Esme (Duke and Dean Collab)
Esme barely listened to Cason as he questioned the news they just heard. But he did have a good question, seeing as it could be supernatural-related. Her mind didn't even go to the possibility of it being Duke, even if she wanted to refuse that he was really gone. Plus, none of them were fit to go and investigate the situation. Esme closed her eyes with a heavy sigh, and she could see Duke’s face with a smile so bright that it reached his blue eyes. The image made her heart hurt. She closed her eyes tighter and wiped away a tear on her cheek. “You didn't deserve to go out like that. I'm so sorry, Duke. I should have tried harder to keep you with us.” she told herself. Esme pulled her jacket tighter around herself as she hung onto the image of Duke. When Dean got into the Impala and started it, she opened her eyes, watching as they left the field and got into the highway. She was more than happy to leave this place behind and all the memories connected to it, but she knew those memories would be hard to forget, no matter how hard she tried.
But as soon as they got onto the highway, she was pulled from her thoughts of Duke by Cason pushing Dean’s buttons. “Really? You just couldn’t keep quiet?” she groaned quietly. As they bickered, Esme tried to tune them out, but it was proving difficult and getting irritating. This trip was long enough with all the tension build-up. They didn’t need Cason pushing Dean. By the time she had enough, Mika turned around and lectured Cason. Then everything went quiet. Her thoughts went blank as she stared out the window. After what felt like ages on the road, she saw the town come into view and a figure lit up by the Impala’s headlights. Esme watched the figure as they got closer, noticing they had blonde hair and were wearing an open flannel and a pair of jeans. When Dean spoke as they passed the man, Esme’s eyes widened in surprise. She knew that blonde hair. She knew those scars. “Duke?” she whispered, confused. She bolted up in the seat, ignoring the pain shooting through her body, and yelled at Dean, already reaching for the door handle to jump out. “Stop the car! Now!”
Dean flinched like he was shot when Esme suddenly lurched forward and yelled at him to pull over. He slammed on the breaks, reflexively and the Impala came to a screeching halt in the middle of the empty highway.
"What the hell?! Are you trying to get everyone killed?" He scolded her, turning his rearview mirror down to look back at her like an angry father.
Esme already had the door open before the Impala came to a complete stop. She looked at Dean briefly in the mirror, catching his look, but she said nothing back as she quickly scrambled out of the Impala. She didn’t care he was upset with her for yelling for him to stop. She had to know if that was really him or if her eyes were playing tricks on her because of her grief. If it really was him, could he possibly be a Zombie or possessed? She was told that he died. There’s no other way he could be up and walking unless he was a Zombie or possessed. She ran a few feet past the Impala's back end and stopped, staring at the man walking away in front of her. “Is that really you?” she asked herself, tears already welling up in her eyes. There was only one way for her to be sure, one thing she could call out that she knew he’d react to. “Jason!” she called out to him.
Dean sighed, watching Esme glance to him before jumping from the car like a maniac after the drunk guy. He turned and looked at Mika, slapping his hand on the steering wheel. He couldn't let her just get out on her own and go after some random guy in the shape she was in. He opened his door and stepped out after her, following her around the back of the car, but keeping some distance behind her.
Duke had stopped walking, staring at the back of the Impala blankly as it screeched to a stop. There was no way it was real. He was now seeing things. Whatever had brought him back was making him see things...
He squinted, trying to make out what he was seeing. Suddenly, Esme's voice rang out in the dark, a snappy call of his real name and his body flinched as if shocked by electricity. He winced as if he was scolded by a parent. Raising his hand, he covered the tail light of the Impala to see her better, but said nothing at first. She knew his name. She used his real name. It was like a jolt of lightning to his heart and let out an exasperated sigh.
"Esme?" He called to her, his voice hoarse and broken. "I-I don't know what I'm seein'..."
His southern drawl was almost thicker than ever with his confusion, and he sounded like a confused little boy. Dean gasped, his eyes saucers behind Esme as he heard that voice, Duke's scared voice. It was like heaven to his ears in that moment but he couldn't move, just staring at him, tempted to pull Esme back, in case it was a trick. "Duke?"
Esme had stepped forward when he stopped walking and turned to face them. As soon as he flinched and winced at his real name being used, she knew it was him. There was no doubt in her mind that it wasn’t him. He hated being called Jason and would get angry if anyone called him that. He always referred to it as his government name. Then he called out to her. His southern drawl coming in thicker than she ever heard was full of confusion and fear that it broke her heart to hear. Tears were now streaming down her cheeks. It took Dean’s voice behind her to get her to move from where she was rooted. She stepped away from Dean and then broke into a run toward Duke, almost slipping as she went. When she was close enough, she jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms and legs around him and burying her face into his neck. Esme couldn’t control her tears as she held onto him. “How?” she sobbed. “How are you here? I thought I lost you.”
