MIKA

Mika had barely gotten out of her memory when Sam asked her about food. She was just about with enough to answer him before her mind just faded back into that memory of hers. She hated how things got with Ethan, she never wanted to hurt him and when she did, she really started to believe that maybe she was the problem to everyone and everything. She was just thankful that she had managed to grow a bit since that time. But the guilt of hurting him never really went away. She just couldn't have lied to herself and him back then and let him continue to believe she was all in with Ethan when it would always be Dean. That night three years was just the start of the end with Ethan, especially when the next day she saw Dean in the shop opposite and with some other woman, who she now knows was Esme. Back then, seeing him kiss another woman felt like he did it on purpose to hurt her as they briefly caught each other's eyes. She remembered how it hurt so much she had to walk away, luckily a customer coming into the tattoo shop was her excuse to walk away and back inside.

Here and now, she snapped out of her mind’s thoughts when she felt Dean's lips on hers. It took her completely off guard but she still kissed him back. It was a natural reflex to her, as she barely registered that some of the others were still in the room. Slowly pulling away, she looked him in the eyes, lifting her hand and placing it on his arm. “everything okay?” She asked him, not completely unaware that she herself seemed to not be wholly the same as when he went over to Duke. Forcing herself to put on that happy persona again, she noticed the others in the kitchen talking before heading out to get that food that Sam mentioned a little while ago, but didn't really notice Duke and Esme leaving out the front door. The only thing she noticed was how quiet the house was suddenly getting and she didn't know if that was a comforting thing or not.

Once Anna, Sam, Cason and Natalia all headed out via the back door, she sighed as silence welcomed her and Dean. “guess it's just us for a little while. So how about that chat you wanted?” She spoke, deciding if any time was perfect, it would be this one that completely fell into their laps. There was absolutely no avoiding it any longer, that much was clear to her and she didn't know how to properly mentally prepare for what was possibly going to come out of Dean's mouth. Yet she also knew he was no doubt in the same boat about whatever she was going to tell him about Ethan. The thoughts about what could be said made her feel sick to her stomach from nerves, but she had to do it.

After waiting for him to respond, she walked into the living room and sat on the couch, her hands on her knees as she nervously twiddled her fingers, staring at her lap before forcing herself to look at Dean. “So….the history of you and Esme….” She quietly spoke, making herself look up at him.

NATALIA

When she was back with the others and happily pulled into Cason's side, she looked over both their shoulders to say goodbye to Mika when she saw the woman was locked with Dean who had reappeared seemingly out of nowhere. Turning her head back round, she wasn't going to break whatever was up, up. So she walked out the back door with Cason, where she saw her beautiful car just sitting there not scratched up or damaged in any way. It wasn't there this morning so there was only one explanation as to how it got there…Cason somehow got it back. A broad smile that reached her eyes appeared on her lips, turning to Cason then back at her car and back to Cason again. “you got my baby back” she pointed out, feeling ecstatic about it. “you're the best” she beamed, kissing his cheek. Her car meant so much to her for so many deep reasons other than it was her first car. It was the one gifted to her by her brothers and Bobby after they found out she was saving up so hard to get a little run around for herself. It was a symbol of her becoming her own person and gaining independence. It was a symbol of freedom to her.

Then on top of all that, she saw it as her home. Her little haven when things got too much around the boys or a hunt was going on longer than planned and she just crashed in the backseat. It was more than just a car and she had to go over to it, rummaging in her pockets for her keys, which she found easily enough. Letting go of Cason, she reached out and ran her hand over the roof of the car, smiling. “hey girl…I missed you” she spoke softly. “you're sounding like Dean again” she heard Sam tease from behind her. “give me the keys, I'll drive, you need to take it easy….I'm sure Cason would agree with me on that one” Sam smirked which made Natalia roll her eyes, but threw him the keys anyway.

SAM

Cason's reply to his remark actually satisfied him more than he thought it would. He was still suspicious but unlike Dean, he had to keep trying to be open minded. He didn't sense any lie in what Cason said back to him and his actions had proven so far that he was telling the truth. He glanced down at Anna when she spoke up, saying they knew Cason just wanted Nat safe. He was about to ask more questions when Nat appeared back into the kitchen, in her oversized jacket he wished she would replace with a new one and still seeming as happy as ever. like Natalia, he was fully ready to tell Mika and Dean that they would be back shortly, but the way Dean went over to Mika, he decided it was best not to interrupt them.

He could somehow tell that their chat was imminent and it made him glad he agreed to go out to order food with Nat and Cason, and not staying in. He did not want to be around during all those sore memories and wounds being brought up. Taking Anna's hand, he followed the other two out the back door and stepped into the cool air. “gonna be a cold night I think” he said to Anna, keeping her close so she didn't get cold. His attention got pulled from Anna soon after though when Nat practically squealed out of joy of having her car back. ‘so he got it back for her, he really is meaning his words’ he thought to himself. It had been a long time since he saw his sister so genuinely happy and herself. It was almost a bit of a whiplash to the brain as he was expecting her to still be a little shadow of herself considering what she went through.

“Give me the keys, I'll drive..you need to take it easy” he called out, snatching her keys out of the air easily enough. With the keys firmly in his hand, he walked over, let go of Anna's hand so he unlocked the car and gave the signal it was all good to get in. Sam then got into the driver's side as he watched Nat get in the back seat. “so what place are we gonna grab food from? I really want a burger so bad!” Nat asked, as Sam sniggered, “probably the diner then. Can see if they got Dean's favorite pie” he replied.

Esme had watched Duke drop his shoulders after she had made her assessment, but she didn’t like how he answered. She wished he would stop saying he was fine when he clearly wasn’t. That’s why she continued to speak about what she thought happened, and his squint in frustration and words in response confirmed that. “Knowing him, that does sound like something he’d do, but at least you’d be able to get it all out without him interrupting you. Then, as soon as he starts to tell you all the reasons he’s not wrong, you slap the tape back on his mouth.” she said in all seriousness. Esme’s eyes never left Duke’s face as he sadly shook his head and looked over her head before looking back into her eyes. His following words caused her to knit her eyebrows together and shake her head. “Like hell, it’s not my problem. It’s you and be now. We go through things together now, not alone.” she told him sternly. “I do know how this goes, and you both may say it’s fine, but it’s not. It shouldn’t be fine…..” She broke off her words when Duke sighed, cupped her cheeks, and pressed his forehead to hers.

Duke’s words caused her to tear up. Closing her eyes, she nuzzled her forehead against his, staying silent momentarily while his words echoed in her mind. This was the first time he had ever asked her to run away with him, and it hit her hard. It brought a lump into her throat, but she refused to cry in front of Bobby’s house with Duke. She had done enough crying. It was her turn to stay strong for Duke. He had seen her cry enough since he returned to her. She wished the same. Esme wanted to run away from it all, but she knew, just as Duke did, that it would follow them since they were both targets to use against Dean to lure him into a trap. Opening her eyes, she looked into Duke’s, bringing her hands up to rest on the side of his neck, and rubbed her thumbs against his jaw. “In a heartbeat, Bright Eyes.” she told him softly. “I would go with you to the ends of the earth and further…. But you know as well as I do that now is not the time to run off and leave all of them with what’s coming.”

Esme pulled her head back just enough so she could look into his face, a warm, loving smile resting on her lips. “But with both of us wanting to get away, we can go for a walk or a drive into town and get a bite to eat and spend some time together.” She then softly kissed his nose. “That should give us a chance to relax and clear our minds.” She pulled back a little more and noticed Duke’s hat on the porch swing just behind Duke, causing her smile to grow slightly. She looked at Sarah after hearing the leaves and gravel under her paws. After silently getting Sarah’s attention, Esme motioned towards Duke’s hat, and she trotted over to get it. Esme turned her eyes back to Duke, lifting her right hand from his neck and lovingly brushing Duke’s hair away from his face with her fingers. “Will that work until we can find a good time to run off for a while?” she asked sweetly. About that time, Sarah trotted over with Duke’s hat. Without taking her eyes off Duke, Esme took Duke’s hat from Sarah and placed it on Duke’s head with a warm smile.

Her warm smile suddenly became mischievous as she looked into his eyes. “If none of those options strike your fancy, we could always find a spot to do a little skinny dipping.” she said with a twinkle in her eyes. Esme hoped to at least get a little grin out of him from the suggestion. If it didn’t, then she knew she would have to work even harder to get him to really smile. After she said it, she was reminded of a time when Duke had brought it up to her and Dean after a night in a bar in a drunken state. They had found a spot, but Duke was the only one that had stripped down completely.

Dean chased Mika’s lips as she pulled away from his kiss, and he frowned, looking down into her eyes. He scanned her eyes as she asked if he was okay and nodded, “Yeah. Yeah I’m fine…”, he muttered, taking a small step back to prevent himself from just kissing her again to prolong the inevitable. With the house silent, he was pretty sure the conversation he was trying to avoid was going to come up. It was going to hurt…no matter how he worded things.

When Mika brought up the conversation, Dean nodded, glancing down at the floor while pressing his lips together. He wanted to tell her ‘why don’t we just wait until after we’re done with the seals’ or anything to prolong things, but truth was, there might not be another time that they could have that conversation.

He followed her into the living room, “Yeah, we might as well use the privacy…”, he sighed, walking around to sit on the couch. As he sank down beside her on the couch, he avoided her eyes for a moment, until she spoke again, and he forced himself to turn and look at her.

“Um…So where to start.” He pondered, bringing a hand up and rubbing at his lips awkwardly for a moment, before dropping the hand back into his lap. He sat on the edge of the couch, as if he was on edge and ready to just run away the second things got awkward. “When um…when you left…”

He broke off for a second, fighting down the shaking in his voice, “I was on a hunt with dad. I was on a suicide run, blaze of glory ‘going out on my terms’ stint. Then, she showed up. She was younger and there was just something about her. She was able to take care of herself. She didn’t need any of us, even if we helped against her will. And after the hunt, we got to talking and found out that we had quite a bit in common…at least enough to be friends.”

“Well there was a point where we lost contact, and I went into a spiral. I think it was somewhere around the time me and you first met back up. I couldn’t handle the loss all over again, and I decided just to drink myself to death…I guess. It’s not like I had Sam and Duke was gone about half the time. I was lost…and there she was.” Dean shrugged, barely glancing up to look at Mika, before glancing to the wall behind her, “She wouldn’t let me kill myself. She wouldn’t let me give up. She was insistent. It was annoying at first, actually. I resented her, but I couldn’t…not really. She saved me and we grew closer. Bobby took us both in.”

Dean paused again and glanced toward the stairs, memories of the three of them drunk and trying to find their way to bed, only to end up all piled up together in various states of undress all over the room flooded his brain. He sighed, “And I fell in love with her. I won’t lie to you about that. I loved her so much.”

Before Dean continued, he reached his hand out and picked Mika’s up off her knee, as if he was afraid she would suddenly stand up and run off. It wouldn’t have been the first time, but he didn’t want to watch her leave…not again.

“I offered to settle down with her, to quit hunting and just…be together. I wanted to give her that normal life. I wanted to try. And she turned me down. I was still in love with you. She could feel it. No matter how much I loved her, she could feel that I would always find my way back to you. And she left me.” Dean said the last part almost incredulously, as if he had never said it out loud before, and as if it sounded ridiculous.

Esme leaving had brought on the worst fight he and Duke ever had. Duke blamed him. Duke accused him of pushing her away, of trying to hold onto both Esme and Mika. Duke hated him for a while after that.

“And Duke…hated me for driving her away.”

He let the room go silent for a few moments, figuring she would have a lot of questions, but also, he couldn’t decide on how to admit to Mika that he had lied to her about how deep the relationship with Esme had gone. He had told Mika that they hadn’t even been together long, or had sex…which was completely untrue.

“If you wanna ask anything…I’ll answer. Anything you want.” He choked out, trying to keep his guilty emotions in check.



Cason smiled brightly as Natalia stepped outside and saw her car. She had the exact reaction he had hoped she would have. Cason shrugged sheepishly and his smile widened as she pointed out how happy the simple (to him) action made her, “I just called in a few favors…that’s all. Plus, I’ve grown fond of the death trap…”

He let her go, watching the way that she treated the car much like, her brother seemed to treat his own. It was weird how much she and Dean had in common, even as close as she was with Sam. When Sam called out that he would drive, Cason nodded quickly pointing at Sam, “Yeah. I definitely agree. You need to rest and take care of yourself and…be lazy. Completely lazy. Like…hand fed kind of lazy.”, he teased her.

Anna followed Sam out the door, as he drug her to meet up with Nat and Cason. The cold air hit her instantly, and she was tempted to go and get her jacket from Duke’s truck. She hadn’t even thought about it that morning, but she regretted it, now. As if sensing her frustration, the second Sam let go of her, Cason stepped up and shrugged off his jacket, tossing it over Anna’s head with a chuckle.

“Don’t want you freezing to death.” He joked, and Anna couldn’t help the soft laugh that she breathed out under the curtain of hair and leather. She pulled the jacket down and shrugged her arms into it, wiping the smile off her face as she nodded a thanks to him. He sat down in the back seat without another word, and Anna took that as a sign to get in the passenger seat next to Sam.

“Thanks, Cason…” Anna called back to him, settling in her seat and looking over at Sam as he and Nat talked about where to go eat. She was honestly starving, but she didn’t trust her feelings anymore and wondered in the back of her mind if it was the proximity to Cason making her feel hungry. “I could eat. I don’t think I’ve eaten in a few days…I don’t remember.”

“Well then, burgers for the girls, then!” Cason called out, settling uncomfortably in the back seat. He hated cars. Nat knew that. But now that Sam was driving? He was even more nervous, “Just try not to drive like a maniac, alright Sam?”


