[h3] Anna [/h3]

Anna nodded along with Sam. She was more than excited they were all okay. There wasn’t much reason to still be upset, other than the principle of trying to kill Cason, after all the help he had provided, against Hell’s wishes. Cason had risked his entire existence to keep her safe, and then stayed…when he didn’t have to. He had gotten close to the Winchesters, and not run away when things were the worst for him. But he was alive, and she couldn’t wait to see him again…and if anything, thank him for helping her stay alive, while they waited for Sam.

The thought of the demon blood still in her system crossed her mind, as she thought of Cason. She wondered if they would end up drying her out again, something she wanted to absolutely refuse, or if Cason would give her more blood. She was drawn from her thoughts by Sam speaking up about another text.

“Wait. We’re going to Bobby’s?” She started, deciding not to fight him on it just yet as the rest of of the text hit her. Duke was roaming around on the highway after being skewered? Duke was practically dead when they were in the barn. There was no way he was just up and walking around, unless…”Duke is the murder victim. That means one of us is probably the murderer. Damn. Yeah we gotta go. They’re probably sending out every cop in the state to find him and whichever one of us they think…killed him.”

She had trouble finishing that sentence, but she sighed in unison with Sam and nodded her head, “Yeah. Let’s…let’s get to Bobby’s, I guess.”

[h3] Dean and Cason [/h3]

Dean was relieved, when Mika finished the phone call with Bobby. Bobby seemed more excited for them to show up than they were to get there. Bobby’s was a safe space. Some of them would have to sleep on the floor in the living room. They would likely have to deal with Anna’s demon blood situation. And it sounded like at least one or two of them would end up in the RV. But they could figure all of that out when they got there. At that moment, they just needed…to get there. Dean glanced back at Duke once again as Esme called Duke’s name. 

He sighed, not wanting to watch anymore. He wanted to talk to Duke alone, when he wasn’t stuck in an impossible to understand situation, when he was home, and safe. 

Cason simply wrapped his arms a little tighter around Natalia. The whole situation and vibe jarring him, as he thought about how close Nat had actually come to dying in that asylum. He wasn’t the least bit excited to walk back into Bobby’s booby trapped hell hole. But he knew Nat would be safe there. He knew that Bobby would do everything to keep the ones he considered his ‘kids’ safe. That was good enough for Cason, even if the house was rigged to literally bite his ass.

“He’s gonna be okay…” Cason whispered in Nat’s ear, as she nudged Duke. The guy honestly seemed like he needed space that he couldn’t have, but also seemed like he would melt away if he wasn’t touched by someone he trusted. It wasn’t an emotion Cason would wish on his worst enemy.

[h3] Duke [/h3]

Duke nearly flinched when Esme pulled her arms from him, his brain telling him to reach for her arms, to hold her as close to him as he possibly could, but then her hand came to touch his face and she said his name. He closed his eyes tightly, at the soft touch, until she asked him to look at her, which he opened his eyes and turned to do. He followed her eyes, his own eyes darting between both of hers as she spoke to him. Duke took a deep breath, not moving as Esme pushed his hair from his face and he began to shake his head.

“I don’t want that…”, He started, but he pressed his lips together and stopped resisting, and conceded with a soft nod. He didn’t want any of them going out there and trying to find anything. That never ended well for anyone. They ended up digging up bad crap every single time that they went for answers. He honestly just wanted to try and soldier his way through whatever the feeling in the pit of his stomach was. But he knew Esme was stubborn, and she would do whatever she had to to get the info she was looking for. Taking another deep breath, Duke scanned her eyes and nodded once again with a soft smile. “Okay.”

He closed his eyes, furrowing his brow as Esme pulled him in and kissed his forehead. It felt so real. He just couldn’t decide if all of this being real was a good thing or not. But the hug drove home the point that this was…in fact…real. He wrapped his arms around Esme, holding her so close to him that he was afraid of breaking her in half. His nickname settled in the pit of his stomach, and made him wish that he could just take her and run away. No more fighting. No more hunting. As rare as it was, they could get out. He knew better, but the wish was still there.

“I love you…” He whispered into Esme’s hair. He sat there silently, just hugging her for a while, her words, punctuated by ‘just rest’ causing him to sigh. He could feel that his general demeanor was making people uncomfortable. The biggest of them…Esme. He was always the one who brought things back to funny. He was always the one who laughed his way through mortal injuries and impossible situations. He was always the one who managed to come out of traumatic experiences with a bright smile on his face and not a trace of sadness. But this felt different, and he felt guilty as hell for not being the person they needed…that she needed. He pulled back from her just enough to slump down in his seat, his knees bumping the front seat of the Impala. He leaned his head back, but tilted it so that Esme could snuggle up to him if she needed to. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”