Duke didn't know whether to walk toward Esme or to stay planted in case she thought he was some kind of monster. He wasn't even sure that he wasn't some kind of monster, if he was being honest with himself. His hand was beginning to shake as he held it in front of his face, and then suddenly, Esme broke into a run toward him.
He turned a bit, ready to run away from her, or at least brace himself for an attack, when she threw herself into his arms. With a loud groan, he caught her, his knees nearly buckling as he wrapped his arms around her to keep her from hitting the ground. He stared over her shoulder at Dean, who was still just standing there, watching them with wide teary eyes.
The questions Esme asked both made perfect sense and no sense at all, to Duke. Obviously, he had died, somehow. But he didn't have an answer as to how he was alive. He didn't feel like he was fresh from death, other than a sore throat and a few stitches. Duke brought a hand up to the back of Esme's neck, trying to provide her some type of comfort as he frowned and buried his face into her shoulder. The emotions of it all weren't hitting him, yet, other than fear. He was scared to death, and his heart was racing. He could feel it in his neck as it hammered away, "I don't know, babydoll. I don't even know if this is real..."
Esme clung to Duke, fearing that if she let go, he’d disappear right before her eyes. Feeling his hand rest on the back of her neck, his face on her shoulder, and his racing heart, she nuzzled her face into his neck. She knew he was scared. She could feel it. She was also scared. She feared this was some sort of sick joke the universe was playing on her, and once she thought she had him back, he’d be gone again. Then he called her by his nickname for her and confessed he didn't know if this was real. That tore at her heartstrings, and she cried more. She never thought she would hear him call her that again. She pulled her face from his neck, took his face in her hands, and looked into his fear-filled blue eyes with her own. She sniffled, then lifted a hand from his face to brush his hair from his face, then played with the hair at the back of his neck. “I know, my dear, sweet, bright-eyed cowboy.” she said softly. She leaned in and softly kissed his nose, wishing she could take away his fear and help him see this was real. Esme pulled back and lovingly ran her thumb over his cheek.
“After what you’ve been through today, it must seem like you’re in a dream. But I am here.” she told him. She softly kissed his cheek, then kissed his lips sweetly. After a moment, she broke the kiss and rested her forehead against his. “Come home with me, Bright Eyes?” she whispered as a tear slid down her cheek. “If this isn’t real, then what harm will it do?”
Duke wasn't sure what Esme was going to do as she pulled back from his shoulder and looked into his eyes, her hands on his cheeks like little slices of heaven. He was so relieved to feel the warmth of her skin against his, even if every part of him was telling him to pull away from her and keep walking. He hated seeing Esme cry. It wasn't anything he ever wanted to cause, and it wasn't making his emotions any more stable as his eyes welled up in tears, staring down at her with scared eyes.
As her hand began to move his hair around, he was reminded of how comforting the simple action always was, back even before she loved him. That alone was enough to send memories rushing in, behind his teary eyes. He closed his eyes, a couple of tears streaming down his cheeks as she kissed his nose, and then he sighed, taking in her words.
I'm here.He didn't shy away from her kiss, closing his eyes once again as he kissed her back, his own hand coming up to cradle her jaw as he allowed his shoulders to relax, just enough to try and enjoy kissing her in such an impossible moment. He sighed, slowly opening his eyes as she broke the kiss and asked him to come home with her, her nickname for him slipping off her lips like second nature. He nodded slowly, another tear slipping down his cheek.
"Okay. I-I think I can do that."
Esme smiled as she lifted her head from his, leaning her face slightly into his hand still on her jaw. His touch calming her. She was happy that he agreed to go with her. She didn't know what she would have done if he had refused. She lovingly brushed his tears from his cheeks and kissed his nose ever so gently. “Please don't cry, Bright Eyes. It’ll be okay.” she told him softly. She placed a soft kiss on each of his eyelids, then his cheek, before she unwrapped her legs from around him and placed her feet on the ground. Then, she let her arms slide from around his neck so her hands rested on his bare chest and looked up at him with a warm smile. She then turned slightly to look back at Dean, who was still standing by the Impala. She could just barely make out his face from the taillights, but she saw his tears as he looked at her and Duke. Esme then turned back to Duke, took his hand in hers, and squeezed it as she brought it to her lips and kissed his fingers. “Come on. Let’s get you out of the cool night air.” She then lifted his arm and draped it over her shoulders, then wrapped her arm around his waist, pulling him close to her before pulling him towards Dean and the Impala.
Duke breathed another sharp sigh of relief as Esme brushed his tears, and spoke his nickname once again. It almost felt too good to be true, to hear it again. He closed his eyes, not flinching away from the kisses to his eyelids and his cheek. If it was a dream, or fake, or whatever it was...It had to be a good thing, right?
As Esme lowered herself to the ground, he held onto her a bit tighter, until he knew she was steady on her feet. He reached up and wrapped his fingers around one of her hands on his chest as she turned to look at Dean, following her eyes to another face he never thought he would see again. He nodded his head, and Dean nodded back, wiping a hand down his face before turning to walk back to the drivers side of the Impala. Dean opened the door, looking back at them briefly with a sigh, and then leaned in.