Duke’s heart sank for a moment when Esme closed her eyes and nuzzled his forehead. He considered the way she did so, wondering if he had said something that was going to bring this entire thing crumbling down between them. Asking her to leave Dean was bold, maybe even now, it was bold. But then she opened her eyes and brought her hands up to hold his face and his heart fluttered a bit with hope. That flutter turned into an absolute explosion that forced out an overwhelmed sigh when she said that she would absolutely run away with him, but she echoed his exact thoughts about leaving the group. If they left the group, the group would be in more danger than if they just stayed.

“I know…” Duke whispered, ready to concede to just snuggling up on the couch with the tv or whatever she wanted to do. But she mentioned going out with him, and he raised his eyebrows, letting her continue as a smile began to rise on his face, especially when she kissed his nose. He tilted his head to the side, scrunching his face up like he was thinking, and completely missed Sarah being sent after his hat. He thought it was long gone after the incident in the barn.

“I mean, I wouldn’t complain about a little bar action. We always had fun at the bar…got in a little trouble at times, but we had fun.” He teased. He leaned into the gentle brushing of Esme’s fingers against his forehead. But flinched when his hat was placed on his head, making him feel strangely whole again. He brought a hand up, running his fingers along the edge of the brim with a chuckle, “Someone saved my hat. Well…I feel better already.”

As he turned his eyes down to look at Esme’s face, he raised his eyebrows again at the mischievous look on her face. He knew that face. As soon as she said what was making her eyes light up like that, Duke broke out in a laugh that caused him to wrap his arm around his stomach, “Ow. Okay…okay. So, possible drinkin’. Ramblin’ around…then gettin’ naked in the old lake back there, like the old days? I mean, I don’t know if I can say no to that proposal Sweet Pea.”

He stretched back, laughing again as he held his stomach and then shook his head, suddenly feeling lighter…and younger. Only this time, she was his. She was fully with him.

“I think it’s a little cold for swimmin’ but I’m sure we can find some trouble. I’ll be shrinkin’ up in all the wrong spots. Phew." Duke scrunched his nose up, briefly bringing a hand in front of his crotch with a worried but teasing look on his face. "Can't have that...Raskins? I almost got a kiss out of you the last time we were there.” He teased, nodding toward his truck in the parking lot.

MIKA

The moment Dean began to speak, Mika wasn't so sure she was ready to hear what he was going to say to her. She didn't want to think about how happy he was with another woman, but she fought her every instinct to get up and walk away or at the very least pace around the room. she knew this was going to be so much harder to hear than she ever thought it would be. It was hard enough when they had a brief discussion after Cupid's stupid antics, but this felt so much heavier, worse even. So much of her wanted to interrupt him, speak, call him out on something but she forced herself to remain silent the entire time. Then came the sentence that hit her like a ton of bricks….he fell in love with Esme. Her eyes began to sting from tears bubbling up, threatening to fall down her cheeks as she felt him grab her hand to stop from running off.

Then it just got worse for her. He was in deeper with Esme than he ever let on before. He LIED to her before and that hurt more than anything, the tears then did fall. He was in so much deeper than she ever was with Ethan. She may have moved in with Ethan, but she couldn't ever pull away from the hunting life or Dean. Yet here Dean was admitting he was ready to just move on with Esme at one point and never look back. She tried to let what he just told her sink in as much as possible, but it was more difficult than she thought it would be. She felt frozen on the spot for a few moments before she pulled her hand away from his, just forcibly enough to make him let go.

“You lied to me…” she finally spoke, refusing to look at him. “you told me it wasn't serious with her…you looked me in the eye and lied to me” she said once more, as she tried her hardest not to fly off the handle and remain calm. Even the words ‘i still would find my way back to you’ didn't dull the hurt she was now feeling. “why Dean? Why lie to me? I've had tried SO hard to be a better person..for you and myself…to not lie or run away when things got tough and you've just been lying all this time? Do you realise how hypocritical that makes you? You call me out for lying, running away or keeping secrets, and you've been doing the exact same thing” her voice was low, she wasn't shouting, it was just remained eerily low and calm as tears fell down her face.

“So all that time ago, when you came rolling into Ethan's town, you were in a serious relationship with her? That was her you were with?” She asked, remembering the same moment in time that Dean had a short while ago. “Whilst I was fighting to not run from Ethan and convince myself all those late night calls from you were nothing but dreams, you were just happily with Esme? That's cold Dean…” she asked, forcing a hand to wipe away some of the tears off her face, before it just went back down onto her lap. This felt like a whole new form of betrayal, especially hearing how Bobby took them both in at one point. Now it all made sense why Bobby was so nice and sweet on Esme, he had known about her and Dean all this time, another stab of betrayal in her heart was felt. She wanted to get up and leave, but she felt frozen on the couch, her hands beginning to shake.

“She did the right thing walking away from you. You played us both back then” she pointed out flatly. That was the only other way she saw it. He played them both because he was too scared to be alone..just like she was afraid to be alone. “I only found Ethan after we had an argument on a hunt. We had walked away by that point, but I still remember finding you on the same hunt with your dad that I was already on and we just had this big argument. Your dad just lectured us both for not staying focused and he was right… that was the night our distractions caused me to get thrown across the mill.” She began, “so I left, leaving you two to finish the job, I couldn't take being in the same area as you both just to be judged from both sides. So I left and found myself in a bar, bashed up, hurting and frustrated. Ethan was the only person in that whole place to come over and ask if I was alright.” She explained.

The memory of that night coming clearer into her mind. She insisted she was fine and didn't need some gorgeous tattooed hot shot inserting himself into her business, but he stayed firm on the spot in front of her. She put it down to being too exhausted to fight him, but the truth was, she did want that kindness from someone. She remembered just finally breaking down at her table and he sat down beside her and just hugged her. He didn't even know her but he showed such kindness and softness to her that she was scared to push away from him. She could hear in her head how he suggested, getting out of the bar, into his shop and patching her up. That was when she found out he owned the tattoo shop in town and a few days later, she begged him to tattoo her back so she didn't have to see her scars in the mirror in the same way.

It was only after the memory played out in her head slightly, that she finally looked Dean in the eyes. “You know how many nights I spent on the phone to Duke hurting because I thought you had fully moved on, but you still kept calling me? Duke was the only one who one hundred percent kept me safe from myself. Not Ethan, not Bobby…Duke.” She told him.

NATALIA

One thing Nat never thought she'd hear Cason say was that he had grown fond of her car. Even if he did call it a death trap. She never really thought about Cason possibly growing fond of her car, but the fact he had meant a lot to her. Maybe now he wouldn't be so averse to being in it with her and maybe when this whole impending doom was over and they survived it, they could just go somewhere. Just them and the car and not look back for a while.

She also never really saw much in common with Dean when it came to her bond with her car and if anyone told her she was like him over it, she probably would try and deny it even if it was true. She had A LOT in common with Dean and if she really let herself admit it, she probably would have wondered if that was why they butted heads so often. They were too alike for their own good at times, whereas with Sam, she could just be a sister and not worry about arguments. So when Sam said she was sounding like Dean before she chucked him her keys, she had to mentally scrub that notion out of her mind. She didn't want to think about how alike her and Dean were, it felt…childishly icky to her brain.

As Cason agreed with Sam that she had to take it easy, she looked over at him as he teased her about how lazy she had to be, the words causing her to scrunch up her face, her nose wrinkling. “I could never be that lazy and you both know it” she told Cason and Sam before getting into the back seat first. The familiar smell of her car and feel of the seats instantly made her feel relaxed whilst she waited for the others to pile in. She slouched in the back seat whilst she could before forcing herself to sit upright and put her seatbelt on whilst the others eventually got in.

Nat did know Cason hated cars, which was why she always appreciated him getting in one despite his dislike of them greatly. She reached out and took his hand as he told Sam not to drive like a maniac, catching Sam do a ‘blink and you'd miss it’ smirk before going serious and beginning the drive out the lot and into town. “Don't worry, he's not Dean…he actually is a safe driver. Especially when he's driving my car. He knows I'd kill him if he so much as scratched it” she told him, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

SAM

With Cason agreeing with him about Nat needing to take it easy, he wasn't sure if he should be smug about it or weirded out that a demon was actually agreeing with him. So he decided that as it was about his baby sister, he would go with feeling smug, at least in this instance. The more of them that made Natalia take it easy, the easier it would be for her to actually listen to them all and do as they wish for her. “His words might be a bit far, but see, even he agrees” he told Nat as he watched her make that stupid disgruntled face she always did when she was in a good mood but didn't want to concede to being outnumbered. He seriously never tired of seeing her personality just shine through at times like this. It made him think about her younger self and how she and their dad must have been together, making him wish he could have seen their relationship for himself.

He gave a nod of thanks to Cason not only for agreeing with him, but also for shrugging off his jacket and giving it to Anna. He too only remembered now that she must have left it in Duke's truck. They really should find some time to get their stuff out of it soon he thought, as he didn't know how long Duke would hang around. For now, he had more pressing matters to deal with, feeding the girls and himself. As Anna said she reckoned it had been a couple of days since she last ate, it got him wondering.. when was the last time they all ate? Everything had 0-100 so quickly that even he didn't know a precise moment they all ate.

Getting in the car with the others, he put the keys in the ignition, waited for everyone to be settled and turned the key. Cason asking him to not drive like a maniac brought a very brief smirk to his lips before going back to sensible mode. He started pulling out as Nat explained he was the more careful driver out of himself and Dean and he felt quite proud of that. “like she said, it's only Dean that has moments of insanity behind the wheel.” he added as he pulled out of the lot and onto the main road I to town. It wasn't a far drive, about five to ten minutes at most from Bobby's, but it took an equal amount of time to find a parking spot near the diner as it seemed a lot of people were out tonight. Yet he persevered and did find out, pulling in smoothly and perfectly on the first try.

“Okay, let's hope it won't be a long wait to get the food and bring it back to the house” he said, grabbing the keys and putting them in his jeans pockets so Natalia couldn't try and steal them back. Though there was a niggling part of him that felt if they did have a long wait, it wouldn't be a bad thing. Mika and Dean back at the house, clearly needing to have a private chat entered his mind again and he hoped they would be alright, even if he didn't want to walk back in and fest they were fighting again.

Before the mischievous smile came to Esme’s lips, she nodded to his suggestion about going to the bar and then laughed lightly at his tease. They did get into a bit of trouble at times, but it was worth it. She also had been happy to see how happy Duke was to have his hat back, even if he did flinch when she placed it on his head. She had never intended to make him flinch from her putting his hat on his head, but the chuckle and the way he ran his fingers along the hat's brim made it so much better. There was hardly ever a time she could remember him going without, and she also knew how he felt about his hat. When he looked down at her and raised his eyebrows at seeing her mischievous smile, she couldn’t help but go along with the thought that went through her mind. Duke’s laugh was music to her ears, especially after seeing him so upset after his and Dean’s conversation. But when he wrapped his arm around his stomach, she hovered her hand over his stomach too. “Yeah, just like the old days.” she said with a laugh.

Esme continued to hover her hands over Duke’s stomach when he stretched back and laughed again, watching his face as he laughed, taking it all in. She then nodded when he said he thought it was too cold for swimming and he’d be shrinking in all the wrong places as he brought a hand in front of his crotch with a worried and teasing look. Now it was Esme's turn to laugh and wrap her arm around her sore stomach. “No, we can’t have that…. I guess we’ll have to save the skinny dipping for when it warms back up.” she said between laughs. “And yes, you almost did, and that was only because…. Well… You play dirty, you ass.” she said, playfully slapping his arm. Esme then moved to his side and started walking again but stopped after a few feet, looking at herself and Duke. “Before we go anywhere, we need to get you a shirt, and I’d like to change out of these clothes.” she told Duke. “And I need to try to hide the mess on the back of my head so I don’t freak anyone out.” Her smile slightly faded as a partial memory came to her mind, reminding her how it happened.

Esme unconsciously raised her hand to gently touch the back of her head, wincing as she touched the spot. Shaking the memory away, she removed her hand from her head, wrapped her arm around Duke, and headed for the RV. That’s where Sarah had taken their bags. “Also, you can thank Sarah for saving your hat.” she told him. “She came out of the barn with it and has had it since.” Esme winced and shivered when she said the word barn. She didn’t want to think about it or anything associated with it after everything. Plus, it was still too early to start thinking back on it anyway. It was still too fresh in her mind. As soon as they reached the RV, Esme grabbed her bag at the base of the steps, walked up the steps, opened the door, and walked in. She dropped her bag on the couch, unzipped it, and pulled out some fresh clothes, laying them on the couch. Zipping up her bag, she tossed her bag on the floor and began the painful process of getting out of her jacket, wincing and hissing as she felt the stitches on her shoulder pull. Just now realizing Bobby and Dean must have done it after she passed out.

After a bit of a struggle, Esme finally got out of her jacket. Folding it in half, she tossed it to the side with a sigh. Closing her eyes, she sighed again and rolled her shoulders a bit. She still had two shirts and pants to remove before putting something clean on. Once she took a slight breather, Esme returned to work, removing her dirty clothes as carefully as possible, wincing and holding hisses back from pulling her stitches and sore muscles. She never liked being this sore. It was a pain to get anything done.

Dean’s entire heart shattered when Mika wrenched her hand away from him, and then refused to look at him. It was a terror ripping through his chest that he normally only felt on hunts…when things went wrong. And then she said the words ‘you lied to me’, and Dean could have passed out from how hard he was holding his breath. He let it out in a shuddered sigh, and started to hold his hands up to defend himself…but he couldn’t.

“I know…I know…” Dean started, but as she continued, his heart fell into his stomach and he looked down. The feeling of seeing her like this all over again was so overwhelming that he could feel tears pricking the corners of his eyes. He would give anything to stop the verbal beating he was in for. He had never lied to her. It was the one thing that they had. Sure, she had lied to him but he had always been brutally honest with her. But this was something he just couldn’t bring himself to tell her about, until this moment. It killed him.

He glanced up at her face and he saw the tears falling down her cheeks as she somehow remained calm. He found his voice for a moment and shook his head, trying his best to diffuse the intense feeling in his brain that was burning like fire, “I um…I didn’t know how to tell you. I…I thought that it would just be something you didn’t have to know about, because it was in the past.”

