[h2]Esme[/h2]
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.”