic manner than Mika was talking. A part of her also felt a twang of jealousy that Dean had someone who could just heal him up with a single touch when she figured she would have to heal the normal human way. She looked down at her feet on the ground trying to take everything in, feeling rather secluded for whatever reason unknown to her. She also felt a slight twang of guilt that they all almost died because they had to come after her.

"Maybe it would have been safer not coming after me..." She mumbled to herself under her breath.

SAM

Anna calmed him as he calmed her. As much as he wanted to kiss her himself, he knew he couldn't just dive into this situation head first and scare her off. She had just reassured him she wasn't going to run and after all that, he didn't want to ruin it.

He focused on stopping the tests as they just sat there head to head, nose to nose, taking in the fact she was still willing to be this close to him. Her touch was hot to feel but he didn't flinch or move. There was something strangely calming about the heat radiating off of her hands. At the moment, every minute that she wasn't pulling away from him was a minute well cherished and one that he knew he had hold onto so tightly. He loved her. He had to make this right and if that meant grovelling or proving himself in more ways as time went on, he'd do it. She was worth it. Prophecy or not.

His thoughts dissipated in his mind when she finally spoke up, looking at her whilst they remained close. "it is horrible...but it's also...not. If that even makes sense? I know I've been a crap boyfriend to you and protector....tonight has opened my eyes so much to what I've not been doing to make you see you can trust me...." He told her. He never thought she would want to kiss him whilst emotions were still high over the night's events, so her admitting she did want to, even though she can't? It felt like another step in the right direction.

He lifted his head away from and kissed her forehead before looking her in the eyes once more. "I'm gonna be here whenever you feel you can...." He simply said.

As Esme lay under the rubble, she could feel her body growing less numb, and the ringing in her ears was subsiding. She still couldn’t believe she was alive, even after seeing Sarah was there with her. Did she shield her from everything collapsing around her? She must have if she was awake. “You’re a good girl, Sarah.” Esme whispered after the ringing stopped. Sarah nuzzled Esme’s face with a soft whine. “I’m sorry you felt you had to save me from this. You can go. It’s okay.” Sarah softly growled and put her nose on Esme’s cheek. “Okay. Okay. Stay.” Esme whispered. Esme went quiet. She could hear breathing, but it wasn’t her’s or Sarah’s. “Violet?” she questioned. She received an answering whine. “Good girl.” She could hear the breathing of other Hellhounds, along with one more. Her eyes went wide as she realized who the breathing belonged to. “Dean?!” She tried to yell, but her throat was too sore. “Dean, are you okay? Please answer me!” she strained her voice to get loud enough for him to hear her. He didn’t answer or move. She could then feel that he was next to her. The numbness had subsided.

“Dean must have run over just before I erupted.” she thought. “Dean, you idiot. Why didn’t you leave? For once, why could you leave me?” she whispered. “Don’t you dare die on them.” She closed her eyes as tears fell from them and cried softly from the emotion overload she was finally free from. She was shaking, hurt all over, couldn’t move, knew she was bleeding, and she couldn’t yell for help for Dean. She soon heard movement in the rubble. They were looking for them. “Hang on, Dean. They're coming.” she whispered to him. Esme listened as the sounds got closer, then lightly smiled as she heard Dean being uncovered. “They found him.” she thought with relief. Her smile faded when she heard the unfamiliar voice. “Who the hell was that?’ She was pulled from her thoughts when two of the other Hellhounds unburied themselves from the rubble and uncovered most of her upper body. Sarah didn’t move except to keep rubble from falling in Esme’s face. When Sarah moved her head, Esme’s eyes fell on Castiel as he called out to Dean, who still wasn’t responding. She took in Castiel's appearance. Was this the angle Dean spoke of?

He then asked the stupidest question she thought he could ask. Just looking at her, he could see she was. She wanted to be sarcastic, but this wasn’t the time for that. “Yes, but Dean’s worse off than me. Help him.” she said her voice still in a whisper. When he lifted her to her feet, she couldn’t hold back the cry of pain that escaped her lips. A whimper escaped her as he bent down and took hold of Dean’s wrist. The walk to the Impala was hell, even though Castiel was mostly carrying her. Esme’s eyes fell on Cason as he ran over to her. She watched how hesitantly he wrapped his arm around her, which caused her to muffle a cry at his touch. As Cason eased her into the driver's seat of the Impala, she took hold of his hand and squeezed as she whimpered in pain. At his question, she sighed heavily and leaned against the seat. “I’ve been better.” she breathed, releasing her grip on his hand. Her gaze then went to Dean as Castiel spoke, answering Cason. Before Castiel could finish answering, Esme yelled at him, straining her throat more and causing her to wince. “Shut up and heal him!”

Esme’s eyes followed Castiel’s movements, then fell to Dean Esme’s eyes followed Castiel’s movements, then fell to Dean as he woke up with a loud gasp. She sighed in relief seeing him awake, but she frowned when she saw him feeling around her and heard him call for her. “I’m here, Dean. I’m here.” she called, just loud enough for him to hear her. Suddenly, the seat lurched from Mika, who kicked it to get out of the car. Esme groaned as pain shot through her. She watched Mika run over to Dean and skidded on the ground beside him. Mika spoke her fear and hugged him. It was a side of Mika she had never seen before, and she wasn’t sure if she’d see it again. It was definitely something for her to see in Mika. She could hear her thoughts screaming, “She really does have a softer side.” Esme then rested her head on the seat and closed her eyes tightly. Her shaky still hadn’t subsided, and it wasn’t helping with the pain shooting through her body. Sarah came over and laid protectively close to Esme’s feet. “I’m so……. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” she whispered, not expecting anyone to hear her. Thoughts began to invade Esme’s mind as she sat in the Impala.

Valdin’s words kept echoing in her mind, and she couldn’t help but think, could they be true? Was she really only here because of a damn demon deal her mother unknowingly made? A tear rolled down her cheek, and she sighed through her nose. She would have to ask Cason later and see if he knew anything about it. Opening her eyes, she stared at a spot just past Sarah’s nose, wishing she had Duke’s arms around her and telling her everything would be alright and fussing over her injuries. Having him there would also help her stay awake. She was so tired but knew she had to keep herself awake because of a possible concussion. She then heard Natalia mumble to herself. “Don’t say that….. You know none of us could have left you in this hellhole.” she told her. “I know, just as you do, what that place was like….. We had to get you out. We all knew what we were going into, but it didn’t matter.”