Dean stopped trying to explain himself when Mika continued, bringing his hands up to cover his eyes as he leaned his elbows on his knees and squeezed his eyes closed. He pulled his hands away from his face when she asked if he was with Esme the day that he and Mika had run into each other, and he nodded, “Yeah…that was her.”, but she wasn’t actually asking him to confirm. She knew. Dean groaned as she called out how cold his actions were, calling Mika while he was sitting on the side of his and Esme’s bed. It’s what had brought the whole castle tumbling down in the first place. Esme knew. In a way, Mika and Esme both knew, he had to assume. His stomach cramped painfully and he covered his face again with a sigh.

And then came the hit. The words that he believed in his heart already were being said out loud. He deserved to lose them both. Esme walking away from him was definitely earned, and he definitely didn’t deserve Mika’s forgiveness after all these years. He would never have admitted to himself that he had almost strung Esme along with hopes that Mika would show back up, but that was exactly what he did. No matter how much he loved Esme, he still held that hope, and he deserved her walking away…

He almost groaned when Mika explained how she ended up in Ethan’s arms, a sore spot for him that he had fought down for years. He didn’t want to think about someone else touching her, comforting her, or even being in her life in a way that he should have been. He sat up straight, determined to give her the same time to spill that she had given him. As he looked at her, those tears spilled over, and he held no anger, just watching her face.

Then she broke through a part of his brain that seared like fire again, by laying out exactly how much Duke had saved her. Duke had been there for her when he wasn’t. Duke had diffused situations that he couldn’t, and likely took up for him with a smile on his face…protecting him while caring for Mika when Dean was shattering her heart to pieces. He lost the ability to contain his emotions when Mika looked him in the eyes, snarling his nose as a couple of tears fell, “I guess he doesn’t get enough credit for cleaning up my messes…”

Dean paused, watching her face with almost a pleading look gracing his own, “I lied to you. And for that I’m sorry. I did love her. I wanted to walk away from all of it because I couldn’t handle stumbling across you anymore, and she…she was the only reason I wasn’t crazy. I don’t blame you for trying to be happy. Not at all. And I don’t blame you for hating me. You don’t know how long I wanted you to just tell me you hated me.”

He took a deep breath, suddenly finding it hard to breathe, and reached a shaky hand out to place it on her knee, careful, as if she was going to just push him away, “I was so scared when she showed back up, because I didn’t know how to bridge that gap. I didn’t know how to be around someone I slept with…that I loved…that I never got closure with, and also look you in the eyes. So, I lied to you. I lied to everyone but most importantly you.”

As he finished what he would normally consider groveling, he sniffled and glanced toward the front door of the house, “And it was complicated even more when Duke showed up. Me and him…our falling out…a big part of it had to do with her. He’s been in love with her, well, probably since the first time she hugged him. I lost her then. And that lack of closure has brought back a jealousy that I can’t quite place.”

Dean gasped at his own words, and he tilted his head down with a groan. He just admitted to Mika, while she was pouring his heart out to him…that he was still jealous of Duke.



Cason chuckled at the thought of Natalia fighting with Sam. The size difference alone brought on a hilarious mental image. He couldn’t even decide if he would step in, if they were in a scuffle. Sam would never hurt Nat, but oh would it be funny to watch her wrestle him into submission. As Sam spoke up, Cason shook his head. Dean Winchester, the perpetual death wish with legs, of course he was a dangerous driver. Putting people in danger was kinda Dean’s thing, in Cason’s eyes.

As they pulled into the parking lot, Cason tapped his hands on his jeans, eager to get out of the car. He hated how slow the thing was, how loud the engine was, and how easy it was for humans to just get crunched in the wreckage…while he was in the car with three humans. The last thing he needed was to show up at the house as the sole survivor of a massive car crash.

He opened his door and climbed out of the car, popping the passenger door open for Anna, before walking around to Nat’s side, popping her door and reaching in to grab her hand and help her out of the car. He pulled her toward the door ahead of Sam and Anna. Reaching for the door, he gasped and pulled his hand back as it burned and turned red.

“What is it with Sioux Falls and friggin’ iron!” He hissed at Nat with frustration, gesturing for her to open the door for him, as he wasn’t wearing his jacket.



Anna rode most of the way to the restaurant with her head leaned against the window. She was still feeling a little iffy about how real her surroundings were, and honestly, as much as she wanted to try to enjoy herself, she wasn’t sure how possible that would be for a while. It sucked. She just wanted to enjoy that Sam was smiling, and Cason was okay and flirting and playing around with Nat. It was nice. The weather was nice. Everything was…nice.

But in the back of her mind, it was all too good to be true. She straightened up as they pulled into the bumpy parking lot of the restaurant. She reached for her door handle, but before she could pop the door, Cason already had and was gone. Smirking, she pushed the door open and stepped out, realizing as she looked down to flatten her shirt that her boots were still covered in blood. She sighed, tilting her head up to the sky to take a deep breath with her eyes closed, just taking in the cold air around her. After being in the panic room, there was something about the crisp air that just…felt good on her skin.

She stood for a moment, letting the others get out of the car, and then walked over to Sam, wrapping her tiny hand in his, linking their fingers as Cason attempted to open the door to the restaurant. When the door handle burned his hand, Anna brought a leather sleeve covered hand up to hide her laugh and she pulled herself closer to Sam’s side.

This was real. It had to be real.



Duke laughed, turning and flexing his arm like always as Esme slapped his arm. He shrugged, and tilted his head, “I mean, if you consider almost drownin’, you gettin’ drunk because you’re a light weight and were being a drink hoarder, and then sweepin’ you off your feet with my dancin’ skills playin’ dirty, then fine. Guilty as charged.”

He chuckled and started the walk across the yard when he noticed that she was looking at their clothes. The action caused him to look down at his own clothes, and he sighed, realizing he was still in bloody jeans and only a flannel. As he ran his fingers down his chest, he nodded, “Yeah. Let’s um…not scare the hell out of the locals. C’mon…”

He walked with her across the yard, around to the covered carport. Her arm around him was so familiar, and yet it almost felt like they were sneaking around, like Dean was going to run out that door at any minute and start ranting. Duke smirked, realizing that it wasn’t even Dean’s place anymore, and he gently put an arm around Esme’s shoulders, careful to keep his touch closer to her neck. As her words about Sarah pulled him out of his thoughts, he glanced around as if he could see Sarah and shook his head, “I ain’t gonna lie, I’ll never get used to her being around but thank you Sarah!”, he beamed with a goofy smile. He didn’t want her to even think about the barn. He didn’t want her to think about him dying, even though he knew that it was a conversation that would come out eventually.

As they reached the RV, he reached up to open the door while she was grabbing her bag, but she reached up before he could and stepped in like she owned the place. It made him smile behind her head, and he grabbed his own bag and followed her inside. He stepped over to his bed, and tossed his bag down, suddenly super relieved to just have his stuff. He unzipped his bag and pulled out a fresh pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, tossing them on the mattress beside his bag. He stepped out of his jeans quickly, and with a bit of a wince, he shrugged the bloody flannel off his shoulders before removing his hat and tossing it on the sink.

“Don’t go gettin’ dressed without me. I’ll help you out, alright?” He called over his shoulder, as he heard her hiss, just at the action of pulling off her jacket. Duke pulled his jeans on, not even getting them buttoned as he turned to check on her. Seeing that she was already working on her clothes, he frowned, “Whoa whoa whoa! Hold on, I said!”

He took one wide step across the tight space and grabbed both her hands, lowering them to her sides before bringing his hands back up to her shoulders. He gripped the collar of her flannel with both hands, gently pushing it over her shoulders and down her arms, pulling her arms back as gently as he could to whisk it away from her hands. He tossed it onto the couch and then reached for the hem of her tank top.

“Careful…” Duke whispered seriously, frowning with a soft sigh as he looked over the bruises and other injuries that were visible now that her upper body was more uncovered. He swallowed heavily, and began pulling the fabric up, slowly raising her arms above her head. He pulled the fabric over her arms, tossing it behind him, and quickly wrapping his hands around her wrists above her head to help her lower them as slowly as he could. He took another shuddered breath, “I didn’t know it was that bad. I should have come and checked on you…”

As he spoke, he turned his eyes down to the button of her jeans, and he stopped with a sigh. After a couple of seconds to collect himself, he knelt in front of her, tapping her foot to have her raise it so he could remove her boots, removing one, then tapping and removing the other. He didn’t stand, simply looking up at her as he reached up and unbuttoned her jeans, careful as he tugged at them, pulling them off her hips to pool at her feet. He tapped at each of her legs again, and shoved her jeans aside, standing back up. He stood for a moment in front of her, brushing his fingers over the bruises around her neck and chest. His fingers then found their way down her sides, over the bruises there and he sighed again.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”, he asked, his voice raspy and remorseful. The fact that he wasn’t there to take care of her, so that she never got this hurt, killed him. His carelessness in the fight had got him killed…and the only thing he could think about was how he missed protecting her. He hadn’t been there, and now, here she stood in front of him, bruised and cut up, and there was nothing he could do to fix it.

MIKA

Mika saw him begin to let himself cry, seeing just how awful he did truly feel about everything but determined to try and make amends by being truthful and hopefully still be good with her. She didn't want to lose Dean just as much as he didn't want to lose her. But everything he explained hurt so much, and she knew what she said to him would have hurt him also but she couldn't hide how she was feeling anymore. She spent too many of their young lives lying to him and there wasn't a day that went by where she didn't regret those lies. She wouldn't forgive herself for letting her fear of him rejecting her by the way she looked back then win over everything else. Her fear was what made her lie for all that time, but she hoped she had proved to him she was doing all she could to be better and more honest with him.

She felt like she hadn't lied to him for 3 years, but she was finding out these last few weeks especially, that all he had done was lie to her. Mika understood it was a messy and complicated situation, she put him in a difficult position by pushing him away out of her own selfishness and fear. But what was his excuse? Was it the same as hers or was it solely he simply couldn't bare being on his own and would do anything to have someone replace her? The thoughts of him ever trying to replace her hurt so much. Even though she spent some time with Ethan, he never replaced Dean. Every second she was with Ethan, she just wished he was Dean, but that time she saw Dean with Esme? She had assumed he really wanted nothing to do with her....until those phone calls started.

Mika continued to let him speak, flinching ever so slightly when he carefully placed his hand on her knee once more. Her hands shaking as she toyed with the decision to place her hand on top of his. She really couldn't decide if it was something she wanted to do right now. Her happy wake up felt so shaken and ruined in this moment. "Yeah...you do owe him a lot" she replied to him about Duke being there for her. "He stopped me from just ending it all together Dean, he saved me, literally at one point when he had run off away from you and found me on a hunt, ready to just die and set things back to how they probably should be, saved my life, brought me back from the brink... he knew how my heart wasn't really with Ethan when push came to shove. I tried SO hard to be happy and move on but he wasn't you....he would never be you." she cried.

Then the real pain came crashing down on her. Dean admitting he was still jealous of Duke for being with Esme and having her heart. Part of her wanted to be really callous, just straight up cold, but deep down she knew it would do nothing but just rip them a part all over again. She tried to find words that weren't 'yeah well... welcome to my world when me and Duke see you being all close with Esme, now you know how it feels'. She kept coming up blank on what to say, all she could do was wipe away at the endless stream of tears down her face. "I can't lose you Dean, I can't...I want us to work passed this but I can't ignore how much this hurts to hear." she eventually found the words to tell him.

Slowly, she found the courage to place her hand ontop of his, not quite holding it yet, but it was a start. "I love you with all my heart, and I will fight tooth and nail to keep you by my side. I'm done running away..." she sighed. "All those late night calls that time ago broke me. I would find a hunt anywhere close by just to not feel that pain from hearing your voice on the end of the line. I'd come back so battered every night and Ethan couldn't take it anymore. He could only patch me up so many times before he was done with me and my secrets. I still remember when he hit his limit... I came home and found out you had been calling late at night. Demanded to know who you was, even asked if you were the cause of my back scars..." she began to explain, a sad smirk appearing on her lips briefly. "Of course, that was a stupid assumption and had to tell him of how they really came to be....well, minus the whole Wendigo part. Told him the old family home got broken into and some crazed druggie went on a killing spree with a machete and that's how the scars happened." she sighed.

"it eventually came out in a huge fight. Gave me the famous ultimatum you or him after vases and folders were thrown across the room and that was the night I grabbed my stuff and just left- texting Duke and Bobby demanding one of them tell me where you were" she told him, "and you know the rest" she finished, forcing the memories to stop playing in her mind as she described them briefly. It felt so cathartic to finally tell him the truth of how her and Ethan came to end. That she was never truly fully happy with him, despite what Dean may have told himself all that time ago, before she finally looked up at him, lifting a free hand up to his face to make him look at her back. "I will do my hardest to not be so hard on Esme, she doesn't deserve my wrath or pain. I get that, I really do. It'll just take me time to get the image of you and her together out of my head whenever I look at her, but I know this will hurt...but honestly? Seeing her with Duke will help me move on from that mental image. Even if it slightly hurts you" she told him softly.

"I need you Dean...I love you so much, I can't live or breathe without you" she told him.

NATALIA AND SAM

Nat smiled when Cason couldn't wait to jump out of the car the moment Sam parked up. She thought about how she would have to help Cason get over his discomfort of cars and his negative thoughts about how they were death traps. She understood why he would think like that, but she still thought he had to try and get a better relationship with cars, especially after he admitted to her that he had grown fond of hers. She watched as he walked up to the passenger front door and opened it for Anna, letting her out whilst Sam got out of the driver's side. It always sent her a heart a flutter when she saw how old school Cason was and gentlemanly he was for a demon.