"One of you climb up front." Dean barked to Cason and Nat in the backseat.
Duke looked back down at Esme, squeezing her hand tightly as she brought it to her lips and kissed his fingers. He simply nodded at her, barely even realizing that part of the numbness in his body was due to him being cold. He leaned his head to the side as she draped his arm over her shoulder, and he kissed her hair, a simple gesture to try and prove to himself that he was indeed touching her as they walked back to the car.
Esme smiled when Duke kissed her hair, then she held him tighter. She wanted to let him know that she was really there and not some dream or illusion. She walked back to the Impala slowly for him and also for herself as she could feel her pain returning. She was also starting to feel the cold settling in despite wearing a jacket. But she didn’t care about herself at that moment. Her focus was on getting Duke in the car, warmed up, and giving him a good looking over. Then, later, figure out how he was even alive. Everything in her screamed that he shouldn’t be at her side while she helped him walk to the Impala. He had died in the hospital. She couldn’t think of any explanation that could explain how he was there. When things settled down, maybe she could ask Bobby to help her find the answer because this confused the hell out of her. As far as she knew, none of them made a deal to bring him back, and she surely couldn’t see the angels stepping in to bring him back. She shook the thoughts from her mind and focused back on Duke and getting him to the car. “Almost there.” she said softly to him after a bit of time had passed.
Once they reached the Impala, she looked up at him and smiled warmly, but she didn’t let him go. Even though he had agreed to come with her, part of her was still afraid he’d run as soon as she let him go. She then looked at everyone sitting inside, wondering how they were going to do this, someone was going to have to move up front, and she knew Cason would have a problem being moved away from Natalia. Esme then looked back up at Duke, studying his face for a moment. “You doing alright?” she asked in a concerned tone.
As Duke and Esme reached the Impala, Duke stilled a bit, his eyes fixed in position as he zoned out and stared off into space over the top of the car. He barely even noticed the shuffling happening inside the car, as Cason quickly found a solution to keep Nat near him, and lifted her up, scooting underneath her. Cason sat Nat down, across his lap, and held his hands up to Dean who glared at him for a moment and then sighed, rolling his eyes. Dean simply got into the car, and sighed again, "I work with children. We just found Duke, walking half naked down the side of the road, and the biggest issue the demon in my backseat has is possibly touching skin with one of us..."
Duke glanced down at Esme, flinching from his thoughts a bit as she asked if he was doing okay. He nodded quickly, pasting a sweet smile to his face, "I'm good. For now, I'm good."
"So, there's room." Cason called to them, gesturing his hand for the newly empty seat beside him. "I'll take the cowboy!"
Duke nearly laughed as Cason volunteered him to sit in the middle. He had no idea why Cason was suddenly so weary of Esme. Despite the obvious background Cason and Esme had, Cason had never seemed particularly scared of her. Duke bent down, hissing a bit as his stitches pulled in his cold skin, and he opened the drivers back door letting go of Esme only to crawl in. It was awkward, sitting knee to knee with a demon, but at least Nat's legs gave a small buffer as Duke folded his hands over his lap. He tried not to notice that Dean was staring at him through the rearview mirror, tears in his eyes and a constant look of disbelief plastered on his face.
Esme took note of how Duke flinched when she asked if he was alright, as if she had pulled him out of his thoughts, but she gave a sweet smile in return to his reply. As she looked up at him, she knew something was bothering him and she wished she knew what, but she wasn't going to press him for answers. It wasn't the time. Hopefully, he’d be up to talking about it later. When Cason called to them, Esme looked away from Duke and into the backseat to see that Cason had placed Natalia in his lap and had scooted all the way over. She sighed at what he said. Of course, he’d choose to have Duke sit in the middle over herself. He was still scared about what she might or could do to him. When Duke bent down and hissed, Esme winched at the same time, but said nothing as he opened the door. After he let go of her, she stayed close as he crawled in and sat next to Cason. She knew it had to be awkward for the guy, even with Natalia’s legs as a buffer. Esme stood at the door and sighed heavily through her nose, the realization of having Duke with her washing over her once again.
She tilted her head back and looked up at the sky, fighting the tears that were threatening to show themselves again. “Please. Please, don’t let this be some sick joke.” she whispered so no one could hear her. It was still hard to believe he was actually there, sitting in the backseat. Dropping her head, she sniffled, closed her eyes, and wiped her face clear of tears with both hands. Then, she got into the backseat with a wince next to Duke and closed the door. She looked up and saw Dean staring at Duke with disbelief in his teary eyes through the rearview mirror. She gave him a look that said, “It’s hard to believe he’s really here.” Dropping her eyes to the back of the front seat, Esme snaked her hand under Duke’s arm, wrapped her arms around his, and rested her head against his shoulder. She just wanted to hold him close and let him know everything would be okay and she was there for him. Turning her head, she buried her face into his shoulder and rubbed her thumb soothingly on his arm.