As he walked round to her side, opened the door and held his hand out to her, she smiled and took it, stepping out of the car and closing the door behind her. "Thank you" she said, taking his hand and walking up to the front door of the diner. She didn't even know that the diner's handle was iron. It had been a while since she was here and honestly forgot. So when he pulled his hand away quickly as it burned his skin, she instantly checked his hand over before nodding and opening the door on his behalf. Though his little mini tantrum about all the iron everywhere was kind of amusing to her as well as endearing.

"You'll be alright babe" she replied, taking his hand and gently pulling him inside, noticing how Sam went to Anna and walked up and in behind them both. Sam couldn't help but smile at how Nat and Cason was and he began to wonder what the hell was wrong with his mind if he was smiling at the sight of his sister being in love with a demon. "I must be losing my mind" he sniggered to himself, walking over to Anna and taking her hand as she giggled at Cason complaining about the iron handle. The covering of her mouth to hide the giggle made Sam look down at her and smile more broadly as it seemed to him that taking her away from the house was proving to be the right course of action. With her hand in his, and close to him he walked with her to the door of the diner and stepped inside, opening the door for her in the process. If Cason was going to be a gentleman to Natalia, then he felt the need to show he could be too toward Anna. He didn't intend to make it a competition but it was subconscious take his mind ended up choosing.

Inside the diner, he stood by the other two, grabbing some menus and handing one to Anna, then to Nat and finally Cason before keeping one for himself. He glanced over what was in store, realising it had been a while since he was in here and noticed how the menu had changed since he was last here with Dean and Mika. "well this is a new menu compared to last time..." he thought out loud to him, his eyes scanning everything on it and what each meal encompassed. Nat overheard him and smirked, "well it's not changed so much that it's hard to pick what Dean and Meeko would want" she pointed out, tapping her menu at the burgers. She saw Dean's favourite was still very much on there, but then, he was a simple man when it came to food. It wasn't difficult to pick him up something he'd like. She then saw a simple cheeseburger and fries meal that made her stomach growl at the thought of eating it, a flush of pink spreading across her cheeks. "Cheeseburger and fries for me" she declared, trying to hide the fact she was blushing over her stomach calling out for sustenance.

Sam smirked, hearing her stomach grumble. "You always go for the cheeseburger if it's on the menu" he teased, "hey, it's a classic okay? You don't mess with classics...unless it's putting hot sauce in it, then and only then you can mess with it" Natalia said back with conviction, pointing her finger at Sam, then at the menu. That was where she was different from Dean, she loved hot sauce in burgers when Dean couldn't take the heat 99% of the time. Sam then looked over at Anna, "seen anything you want?" he asked her, having already decided on a chicken burger and fries, the same as what Mika would want.

Esme had smiled warmer when Duke draped his arm over her shoulders, when they started walking to the RV. She even laughed a bit when Duke said he’d never get used to having Sarah around. She couldn’t blame him. What hunter in their right mind would keep a Hellhound around? She was still surprised with herself for being so comfortable with Sarah around after her bad history with Hellhounds. She often wondered if something was wrong with her, with how relaxed she was. One factor she took into consideration was how she felt everything went still when around Sarah. She couldn’t feel the emotions of anyone around her, and she felt at peace. Esme could even go as far as to say she felt like an average person when Sarah blocked her Empathy. She felt like she could breathe and concentrate on her emotions momentarily. This made her wonder if she was on the verge of going nuclear and if Sarah would be able to bring her back by being there with her. By practically engulfing her with her body, would that bring her back from the edge? The question painfully burned at the back of Esme’s mind.

When she and Duke reached the RV, she could feel him smile behind her when she opened the door and walked in like she owned the place. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been in the RV before or done the same thing all those years ago. As she began to get undressed, she looked at Duke briefly as he did the same, then returned to her own clothes. She barely heard Duke when he told her not to continue without his help. That was partly because she didn’t want him to see just how bruised and cut up she was. She didn’t want him to worry if she was really okay and blame himself for how bad she looked. Esme knew he’d regret not being there to help and protect her. She didn’t want to see that face, and she didn’t want to feel that emotion from him. Then she heard him scold her for not waiting for him, closed the gap between them, took her hands, and lowered them to her side. The action made her sigh apologetically as he brought his hands up to her shoulders. Esme almost stopped Duke when he gripped the collar of her flannel and pushed it off her shoulders.

She looked at his chest as he brought her shirt down her arms, pulled her arms back to pull the shirt from her hands, and tossed the shirt on the couch. She closed her eyes when Duke took the hem of her tank top and nodded to his serious ‘careful”, feeling the frown on his lips and hearing his sigh as he looked at the bruises on her. Esme closed her eyes tighter at his heavy swallow. She wanted to turn from him and hide the bruises as he began pulling her tank top up and slowly raised her arms, but she couldn’t move. All she could do was follow his silent instructions with a slight wince every now and then. At his shuddered breath and words, Esme opened her eyes, still looking at Duke’s chest, and softly shook her head. “You weren't exactly in the best shape to check on anyone this morning.” she said softly. “Please don’t beat yourself up for not checking on me.” Esme didn't resent him for not coming to check on her, even though she would have liked him to, but he was hurt too, and his mind was confused about returning from the dead and needing rest.

Esme fell silent again, letting Duke collect himself, then watched him kneel in front of her to help with her boots. She wanted to tell him he didn’t have to go the whole nine yards helping her, but she couldn’t get her mouth to open. So, when he tapped her foot, she placed her hands on his shoulders for support and lifted her foot, letting him remove her boot, then she lifted her other foot when he tapped it. When he didn’t stand and worked on getting her jeans off, she kept her hands on his shoulders, lifting her legs as he tapped them. As he stood, she let her hands slide off his shoulders and rest at her sides. Esme almost closed her eyes as Duke brushed his fingers around her bruises, but she looked up into his face, not liking what she saw there. When he asked for confirmation of if she was okay, she gave a weak smile and took his hands into hers. “Other than being sore. Yes, I’m okay.” she answered softly. “Don’t ask me how because I’m still trying to figure that out myself.”

Esme raised his hands, brushed the back of his fingers against her lips, and kissed them softly. She then carefully put his arms around her, placed her hand on his chest, and stepped closer to him so he could only focus on her face. “Really, Bright Eyes, I’m okay. A little r and r with you, and I’ll be back at it at your side.” she softly smiled, looking into his blue eyes. “Please don’t beat yourself up over how nasty the bruises and cuts look. They’ll heal in time.” She lifted a hand from his chest, placed it on his cheek, and rubbed it lovingly with her thumb. “I know you must feel that you missed protecting me and that if you’d been there, I wouldn’t be this hurt…. Please don’t. Most of this happened while saving Nat and I had Sarah with me. If you were there, you’d probably look almost as bad.” she told him. In reality, she was half glad Duke hadn’t been there. She never wanted him to see that far gone, but then again, she might have never gone that far if he had been there.

Esme let her hand slip from his cheek and back to his chest for a moment, looking up into his eyes. Then she slipped her arms around him and rested the side of her face against his chest as she hugged him to her with a sigh and a sweet nuzzle. “With us together now, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to protect me, and I won’t complain about it either, I promise.” Esme said, trying to lighten the air but also being truthful. She wouldn't complain if he wanted to protect her, even when she didn’t need it. Esme placed a soft kiss on his chest before nuzzling it again. She was very tempted to use her Empathy to relax him, but she knew it wasn’t right. This was something she needed to talk him through. ‘Please don’t beat yourself up for not being there to protect me.’ she thought as she hugged him.

Dean was reeling from the whole conversation, his heart sinking as Mika flinched under his touch. It was all hard to hear, especially what Mika said before he had dropped the bombshell of being jealous of Duke. He hadn’t thought, in his selfishness, about how many times she could have died while he was gone. The mental images that it brought just caused his stomach to cramp painfully again, and he groaned quietly, wrapping his other hand around to grip his stomach.

As she said how much the jealousy hurt her, Dean nodded so quickly that he feared his head would fall off his shoulders, “I know. I don’t want you to. I know.”

Dean gasped lightly as Mika’s hand touched his and he scanned her face. He just let her spill the words out, ready to take any vitriol or anger, sadness, whatever she needed to get off her chest as she spoke. He listened to how bad the relationship with Ethan turned, because of him. Part of him was thankful, and felt justified in the phone calls, since they brought Mika back to him. But the other part of him knew that it hurt her so bad. It hurt her so bad…HE hurt her.

He turned his eyes down to look at their hands, absently nodding at her words. Why she came back to him, after all of that, he couldn’t place. He didn’t deserve the second…third…or hundredth chance she had given him. Her hand touching his face caused him to flinch so hard that he squeezed his eyes closed, pushing some tears over the edge and down his cheeks, off his chin. He reluctantly turned his eyes up to look at her, sniffling to try and push the tears back down.

He couldn’t help the wince that flashed across his face as she explained what she was willing to concede to Esme but was also requesting that he back off Duke’s case, to let him be happy with Esme. Their history, Duke, Esme and Dean, was something that Dean had to assume Mika had heard all about from Duke. She didn’t even seem surprised when he told her that he was pretty sure Duke had always loved Esme. He scrunched his nose and nodded, taking a deep breath.

But when she said she needed him, Dean’s heart rushed back into his chest like it was ready to explode. His ears were ringing, and suddenly, he felt the need to just touch her. He needed to let her know that he wasn’t going anywhere. He needed to let her know that the past was the past, no matter how hurtful it was. He wanted to move on, finally, and break all this tension. He pulled his hand away from her knee and slid off the side of the couch, slowly lowering himself to his knees in front of her, something he would NEVER allow anyone to see any other time. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his head tightly to her chest to hear her heartbeat.

“I’m not going anywhere. I was never going anywhere.” He almost whispered as he held onto her. “Whatever you need me to do…wherever you need me to go. I’ll do it. I don’t deserve it, but I’ll do it…”

He tightened his grip around her waist, and turned his head from her chest, resting his chin there to look up at her, “I mean it. All the lies, the hiding, the coldness…it all stops here. I didn’t tell you any of that to hurt you. I told you so that I can try to fix it. You and Esme both deserve that…I love you so much. I don’t say it enough but I’ve never felt more sure about anything in my life.”



Cason rolled his eyes at Nat’s babying of him, looking his hand over and telling him he would be okay, like he was human and had cut his hand on something. He dropped his hand with a sigh, as Nat opened the door and walked inside. He reached his hand out, her taking it, and walked in behind her. With Natalia, he was definitely not the vicious demon that so many were afraid of. He was leashed, and gentle, and part of him hated it. But for her, he would be whatever she needed him to be.

Anna raised her eyebrows at Sam, not saying a word as she looked up at him with those big blue eyes. He was being a gentleman. Maybe he needed to be around Cason more, if Cason could teach him some of his old man manners. She almost cracked another smile, but simply walked through the door, pulling him in behind her.

Anna and Cason took their menus, and Anna looked over the typical greasy spoon menu, her stomach grumbling at the idea of eating literally anything. Anna looked up and watched Nat, feeling the need to pick her brain at some point. Before Anna lost a bit of her shine, she could see herself and Nat having a lot in common. It was hard for her to want to make friends, these days though. She glanced down at her own menu awkwardly, as Nat spoke about Dean’s love for burgers. The conversation between her and Dean was looming over her head like a dark cloud, and she was going to push it away. She wasn’t ready to face him, yet.

Cason shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t eat.”

“We know, idiot.” Anna corrected him, her eyes holding a smirk as he glanced over to her, and frowned. He then smirked and glanced over at Nat’s menu.

“Is it impossible for you to eat something healthy? I mean…human food is disgusting but you and your brother are walking heart attacks.” Cason complained about Nat’s decision in food. Anna couldn’t help the giggle she forced herself to cover when Nat began to rant about the proper way to order a cheeseburger, but Sam asking her what she wanted caused her to look down at the menu, uncovering her mouth to nod.

“Yeah. I think I want the chicken Cobb salad. I’m a little worried about…eating.” Anna replied quietly, almost a whisper. Cason frowned and looked over at her with a sympathetic look on his face.

“You’ll be fine. I got your back. Eat what you want, kid…” Cason spoke softly, turning his eyes up to Sam with a quick smile, and then back down to Anna, who shrugged her shoulders.

“Fine. I’ll take a cheeseburger, then. But if I get sick, it’s on you.” She teased Cason, giving him an accusatory look. She then sat her menu down on the counter, and wrapped back up on Sam’s arm, using his warmth to help with the cool air still hitting little parts of her burning hot skin. She then decided that she did want to say at least something to Natalia, and she reached up and brushed some of her bangs away from her face, “Hey Nat. Wanna walk me to the ladies room? Might be a little awkward to drag Sam along.”

She gave her the smallest of smiles, and squeezed Sam’s arm.



Duke tilted his head, confused when Esme said she was just sore. There was no way she should even be walking on her own from the looks of it, and yet, here she was, wanting to go out to a bar. He couldn’t wrap his head around it, but apparently, she couldn’t quite figure it out either. He concentrated back on the moment, watching her lips as she kissed the backs of his fingers. A sigh left his chest, finally letting out a breath he had been holding in while in thought, and as she placed his arms around her, he splayed his fingers out across her back, just concentrating on the feeling of her skin under his fingers.

Duke watched her eyes, taking another deep breath at her words. His nickname sounded different falling off her lips, now. It rang like a welcome bell in the quiet RV and Duke softened his face. Just the thought of Esme even wanting to be around him, alone, was still new. Sure, when he had first showed back up, seeing Mika back, he knew he could at least get her alone and talk to her. But it had never occurred to him that they could get this close as a duo…not a trio.

“Fine. But I don’t like it…” Duke muttered, turning his eyes down to Esme’s chin for a brief moment. He really didn’t like it. He wanted to fix it and fix it right then. He leaned into Esme’s touch. It was as if she was reading his mind, when she spoke his exact thoughts out loud, and he furrowed his brow. He shook his head against her hand and sighed, “No. I’d probably look worse. You know me…”, he chuckled sadly. He didn’t want to look at her as if she was broken or anything. He knew she could take care of herself, better than most. But the feeling was still there that he should have been there to back her up.

Duke just wanted to whisk her away from all this. He had a bad feeling about what was coming, and that feeling got worse every single time they came back banged up, and now? Standing in front of her, that feeling was almost painful in his chest. But he couldn’t dwell on it. He knew she could feel every single thing he was feeling, and the last thing he wanted was to bring her down. So, when she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, Duke sighed through his nose, pressing his lips to the top of her head. He smiled softly into her hair as she promised not to be upset with him for protecting her, something that she would NEVER have said back in the day.

He could feel a tiny bit of calm radiating off Esme, even if she wasn’t trying to calm him down, and he didn’t complain. He just took a deep breath against her hair, and then tilted his chin up to stare over her head. He brought a hand up, brushing it through her hair, and frowned when he found the stitches, “You cracked your head pretty good, didn’t you. Actually, you know what…I won’t…I won’t go there. You um…you need help makin’ that more presentable? I think I still remember that little loose braid thing from all our slumber parties.”

Duke forced out a little chuckle, also trying to lighten the mood, although he was worried about the obviously horrible wound that she had suffered to her head. He tightened his arms around her, and trailed his hands down to her lower back, rubbing his thumbs gently against her skin.

“And if we can cover up most of that blood, I’ll take you out…sweep you off your feet, and you might actually let me kiss you this time.” He teased, shrugging a shoulder, and laughed quietly, “Or take you home…pretend we’re strangers…”

MIKA

Mika wasn't surprised at the comment about Duke having always loved Esme. She still remembers the phone calls of Duke calling her for advice or to just outright get stuff off his chest. She didn't know at the time it was particularly Esme he was talking about, but remembering the conversations, what's since transpired and with what Dean just told her, it didn't take much to figure out Duke always was talking about Esme. She remembers having to tell Duke to play it safe, no matter how much it hurt to try and hang back or how difficult it was to do, or whatever the complication was, if he was meant to be with the girl, it would happen when it's destined to. Seems she was right after all, even if she never realized at the time her words fitted for her own situation with Dean as well.

She never expected Dean to get down onto his knees in front of her however. He never did that for any reason. Yes, he may squat down in front to check on her if she was a little scratched up or something, but he never went down onto his knees in front of her, or anyone for that matter. This very action showed her he meant everything he had been telling her, that he really did want to move on and she was the one he wanted. The moment he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her, his head on her chest, she went slightly wide eyed from the surprise action. She moved her arms to wrap around him, one hand on the back of his head as she just about heard him whisper to her. It was so much to withstand and take in, but she didn't dislike the raw emotional truthful moment they were having with each other. It was needed for a long time and now words were coming out, it felt like a huge weight was being lifted off of their shoulders.

She looked down at him as she felt him move his head to look up at her, finding it difficult to not to just cup his head in her hands, instead moving the hand that was on the back of his head to the back of his neck. His next words caused more tears to fall down her cheeks as she nodded. “I want to move forward too Dean, more than I've probably let on in the past. You know I love you, I always have. Even as kids, I've loved you. As I’ve said, it's always been you. I never want to be with anyone else, I was given a second chance at life for some unknown reason way back when and I don't want to waste it anymore holding onto bad vibes and grudges. All I want is to kick ass, fight what's coming by your side and if we're really lucky? Grow old with you” she told him honestly. It was true, she never used to believe in marriage or anything like that, despite being a completely hopeless romantic deep down, but with Dean it was so different.

She leaned down to meet his face, touching his nose with hers, closing her eyes for a moment to just take in and savor the moment so it was always firmly in her mind. Seconds later, Mika kissed him, firmly but lovingly to seal her promise that she will continue to be a better person for him. She let her lips linger on his forehead as long as she could before needing to break for breath. Looking into his eyes, she gave a small but genuine smile. “We've got through some pretty tough times, we can get through this. I'm willing to fight for us” she told him. She meant every word, she wasn't going to run anymore, or lie or close herself off. It was time to show Dean she had changed and was still changing, and most importantly, she wasn't going to waste being alive and having him in her life.

NATALIA

Nat never intended to baby Cason, she had just wanted to tease him a little from his mini tantrum about iron. Even though it was a very valid thing to have a tantrum about. She also felt the need to check his hand after the previous injuries he had sustained in the barn. She was paranoid about any pain he got and felt if she didn't check, she would just worry constantly. She still wanted Cason to be well…Cason.

When Cason said he don't eat, only for Anna to call him an idiot for pointing out the obvious, she couldn't help but chuckle, trying to stifle it as best she could. She knew her and Anna would get along once Anna felt she could be more herself again. She liked Anna's little playful snarky moments, it felt like if she was left alone with Anna, the boys would get worried about what they could concoct up as it would be trouble doubled.

With it decided what she wanted and Cason yet again complaining about her food choices, she rolled her eyes with a smirk on her face. Pointing at the description under the cheeseburger, she leaned into his side. “it states it has lettuce and tomato in it…therefore it has salad and a healthy aspect.” She smirked cheekily up at him. She knew it was complete crap she was spouting, but she couldn't resist just making the remark. “Okay how about this, you don't moan about me craving a cheeseburger tonight. Let me have this bit of junk food after almost dying yesterday and the next time we eat out, I will pick a healthy salad or something” she negotiated to him, whilst almost playing the ‘but I almost died and therefore I deserve comfort food to get over the trauma of it's emotional blackmail card.

As Anna spoke up saying she would just get the chicken salad out of worry of eating, her heart sank for the woman a little. She couldn't imagine having to be scared of what someone could or couldn't eat. She put it down to her relationship with food and how she always saw every meal as a gift and possibly her last. So when Cason managed to convince her that she could eat what she actually wanted and would be fine, she smiled at Anna picking the same as her. “Best choice” she commented before Anna grabbed her whole attention about walking with her to the restroom. “Sure!” she replied, putting the menu down and stretching her arm out to link arms with Anna before walking to the restroom with her, leaving the men alone.

SAM

Yet again, Sam found himself agreeing with Cason and he really was wondering what was happening in the universe to make him agree with the man so much. It felt like he had fallen into an alternate universe or something. “he's right ya know.” He added as she decided to change her choice of food and get the same as Natalia. He then kept his own menu on him, so he could refer to it to make the take our order for them all when Anna asked Nat if she would walk to the restroom with her. A simple request, and not exactly shocking for women but he still felt glad that Anna felt comfortable with Nat, wanting to leave his side. He knew she would be safe with his sister, and let go of her as she let go of him. He watched as Anna and Natalia went off round the corner to the women's restrooms and then stepped up to the counter to wait for a waitress or waiter to approach him.

He leaned against the counter top on his elbows, and started thinking about how much he could drill Cason about looking after Nat. The whole premise of it amused him yet again as he couldn't believe he was about to do the dad thing of sussing out boyfriends as if Nat was a teenager. “hey Sam! Long time no see!” A waitress came over with a smile, recognising him instantly. “No lingering brother this time” she chuckled, grabbing her little notepad and pen in preparation to take his order. “hey Maddie, yeah it's been a while and he's back at the house with Mika. Been a long drive back and so I'm out doing the food run this time” he smiled. “So what can I get ya?” She asked, clicking the top of her pen. “2 cheeseburgers with fries, one burger with added hot sauce..” he began saying, “lemme guess, Natalia's?” She smirked, “bingo. Uhh.. 2 chicken burgers and fries and for Dean his usual- quarter pounder burger and fries, as well a slice of the apple pie” he finished ordering, putting the menu down. Maddie nodded as she laughed, the order sounding all so familiar. “alright, got it. It'll be about 15 minutes tonight.” She explained.

“That's fine, we can wait in the free booth over there” he replied, pointing to the single free booth to his right. The waitress then smiled and walked off to the kitchen window to hand in the order slip, whilst Sam gave the gesture to Cason to walk to the booth as he led the way and sat down. He remained silent for a little while then decided to just come out with what he was thinking, “so I uhh, never thanked you for getting Nat out of that place last night. You've probably been thanked enough by her but I have to say it myself. I hate that I couldn't get her myself like last time.” he remarked, deciding to start with a thanks rather than straight in with the drilling. “Seems like she's really taken with you and happy” he added, not knowing just by how much and he certainly wouldn't ever guess the emotion of love was between the two of them.

When Esme told Duke she was fine, she knew he wouldn’t like it. She didn’t really like it, knowing she shouldn’t be with how hard she was hit in the back of the head by a demon in the asylum. But she wondered if it would come into play after a while after she had entirely let herself relax and pushed the day out of her mind. Esme couldn’t let herself think about that. She couldn’t let herself think about the possibility of going to sleep and not waking up in the morning next to Duke. She couldn’t let herself think about how that would affect Duke, or the look on his face. Esme had to keep her thoughts positive, even if it was hard. That was one reason why she brought Duke’s arms around her before telling him she wouldn’t complain about him saving her during their future hunts. Which she knew he knew she would never say back in the day. Esme honestly meant what she said. She wouldn’t complain about him stepping in to save her, even though she didn’t need it, unless he got seriously hurt, which could easily happen with his track record.

When Duke sighed through his nose and pressed his lips to the top of her head from her hug, it made her feel a bit better, especially when he smiled into her hair at her words. It made her smile more into his chest. She could also feel him calming as he took a deep breath against her hair, not knowing she was actually radiating some calm onto him. Esme’s smile faded when Duke’s fingers found the stitches on her head from brushing his fingers through her hair, causing her to wince at the touch and close her eyes as he started to talk. She was nervous he would ask how it happened, and she wasn’t ready to tell him, but when he didn’t and said he wouldn’t go there, Esme silently sighed in relief. She then softly kissed Duke’s chest as a silent thank you for not continuing about her head. The smile returned to her lips when he asked if she needed help making her head look more presentable and that he thought he still remembered how to do a loose braid from their slumber parties. A little laugh escaped her lips as she pulled her head away from Duke’s chest and looked up at him.

“It would surprise me if you didn’t remember how to do that loose braid after how many times I showed you how.” she lightly laughed. But yes, I could use your help if you're offering.” She smiled warmly. A memory flashed quickly through her mind of one of their slumber parties, talking and her showing him how to do a braid with her hair. The memory warmed her heart greatly. She was pulled from it by Duke’s arms tightening around her, trailing his hand to her lower back and rubbing his thumbs gently there. His words, the shrugging of his shoulders, and his laugh caused her to laugh as well. “That sounds like a wonderful idea if you’re really up for it.” she replied with a laugh in her tone. “Something tells me you’d also like to hold me hostage here in the RV and just take care of me.” Which she wouldn’t mind if he did that, she just wanted to do something with him, just the two of them together.

Dean was so relieved that Mika didn’t push him away when he hugged her. He felt her hand brush his hair and land on the back of his head as he spoke to her, and the action caused a quick and rough sigh to escape his lips against her chest. He was a bit embarrassed to be on his knees, and to say a word that he swore he would never use, and had only used a handful of times before ‘love’. But he meant it. He loved her. He loved her more than breathing, even if it felt like someone had to choke him to make him say it.

As he turned his head to press his chin against Mika’s chest, and her hand fell to his neck, he felt trapped, but in the best way. Luckily, for his rattled brain, Mika agreed with him. She didn’t find new reasons to get angry at him. She didn’t tell him to leave, or to get off her. She echoed his thought, and admitted that she wanted to grow old with him, a thought that he would have laughed at any other time. There was no growing old, for him. He was lucky if he survived the next few days, much less thirty to fifty years.

“If there was someone I would fight to have that with, it’s you.” He muttered, just before Mika leaned down and her nose touched his, drawing a shuddered sigh from his lips, breath washing over hers. And then came the surge of relief hit him like lightning when she kissed him. He never moved his lips, just allowing her to take what she needed from them. She wasn’t going to run, after all the hard truths were said. For once, neither of them were leaving. She confirmed that when she pulled from the kiss and told him with her own words. It made his entire body shudder with a mix of relief and overwhelm. As much as she reminded him of Duke, he was able to hold onto her this time.

There wasn’t much else he could do, but nod and rock forward on his knees, raising himself closer to eye level. He placed a hand on each of her cheeks and kissed her. The kiss was deep and passionate, the best way he knew to show her how serious he was. For all of his faults, and his ‘whoring around’ as Duke called it, Dean’s love language was and would always be body language. He began to deepen the kiss, but decided against it, in a rare moment of self control. Instead, he broke the kiss reluctantly after a few moments, and pressed his forehead to hers, brushing noses with her, “I’m here…with you. No matter what way this whole thing goes, I’ll be right there.”



Anna nearly rolled her eyes at Cason and Nat fighting, and when Nat turned to her and offered her arm, Anna reached her jacket covered hand out, taking Nat’s arm with a silent look back at Sam. She knew he was worried about leaving her alone, but he seemed pretty confident that she would be fine with Nat. So, she turned away from him and moseyed off to the bathroom with Natalia. As soon as they were safe behind the womens bathroom door, Anna turned and locked it, just to make sure they had privacy.

“So, I um…I figured they were going to be a minute and I haven’t really had a chance to talk to you much…like ever.” Anna muttered awkwardly, crossing her arms over her chest. She smirked slightly, feeling comfortable enough with Nat to at least let a bit of a smile grace her lips. She then dropped the smirk and shifted from one foot to another, “I don’t know how much Cason told you about…you know…what happened. I just wanted to say that I’m glad he got out and I’m glad he got back to you. I have no idea what their plans were for me, especially since I barely have any bumps or scratches.”

Anna shook her head and glanced toward the door for a moment, before looking back up at Nat’s face, “I think the only reason I’m here is because of him. I don’t know if Sam even realizes that, and that’s a whole other thing…me and Sam.”

She scoffed, and shook her head as another smile teased at her lips. It was awkward to talk to his sister about him, but at the same time, she was closer with him. Anna could tell. If anyone was going to be respectful to her, and maybe even a damn good ally to have…a friend, it was Nat.

“Considering the way he looked when we left him…” Anna paused, looking down at the floor with a frown as flashes of Cason, sitting against the wall, bleeding out as Sam dragged her away flooded her mind. “I’m glad…um…I’m glad he’s okay. I’m glad he’s pretty much back to normal.”



Cason rolled his eyes at Nat, bobbing his head side to side in a mocking way when she explained that technically she was eating a salad, because her burger had veggies on it. Of course she would bring that up, like potatoes being a veggie, just to shut him up. Cason was also reminded that Natalia was only alive by the skin of her teeth, and the small chance that he managed to heal enough to get to her. So, she deserved a little bit of happiness…even if it was artery clogging garbage food.

“Fine. I get to pick the food next time we’re out…” Cason conceded with a sigh, giving her a smirk as he glanced down at her. He then looked up at Anna when she asked to speak to Nat, trying to catch Anna’s eyes before they walked away. He wanted to give her a silent little ‘don’t say anything about the barn’ look before she walked away, but Anna never made eye contact. So, Cason just sighed nervously, and turned his attention toward the counter as Sam walked up and leaned against it.

Cason raised his eyebrows at the way the waitress spoke to Sam, knowing through his watching Sam over the years that Sam had been pretty terminally single his whole adult life, outside of that poor girl that burned on the ceiling of his dorm. He could see the slight flirtation that the waitress was trying to convey to Sam, even if it was her just being nice, and he was tempted to make a comment. Instead, he smirked and turned his head down, tapping his fingers on the counter. He knew Sam better than some of the others, and there was no way in Hell he would ever let him know it.

As Sam stepped away from the counter, Cason sighed and walked over to the booth with him. It felt like an interrogation was coming. But it wasn’t like the girls would be gone too long, right? He glanced out the window, waiting for the silence to break, and when it finally did, Cason shook his head.

“There was no way any of you could have, this time. That place was crawling with demons. I killed close, and I’m faster than you.” Cason spoke bluntly, but then sat back in the booth and smirked, “But I um…I appreciate the thanks.”

Then came the dad talk, and Cason felt like they should have beers in front of them with a broken down gun in front of Sam, like some high school boyfriend. It was polite enough, as Sam tended to be. He was tactful, and calm, unlike his brother. It was one of the big reasons Cason felt that Anna was safe with him, and the second that he didn’t feel that way, he would zap Anna to the moon or something to keep her away from Lilith, with or without Sam.

“I guess taken is the right word.” Cason spoke up plainly. “Look, I know I’m a…I’m not the type of guy anyone would want for her. But as long as I’m around, like I told her, there’s nothing on this planet that will touch her. I’ve promised it to her and I’ll say it to you.”



Duke laughed softly as Esme looked up at his face and pointed out that he was a bad student when it came to caring for women’s hair. He would never admit that he had mostly pretended not to understand, just so he could spend more time with her, alone. He had spent hours scouring for her favorite snacks, movies he thought she would like, the right shampoo for his messy blonde hair…all of it planned to the letter, just in an attempt to get close to her, back then.

He tilted his head, just looking down at her with more fondness than he had ever expressed before as he scanned her face, just taking in her features standing there, all wrapped up in him, all his. Then he smiled a little wider, “When have you ever known me to let a little stab wound stop me from havin’ fun?”

The idea of holding her hostage in the RV and making her rest definitely intrigued him. He lifted his head, tightened his lips and raised his eyebrows in a way to say ‘that’s not the worst idea in the world’, and then he turned his eyes back down to hers, “Well…takin’ care of you is high on my list. Bein’ clingy is on my list. Kissin’ you is on my list…”

He smiled widely, and tilted his head down, brushing his lips over hers as he closed his eyes, gently nibbling at her bottom lip. He pulled back, and brought one of his hands up to the back of her neck, bending so that he could press his forehead to hers, “I never get tired of that. Like a cool drink of water in the desert.”

Duke pressed his lips to her upper lip, and then smiled again, brushing his lips against hers as he spoke, “So, what would the lady prefer? Stayin’ in. Or goin’ out? Because either way, I’m gonna sweep you off your feet. It’s not every day you get a second chance…and I’m gonna take it.”

MIKA

It was difficult at several moments to stay out when they had their chat and admitted to each other some very hard truths. There were times when she did want to just run, get away so she could get her thoughts and emotions in check without looking him in the face, but if she was going to tell him she was determined to change and fight for them? She had to stay put and that's why she did. She could have easily gotten angry at him, could have made up new reasons to shout and scream at him, but she was just too tired of doing that. She didn't know if it was because she had actually matured quite a lot in the four months he was in Hell or the situation that happened the night before made her see that life was too short and she had to keep those she loved close to her, but whatever the reason was, she was actually thankful for taking the more positive choice.

She knew as well as any hunter that growing old whilst in this life was a rare luxury, but she wanted to fight to get them both an opportunity to try and get that luxury. It was her way of telling him if they had normal lives she would marry him if they ever came up. She had always said she was his, and that feeling had never gone away. Yes, she did love Ethan for a while, but that filtered out the moment Dean had crept back into her head during that time apart. She still hated how her and Ethan ended, how violent they both were and vile they were with their words. She still regretted those words, Ethan never deserved any of it but leaving on such bad terms almost made it easier for her to leave him and to run back to Dean. That night would forever be seared into her mind.

“dammit Bobby just tell me where he is! I've already tried Duke, but I can't get through to him. Please! I'm begging you, I need to see him!” She practically screamed down the phone as she had him on speaker whilst she drove down the road and out of town. Her face is tear stained, knuckles bruised and cut from when she punched Ethan's worktop in frustration. A little nick on her left cheek, just under her eye when she dodged a flying vase he threw at her. Hair disheveled from the argument and fight. She just had to get to Dean, if she could just find him and beg him to take her back, get answers for all those late night phone calls….she could at least get an answer one way or another of where she stood with him. She had to know where the two of them stood with each other. If she and him were never to be again, then she had to stop all contact. Make it known to Dean that if they were to be apart then the calls had to stop. But she hoped it would be different, that he would pick her over this other woman.

She knew Dean in ways that no one else did or could. She wasn't ready to let go of their history. To let go of all those memories of him sneaking into her house via her bedroom window, the way he stood up to her dad to protect her. “..fine kid, I'll text you his location” came the words she was waiting for finally from her phone. “thank you” she said, ending the call and kept driving.

When she found Dean again, she stood in the distance watching him. It had started raining, and she tried to convince herself to move forward. “Just move girl..just move…” she told herself. After a pep talk to herself, she managed to step forward as they locked eyes. “...hi” she simply said looking like a drowned rat, vulnerable as she just looked at him.

Him confirming to her that he would fight to live as long as possible with her made her snap out of her memory. It was probably the first time she ever heard him say it. She always thought it was slightly one sided but to finally hear him say those words made her rethink that belief. As he rocked forward and kissed her deeply and passionately, she knew the kiss all too well. She kissed him back just deeply and passionately, her hands placing themselves on his hips before he reluctantly pulled away in an act of self control. She opened her eyes slowly and looked him in the eye. His green eyes always making her feel like the world just fades out into oblivion. They were so bright in comparison to her incredibly dark eyes, just yet another thing about him that seemed so different to her but complimented her perfectly.

Nodding at his words, she hoped it would be true. “And I'll always be there too. Let's just hope it goes our way. I can't handle thinking of any other way” she told him.

NATALIA

In the bathroom, Nat wouldn't help but raise an eyebrow when Anna locked the door behind them both. She suddenly got a feeling this wasn't a case of Anna just not wanting to go here on her own. She leaned against the nearby sink as she watched Anna give a little smirk before she turned serious and began talking about Cason. At first, she thought maybe she was going to check what Nat's feelings truly were toward Cason or give her advice on how to deal with him as Anna had spent a lot of time with him, but that wasn't the case. She began to vaguely talk about the barn, which made Natalia frown and look at the ground as Anna spoke. She did eventually look back up at the woman, taking in what she was being told. All she knew was that Cason said it was complicated but he was fine. She, of course, thought from his tone that there was more to it than just being complicated but as he wasn't prepared to bombard her with what happened at the time, she wasn't going to press him on it.

Instead of speaking up, she just listened to Anna. The girl clearly needed to get something off her chest so she wasn't going to interrupt that incase Anna bottled it and closed herself off again. She wanted to be Anna's friend, be someone who Anna felt she could turn to and talk to whenever she needed it. She wanted to be someone Anna could count on to be her ally and not just because she was dating Sam. “Well I for one am happy you're with Sam. You make him happy” she simply commented as she saw Anna begin to try and smile. It made her begin to smile back, but that smile didn't last long as Anna's next words got her instantly worried. ‘when we left him’ were the words that echoed and repeated round her mind as she heard Anna continue talking.

“Uhh..care to elaborate? What do you mean, when you guys left Cason?” She asked her, folding her arms across her chest to stop herself from pushing herself into an upright position. “Anna, what do you mean by that? He just told me it was complicated, but I always felt there was more to it. What happened in the barn?” She asked her, now wanting the full truth, no matter how painful it would be to hear. She had to know what Cason was holding back from her, no matter the reason for keeping her in the dark about it.

SAM

Sam was oblivious to the way the waitress had spoken to him. He just saw it as her being friendly because he, Nat, Mika and Dean had become known in town thanks to their links to Bobby. He was so in love with Anna, he didn't even notice when other girls would flirt with him.

In the booth as they waited for their food and the girls, he listened to Cason's reply and acceptance of his thanks. He gave a nod, accepting his reply as the truth even if he would always regret not being there for Natalia when it really mattered. Though it would have been a stronger sense of regret if Mika and Dean hadn't gone after her as well as Cason. He couldn't bear the thought of Nat dying alone and her thinking none of them cared enough to try and save her. He gave Cason time to then explain how he felt about Natalia after his initial words, seeing how Cason had carefully chosen his words about his relationship with her. Hearing him say he would do anything to keep Nat safe, he could hear it was the truth in Cason's tone and that was all well and good but keeping his sister safe was just one part of being involved with her in his eyes. He didn't want Cason stringing her along, make her get emotionally attached if Cason wasn't going to be able to do the same.

All his knowledge told him that demons were incapable of feeling emotions like love, so how did Cason really feel about Nat? “But how do you feel about her? Outside of being fiercely protective? I've never seen her this happy before and I don't want her heart to be broken. I'm willing to give you a chance, more so than Dean ever will…I just need to know she'll not get emotionally hurt by you” he told him honestly, deciding to just get straight to the point. “I love that girl and I just wanna protect her the way our dad never did” he added with a soft sigh, wondering what was taking the girls so long. He didn't want to lecture Cason, but he needed convincing that Cason was actually being truthful with him as he knew how well demons lied. He needed to know as much as possible if he were to take his side when Dean eventually noticed the bond that Cason and Nat had developed properly. He knew Dean would take it well whatsoever and Nat would need all the allies she could get to defend her decisions to be with Cason.

Esme continued to look up at Duke, seeing how fondly he looked at her. She couldn’t ever remember a time when he looked at her this fondly. It made her heart flutter, put butterflies in her stomach, and melt into his arms. If anyone had ever told her she would end up in Duke’s arms after the breakup of the trio, she would have laughed in their faces and said it was impossible. Especially after she thought she saw him in passing, a while after the breakup. He looked different. His hair was longer, he had more facial hair, and he wore a black cowboy hat instead of his usual white, but she could have sworn it was him. But he completely ignored her when she stopped and called out to him. It took her several days to pull herself back together after seeing him and having him ignore her. It was a day she couldn’t forget, and it stuck out like a sore thumb in her memories. Duke’s voice and wide smile pulled her back to the present, and laughed at his question. “Never.” She couldn’t remember any stab wound keeping him from going out for a beer and having a good time.

The smile on Esme’s lips grew when Duke reacted to the idea of holding her hostage. The look on his face just made her laugh again, knowing he’d be tempted to. Then a light blush came to her cheeks from his next words and wide smile. Esme closed her eyes when Duke tilted his head down, brushed his lips over hers, and nibbled at her bottom lip. It sent her heart fluttering again and almost made her hold her breath. She kept her eyes closed as he pulled back, rested his forehead against hers, and placed a hand on the back of her neck. She smiled and sighed contently at his words. Esme couldn’t see herself growing tired of this either. After feeling alone for so long and now having someone who wanted and loved her, she wouldn’t take it for granted. She had Duke’s whole heart, not part of it, all of it. She didn’t have to fight for his attention or his love. She had both. Esme knew that without having to use her empathy to be sure, and it made her heart feel as if it would burst with how much it overflowed with happiness.

Esme kissed Duke with a light hum when he pressed his lips to her upper lip and matched his smile as he brushed his lips against hers and spoke. Opening her eyes, she looked into his blue eyes with her own, a sparkle within them. “Well, Mr. Hatfield….. This lady thought she knew what she wanted, but now she’s not so sure. A little of both options sounded quite possible, but now this lady’s not sure if she can pull herself from your arms.” she said softly against his lips with a warm smile. Esme gently brushed her nose against Duke’s as her hands slid down his back and came to rest in the back pockets of his jeans. She then nibbled at his bottom lip before closing her eyes and kissing him lovingly.

Dean smiled sadly, at Mika’s words. Nothing was ever so simple that it just ‘went well’ for them. He knew they had both learned that over the years. Anything that went well, usually came with a price, like how easy it seemed to get Anna and Cason out of that barn…and yet, Duke died. He pushed that thought down. They weren’t losing anyone else. No one and he meant it, no matter how unlikely it seemed.

Dean unwrapped himself from Mika’s waist and sat back on his heels carefully, before standing, just enough to place a knee on the edge of the couch. He crawled over Mika, and then wrapped his arm around her, pulling her down with him. He lay down, pulling Mika close to his chest. If they were going to fix things, Dean knew that being close was always the best way, with Mika. He released her waist, bringing a hand up to card through the hair on the side of her face, drawing his own face close to hers.

“Hi…I’m Dean.” He smirked, scanning between her eyes as he spoke, toying with the top of her ear with his thumb. He then brought that hand down to her chin, using a single finger to tilt her chin up, so he could reach her lips. He carefully placed the slowest kiss of his life to her lips, like a timid teenager, sliding one of his legs lazily between hers, to make sure they were touching as much as humanly possible. After a moment of soft kisses, Dean deepened the kiss, his hand shifting to wrap itself around the base of her skull. Were they making out on the couch like teenagers? Sure. Did he mind, after all the time they lost? Not at all.

Whatever was coming down the road felt dire. He would never tell Mika, but he was worried about this next job from the angels more than he had let on. Something about it just seemed off. It seemed like the angels wanted him to do something that he might not come back from. So, for a moment…he was going to enjoy just having Mika in the present, and try to be thankful to be alive.



Anna felt another smile start to creep up on her lips, before Nat brought it all crashing down by asking her to clarify what she meant by her words. She assumed Natalia knew. She assumed that Cason would have spilled on her, and that’s why he was throwing jabs at Dean, but of course…of course she didn’t know. Dean would dance around the subject for years if it meant that he never had to deal with Natalia’s anger and upset.

Anna turned her eyes down to the floor, afraid that Nat was about to be angry with her, instead of Dean. She didn’t know how to tell her the truth, but she also couldn’t lie to her, especially if there was any hope for friendship.

“Um…we um…” Anna started, the world spinning a bit as she thought back to the barn, hearing her own scream as Cason bled out on the floor, not even able to move his legs. She brought her hands up and pulled the sides of her hair behind her ears, smelling Cason on herself from his jacket as the memories flashed through her brain painfully. “Cason was um…he got hurt. Like really hurt. So, I knew it was going to be hard to get him out of there. I mean, he couldn’t walk. The…the thing that was stabbed into his stomach had hit his spine…”

She broke her words off, glancing down at her hands. There was still a vague stain of blood around her wrists. She swallowed heavily and took a deep breath, “Dean was angry. He was really angry at…everything. He was scared. He took the opportunity to…to hurt him a little more. I thought he was just messing with him. You know how he is.”

Anna wrapped her arms around her chest, hugging herself tight as she found the courage to admit the worst to Nat, through the fresh tears that were rolling up in her eyes, quickly spilling down both cheeks, “So he released him, and he made the decision to leave him for dead. I shouldn’t be the one telling you this. I tried to get him out. I tried so hard…but I’m too small. I couldn’t carry him. Sam pulled me away and…and I assumed he was dead. There was no way he could get out of that barn. The demons were on their way back, and it’s a blur, but we ran. Sam carried me and Dean…well…Dean just lost it because you were gone.”

She softly scuffed her foot against the floor, scrunching her nose to try and force all the tears out at once so she didn’t go back to Sam crying over this again. She knew that she had just opened a dam of potential anger and fighting. She knew that Nat wasn’t going to take the news well. But Nat deserved to know…



Cason tilted his head curiously when Sam continued grilling him, asking him how he felt about Nat. He could feel what the question meant. Sam wanted him to admit he loved Natalia. Cason still wasn’t sure about that feeling, either, even if he knew in the back of his mind that’s what it was. That’s why he had told her he loved her. There was no way the burning in the back of his mind, as horrible as it was, was anything other than love. He had been obsessed before, no burn. He had been infatuated to the point of possessiveness, no burn.

Cason leaned his elbows on the table and he chewed at his lip for a brief second before answering Sam’s question, “I don’t know if demons are capable of what you’re asking me to admit to…but I’ve seen it once, in a book. Apparently it’s possible for a demon to love. So, I have to assume that the searing pain I feel when I’m around her means I love her. And I don’t know why I’m telling you this…”

Cason sighed and he thought about it for a moment, realizing that the reason he was confiding in Sam was probably because Sam was the easiest for Nat to talk down, if things went south, and he needed to keep an eye on him. He needed to know that Sam wasn’t on his way off the rails, for the sake of…well…humanity.

“And if I love her, then you know that there’s nothing I would do to hurt her. Nothing. I’m even willing to work with your brother, even after what happened. I’m willing to let it go.” Cason told Sam honestly, looking him in the eyes. He then smirked, choosing to joke with Sam, “You’re not going to water board me with holy water, are you Sam?”



Duke didn’t think he would ever tire of how responsive Esme was to him, now that they were just…them. It was like every touch meant something and every brush of his lips was magic. He could just breath it in for the rest of his life, buried deep in her eyes, now that she was his. Her little hum as he kissed her upper lip sent a slight shiver down his spine and he never lost her eyes, watching them intently, waiting for her to tell him exactly what she wanted.

His last name falling off her lips caused yet another shiver to roll down his spine, and he hummed during her pause, narrowing his eyes. But his smile never left his lips as she told him exactly what she was thinking. Neither of them had to work that hard anymore. It was another pool that he could just swim in, the honesty in her eyes. She wanted him, only him. He was putty in her hands and she knew it.

As her nose brushed his, and he felt her hands slide down every muscle of his back, he shuddered visibly with a soft groan, but a wide smile spread across his face, tugging at his lip between her teeth and he pulled her even closer to his body as she kissed him. He traced the line of her jaw with his thumb, as a brief memory of the first time he had held her face like this flashed through his brain.

It was much more forbidden, then. He knew he was crossing boundaries. He knew he was risking his entire world collapsing, and yet he had convinced himself, through what felt like a gallon of whiskey and a pep talk from Mika to make his move…to show her why she should love him . And she had turned him down, because she was in love with Dean.

His heart hammered in his chest as he took over the pace of the kiss, parting her lips with the tip of his tongue to kiss her deeply, drinking in any emotion he could feel dripping off her, just for him. The thought of hurting her crossed his mind, but he knew her well enough to know that she would tell him. She would set boundaries. She always did. He took a careful step between her legs, guiding her back and then let his own hands drop to her thighs with a slight dip, his lips only leaving hers to trail hungry kisses down her jaw and against the side of her neck. He lifted her, and ever so gently placed her on the small countertop by the door, stepping between her legs.

“I love you…you know that?” He whispered sweetly against the side of her neck, placing little kisses along the little spot below her ear that he knew would have her humming. He smiled against her ear, and tightened his grip on the back of her neck, bringing his face back to smile down at her, before he delved back in for another needy kiss.

MIKA

Mika felt she had to try and keep a bit of hope and positive thinking about whatever was coming for them. She knew if she let herself think about the realities of there always being a price to any ‘easy’ job, she most certainly wouldn't cope and would just refuse to leave the house. She couldn't do that anymore, she couldn't try and convince Dean and the others to just walk away from what was coming because of the realities that it most certainly meant. So she forced herself to keep the hope that it would be fine, whatever it was and they'd all get out safe and sound. They needed a win.

As Dean rocked back onto his feet just enough to get back onto the couch, she followed his guidance as she watched what he was doing. She knew this tactic, it reminded her of when he did it once when they were teenagers and she had just an argument with her dad about Dean and Bobby being in her life. She remembered how Dean squatted in front of her because she refused to lift her head up, so he did the only thing he knew how to make her look at him. When he finally got through to her, he did this exact same thing- crawl onto the couch, lay down and pull her with him so she could just hug him. It always brought her out of herself or made her calm, so when he did it once again here and now, she felt a sense of familiarity in the action. Mika let herself lay between his legs, her head on his shoulder as she hugged him and he combed through her hair with his fingers.

The moment he played the first introductions card, she really couldn't help but smile back at him. “Hi Dean, I'm Mika” she joked back to him, letting him lift her head up just enough to kiss her. Kissing him back just as softly made her get that sense of feeling at home, that feeling that one only got when they were truly with the person they loved with all their heart. Sure, she was literally home in Bobby's house, but in so many ways Dean was also her home. Wherever he was, her home was. The slowness of the kiss felt so much more intimate than any other kiss of theirs, she tangled her leg over his when she felt him sliding one of his legs between hers. The whole time she matched his kiss, not caring how it seemed. Dean was right, they had lost so much time from either being a part or arguing about the past. Life was too short and she was determined to make up for that time every chance she got. As he deepened the kiss, she did too, lifting a hand up to his neck, placing it on the underside of his jawline. She may not know just how much Dean was dreading whatever was coming, she knew he wasn't exactly ready for it. None of them were.

NATALIA

The mood shift from Anna told Natalia that what she was about to hear wasn't going to be good. it now worried her immensely of what she was about to be told. She could see how frightened and anxious Anna was about having to tell her and she swore to herself, whatever it was Anna was not going to be to blame. Whatever the group was keeping from her, it was serious, that much was clear from Anna's body language. Then the information started being told and Nat found herself looking wide eyed at what she was hearing. It wasn't just complicated like Cason said, or that the iron was slowing the process of healing for him earlier, it was more life threatening than that. When she was in the asylum, Cason almost literally died, the demons torturing her telling her he was dead weren't fully lying. They really thought he would have been.

She continued to listen as she watched Anna tuck hair behind her ear and then explain further that a lot of Cason's stab wound was because of Dean, that it was Dean who ordered they leave him behind for dead, made her blood boil. Yet again Dean had been determined to rip Cason from her, never had the intention to TRY and pull him out when he promised her at the car he would bring Cason back to her, if she stayed back. She felt she had been stupid for deciding to trust him and his words. She trusted all of them! Sam, Mika…they all told her they would Cason out if she just remained in the car. The hurt in her eyes wasn't easily hidden. She believed every word Anna told her, how she begged them to go back for Cason. Now it all made sense when Anna rushed over to him when they all got back to Bobby's. It all made sense why they looked shocked he was even alive. She was going to absolutely rip Dean a new one for this.

Instead of saying anything initially, Nat just walked up to Anna and pulled her into a hug. “none of this is your fault. You were hurt and betrayed by his decision as much as I was.” She told her, showing she was still wanting to be her friend and held no grudges against her. “Dean promised me he'd get Cason back….they all did. ‘no man gets left behind’ and all that. I guess I shouldn't be surprised they lied to me again…it's a habit for them after all….” She told Anna, trying so hard not to cry herself. She was done crying. All she could feel was betrayal and anger towards her siblings, and she never thought she could feel that from Sam. Sam always had her back, always. Now she's found out he went along with Dean's decision? She didn't know how to process that kind of betrayal. Dean she expected it from, but not Sam….not even Mika. Then again, Mika always took Dean's side.

Pulling away from Anna slowly, she looked her in the eyes. “I don't blame you for any of this. I know you would have tried everything you could to fight my brother on that choice. I'm on your side Anna.” She told her honestly, trying her best to show her that her anger was not aimed at Anna in the slightest. She didn't know how she was going to face the boys out in the main diner now, but she knew she had to. Every bit of happiness she was feeling had been ripped from her very soul with this information. But Anna was right, she did deserve to know and from what Anna told her? It was most definitely something Dean and probably Cason would have kept from her until it was well and truly water under the bridge.

“Come on…let's get back to the other two before they start wondering what's taking us so long. But thank you Anna, for being so honest with me. It means the world” she gave her a little reassuring smile to show she meant it, even if that smile didn't reach her eyes.

SAM

Cason's words about him knowing it's possible for his kind to fall in love, raised Sam's curiosity about the subject. If there was a book out there that explained that, he most definitely wanted to find it and read up on it. It was the book worm in him and his never ending need to constantly learn about their enemies. “If there's a book, we'll find it. I get the feeling you wanna know more about it all as I do” he replied to Cason before letting him continue talking and swearing to Sam that he would never put Nat in danger or hurt her. Sam seemed to be content with Cason's answer, and the fact the man was willing to let his issues with Dean go for the sake of Natalia and his love for her told Sam everything he wanted to know. There was no other reasonable instance where he'd see Cason just moving on from his dislike of Dean and willingly work with him, so Natalia clearly did mean something to Cason.

“Okay” she began saying, “I believe you and trust you to make her happy and safe. I don't need to say you hurt her, I hurt you…we both know you already know that” he added before smirking at Cason's little joke about waterboarding him with holy water. “Only if you hurt my sister” he joked back, but there was a sense of seriousness in his statement. He then looked towards the restrooms and still saw no sign of the girls. “Have they dropped into a black hole or something?” He then joked, before seeing Maddie coming over with half their order. “rest is coming up boys” she stated, putting the bag down on the table. “sure I can't ya anything sugar?” She asked Cason, having been aware there was nothing for him.

Anna whimpered as Nat’s arms wrapped around her, and her eyes went wide over Natalia’s shoulder. She would have never expected a hug, after admitting that she was there…and survived when Cason was expected to die. Nat’s words about her brothers being serial liars hit Anna little harder in the chest than she expected, and she closed her eyes tightly, clinging to Natalia. Finally, there was someone that understood why she was so angry, and betrayed, and hurt…and felt like she had been lied to. She wanted to cling to this feeling, and so she did, as long as Natalia was willing to hug her.

As Nat pulled away, Anna just nodded at her with wide teary eyes. In a world where it felt like every single problem rested on her shoulders, or Sam’s shoulders, it was nice to have someone actually look her in the eyes and tell her she wasn’t at fault for something. It wasn’t true, though. They all knew that the barn incident was because of her. She wouldn’t be able to shake that feeling no matter how hard she tried, but she wished she could take it all back, and keep Cason safe…as silly as it sounded rattling around in her head.

“Thank you.” Anna whispered, pressing her lips together and nodding. She turned to the mirror behind her and took in her appearance. Her nose was red, something she wouldn’t be able to hide from Sam, no matter how hard she tried. But she could at least dry her eyes up and wipe some of the last bits of dirt away from her streaky cheeks.

She was just wiping the last bit of tear stains away from her cheeks, trying to compose herself not to start the whole teary process all over again as the overwhelm of Nat knowing…and likely planning to confront Dean cramped her stomach. She nodded as Nat said that they needed to leave the bathroom, and she returned her sad smile, walking toward the door. She opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom, walking straight toward Sam with her eyes on the floor. Maybe if she didn’t look at him, he wouldn’t notice her red nose.



Cason’s smirk turned into a full laugh when Sam joked back with him. He knew that in the tiniest of ways, he was now friendly with Sam, which gave him a lot more protection from the others than Sam would ever give himself credit for. He followed Sam’s gaze and turned to glance at the bathroom door as Sam commented on the delay. He was a bit curious, but he figured they were just hashing out whatever it was that was bothering Anna. Anna could be talkative when she was upset.

“I could always pop in and…” Cason started to suggest, before being interrupted by the sweet waitress from earlier. He turned his eyes up to her and put on his most charming smile, shaking his head, “No ma’am. I had a bit of a long day. I think I would rather just have beer for dinner.”

The girls piled out of the bathroom, obstructed at first by a few people stepping away from the counter and walking out the door. Cason turned his eyes from Maddie to both of them, and he instantly noticed that Anna’s hair was pushed behind her ears. She had pulled her hands into his jacket sleeves and had crossed her arms…and her nose was red. They hadn’t been together a lifetime or anything, but he knew her well enough to know her body language like the back of his hand. He narrowed his eyes, burning his gaze into her eyelids as she looked at the floor, trying to get her to make eye contact with him…but she didn’t.

“Everything alright?” He asked Nat as Anna sat on the edge of Sam’s side of the booth, hugging herself a little tighter as she took a deep breath. “Anna? You okay?”

“Yep. Just a little emotional, today, I guess.” Anna deflected, never turning her eyes from her knees. Cason narrowed his eyes even more at the fact that she couldn’t make eye contact with him, and he turned to Nat.

“Mhm. Okay. Well…what about you? You good?”

NATALIA

There wasn't a single part of Natalia that could possibly blame Anna for what happened in that barn. Anna was just as much of a victim to Dean's decision making as she was. Yes she was angry, she was extremely angry and wanted to punch Dean's lights out, but that didn't stop her from seeing Anna was hurting just as much over what went down in the barn, if not hurting even more so. Feeling Anna cling onto her made her see how much Dean hurt her and that just added to her anger. Anna didn't deserve this, none of them did but in Dean's need to be right or have some kind of control over an impossible situation, he ended up hurting everyone….again. She just really hoped that Anna could now see she could turn to Nat if she ever needed to. The two of them had to stick together.

As Anna wiped her face to try and hide how much she had been crying, Nat took a few deep breaths looking in the mirror to try and control the anger she could feel bubbling around inside. She didn't want to unleash her fury in a diner, especially as that anger was meant for one person and one person only. It didn't help that she was absolutely starving so it all just added fuel to the fire. Following Anna out of the bathroom, she waved in and out of the crowd, spotting Sam in the distance at a booth before she saw Cason. Sam really did feel like a beacon at times. Reaching the booth, she just sat down next to Cason, a lot quieter than when earlier, finding she was clenching her fist and opening it again on repeat for a sense of control.

She listened as Cason asked Anna if everything was okay, deciding that whatever excuse Anna would use, Nat would go along with it as best she could. she didn't even need to look at Cason to see he was looking at her suspiciously, not believing Anna in the slightest. “uh huh, perfect” she replied, glancing at him as if the lie would be any more believable. He already thought of her as a terrible liar so she didn't even know she tried to lie to him. She knew she would have to tell him she knows what happened at some point but she didn't want to bring it up here in the diner. It had to wait until they got home….where Dean was. She didn't think she could hold back if she clocked eyes with him and knew she would have to try and avoid him as much as possible. Yet that was always easier said than done in Bobby's and if she did confront him, she had to be prepared for people pulling her back or Mika scolding her like a child. But if she got a punch in it would be worth it.

SAM

Sam never thought he would have made Cason laugh that wasn't a sarcastic laugh. Yet there he was actually joking around with the man. He also could help but wonder if the reason Cason turned round to see where the girls were was because like him, he was a little bit worried as he knew that they didn't usually take that long, at least…Nat never did. Half the time Natalia was even quicker than he or Dean. When Cason started to joke about popping in to see what was taking them so long, he was ready to completely shut down that idea as it just felt a little creepy to him, even if Cason was just joking. Maddie's appearance with the first bag of food completely interrupted them however and luckily just ended that conversation naturally.

Hearing Cason call the waitress ma'am was a little bit of a head spinner as it was so incredibly old school compared to what he had been used to hearing Cason saying. It was a stark reminder just how old Cason was and it made his mind cringe slightly knowing how he and Nat seemed to love each other. That was going to take a lot of getting used to. Luckily for him, the sight of the girls arriving back once Maddie had left to get the rest of their food, Sam felt he could get his mind on anything but the age gap. He began to open his mouth to make some quip about the time they took, but one looks at their faces and he knew to shut his mouth instantly. Something was wrong, their whole personas were different to when they went into the bathroom and he got concerned about what was said between them. The only thing he wasn't theorising was that they had some kind of argument as it would have looked very different.

He wanted to ask about what changed their mood. Wondering if they had a spat with someone else in the bathroom or if what he dreaded the most happened, Anna told her about the barn. He hoped it wasn't the latter but something in the pit of his stomach told him it was. Especially when Anna blatantly lied about being fine and Natalia just grumbled about being perfect, her tone telling a different story.

About a minute or two later, Maddie came back with the rest of the food in a couple of bags, putting them down and Sam paid for it all. “Okay, let's head back. Seems like you both just need to eat and kick back for a bit” he remarked, trying to convince himself of their words. He watched Nat grab one of the bags of food and stand up, shimmying out of the booth and just seeming to be utterly zoned out. It was then he noticed how she was clutching the bag so tightly, she was trying not to explode emotionally. He gave Cason a look that ‘i deal with Anna, you Nat when we get back?’. He really didn't have a good feeling about what was going to happen when they got back, so he grabbed the other two bags, followed Anna out of the booth when she was ready to get up and headed out to Nat's car.

Esme smiled behind the kiss at Duke's reaction to her touch. It was a breath of fresh air, not having to try so hard. She was his, and he was hers. For once, she felt safe enough with Duke to give all of herself to him, not holding anything back. And she hoped that he did, too, or would at least get to that point with her. Yes, there was still that fear deep down he would bolt at some point, but she hoped that if she could show him how much she loved him, he wouldn't feel the need to bolt. Having him bolt now would absolutely crush Esme’s heart. After getting another chance with him, she wasn’t sure she could handle him bolting without her if it came to that. Esme was head over heels in love with the man in her arms, and she wasn’t afraid to admit it. Did it scare her how much she loved him? Yes, it did, but she was tired of being afraid to love again. And she was tired of going through life alone, fearing that everything she loved would disappear from her life forever. She needed Duke just as much as she thought he needed her.

Esme melted into Duke’s arms, and her heartbeat quickened as he pulled her closer. After she kissed him, he traced her jaw with his thumb. Like Duke, the memory of the first time he held her face like this flashed through her mind as clearly as if it happened yesterday. He had downed several glasses of whiskey to get the courage to tell and show her why she should love him, and she turned him down because she was in love with Dean at the time. She felt stupid for not paying closer attention to the sighs that had been so clear before Duke made his move. Esme also never told Dean about it, either. She knew that would cause more trouble than they needed. When Duke took over the pace of the kiss, Esme grinned behind it, taking his cue and deepening her kiss, lettering her love for him flow through the kiss. She knew he was still worried about hurting her, but she would let him know if he ended up hurting her, and she knew he knew that as well. So, when he took a careful step between her legs and guided her back, she brought a hand up to the back of his head.

Esme’s fingers tangled in Duke’s hair when his hands found her thighs, and his lips left hers to trail hungry kisses down her jaw and the side of her neck. She softly moaned as he lifted her gently, setting her on the countertop, and stepped between her legs. Duke’s sweet whisper against her neck made her smile. “Yes, I do know that.” she whispered back with a hum and a shiver from his little kisses. “And I love you.” She opened her eyes as she felt him smile against her neck and tightened his grip on her neck. When he pulled and smiled down at her, she smiled back. “Forever and after, I’m yours.” she whispered before he kissed her again. Esme closed her eyes and matched his kiss as her hands found the waistband of his jeans, lingering there a moment as she gently ran her fingers along his skin before shoving his jeans off his hips. She then wrapped her legs around Duke’s waist and pulled him closer while one hand found his hair again and the other found his cheek. Esme broke the kiss after a moment. Starting with his chin, she trailed sweet kisses up his jawline to his ear, giving it a loving nibble and then kissing it ever so gently. Opening her eyes, she pulled away from his ear, placed kisses on each of his eyes and the tip of his nose, and finally returned to his lips, kissing him deeply and passionately as her thumb stroked his cheek lovingly.

Cason frowned at Nat’s dismissive answer to his question. He let it go, though, and leaned back in his seat, glancing out the window. When Maddie came back with the food, he turned his eyes back to Anna for a moment, noticing that she was just absentmindedly playing with the zipper on the sleeve of his jacket, staring straight at the table in front of her. He could see the little tears in the corners of her eyes, as if they refused to dry and he wanted so badly to just ask her to spill, or he would make her spill.

But he wasn’t that aggressive anymore, unless he had to be. With Anna, he definitely wasn’t willing to cross that line. He sighed, and turned to Nat as she grabbed a bag, clutching it as if it was going to jump out of her hands and run off. He caught Sam’s eyes and nodded, reading his expression perfectly, as if he could see into his mind. He slid out of the booth behind Nat, gently placing a hand on her back as she walked toward the door.

Anna slipped out of the booth, and straightened the large jacket sleeves that covered her hands. She never looked up. She just followed along, knowing that when they got back to the house, all hell was going to break loose, and in a way, she had implicated Sam just as much as Dean. She followed Nat out the door to her car and chewed at her lip to the point that she tasted metal.

A bit later - Back at Bobby’s

As the car pulled to a stop, Anna took a deep breath and she almost thought that she heard Cason echo her breathing. She reached for the door handle, and then stepped out of the car, almost flinching at the sound of her boots on the gravel. The lot was relatively quiet, which meant that for once, no one was fighting. No one was battling anything. Everyone was relaxed…for the time being.

She didn’t wait for Sam, walking ahead of them to just get into the house, and hopefully Dean and Mika weren’t even still there. But as she reached for the door of the kitchen, and swung it open, Dean stumbled into the kitchen with an awkward smile on his face, buttoning his jeans and attempting to straighten his clothes. Anna didn’t make eye contact with him. She simply left the door ajar, figuring that Sam would be the next one in behind her, and stood by the kitchen counter with her arms crossed.

“You alright?” Dean asked her, but she said nothing, just staring at the floor. “You know, eventually, you’re going to have to talk to me…”

Cason quickly stepped out of the car and walked around, opening Nat’s door. He reached in and grabbed her hand, pulling her in close to his side, as if she was going to run off and start a war. Judging by her behavior…she just might. He pulled her along the gravel lot, up to the back door of the house, and he could hear Dean talking to Anna just past the door, which gave him pause.

“Yeah I wouldn’t count on that…” Cason warned Dean, as he walked inside and made room for Natalia. He didn’t know why Nat was suddenly so upset, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Anna, in her anger with Dean, had spilled the beans.

“What are you talking about?” Dean asked, glancing up to Nat as she walked through the back door.



Dean ran his hand down Mika’s bare back, holding her close to him as he ran tiny little kisses and bites down her throat. Then a car door slammed in the parking lot, and he froze, “I think the kids are home…”, he murmured against her throat, pushing himself up on his elbow enough to see over the side of the couch. He couldn’t see anything out the window, but he just had a feeling they were coming through the kitchen door.

“C’mon. Up! We’ll finish this tonight.” He teased with a slight serious tone to Mika, crawling over her, and onto his feet. He pulled his jeans back onto his hips, and grabbed his t-shirt from the floor, quickly pulling it over his head, before reaching back down for his flannel. He slipped his arms into it, just as the back door opened. Thinking quick on his feet, he jogged to the kitchen to try and give Mika time to get dressed before the others filed in.

Of course it was Anna that stepped in.



Duke nearly fell apart right there, all at once when she not only reciprocated his ‘I love you’ but added to it. She said it out loud. She was his. She was his. That fact spurred him on even more, and he wanted to pull away from her and tell her to say it again. He wanted to hear it again, echoing in his mind for the next decade. She had him wrapped around her finger in any way she would have him, and Duke had a feeling that she knew it, too.

He groaned against her lips, as her fingers traced the waistband of his jeans, her touch causing his abs to tense and his hips to roll forward, until she finally pushed his jeans off his hips. He stepped out of them, and brought a hand down to her thigh, wrapping his fingers around it like a puzzle piece. Just the feeling of her fingers in his hair caused him to groan a little louder as she began pressing kisses along his face, something he would never allow any other woman to do. It was too close…to intimate. It gave her too much control. But he stilled, allowing the closeness with shaky breath as he closed his eyes, simply brushing his thumb over her cheek.

He couldn’t help the toothy smile that broke out across his face as she kissed his eyes and the tip of his nose, his heart swimming by the time she returned to his lips. His kiss became much more urgent then, and he slipped his hands carefully under her hips again, pulling her tightly against him as he lifted her and carried her back toward his bed.

A little bit later

Duke stared at the stickers that were plastered to the ceiling of his little makeshift bedroom, his breathing calming slowly but surely as he just basked in having Esme wrapped up on him under his quilt…in his RV. It was something that he only would have dreamed about a few years prior but now…she was his. She said she was his. He tilted his head, gazing down at her lovingly as he brought the arm under her head up, brushing her hair with his fingers.

A shudder hit him, causing his heart to flutter as he ran that same hand over her bare shoulder, drawing a small circle there, while attempting to avoid any scrapes and bruises.

“You’re trouble…” He teased her with a tired chuckle, his ears perking up just a little at the sound of a door slamming nearby in the lot. He didn’t figure any of them would just burst into the RV. So, he ignored it and focused on Esme. He turned a bit, laying a little more on his side as he studied her face. He brought his other hand up, and caged her jaw, smirking at the way his fingers wrapped around. “And you’re…mine.”