[h3] Dean and Duke [/h3]

Dean’s shoulders relaxed a bit when Mika stepped in between him and Duke, telling them to simmer down. He almost became mad all over again when Duke cracked his neck and nodded slowly at Mika’s response. It was amazing to Dean that Mika was still able to get through to Duke so easily. They were linked, like they were using the same brain like twins. Duke took a step back and crossed his arms, leaning against the kitchen counter as Mika turned to Dean.

He came back to on edge as Mika said the words ‘don’t be mad when I say this’. He knew that whatever she was going to say was going to smash him in the face. But she said exactly what he had been thinking, how his fear was the reason he was so angry. He wasn’t angry that Anna told Nat about the barn. He was angry that she found out, because he had to deal with her anger before he was prepared to. His face softened a bit as he listened to Mika’s explanation, and her reasoning for him stopping the warpath he was on.

She was right. 

Nat had been through so much in such a short amount of time, Dean didn’t even want to think about it. And he was sure that to her, he was the most untrustworthy person to come into her life, regardless of whether or not he was her brother. Hell, half the time, he didn’t even feel like her brother. She had Sam. She and Sam were so close, for good reason, and Dean protected her as best he could, similar to Sam. If something he said was going to hurt her, he would never let it slip from his mouth, no matter how big. And in this particular case, he had really messed up with Cason and he was too scared to tell Natalia, only to have it blow back in his face…hard.

“C’mon brother…” Duke reasoned with him, as Mika’s eyes pierced into Dean’s. Between the two of them, Dean’s eyes softened a bit, turning almost into Sam’s signature puppy eyes as the green overwhelmed everything else. He took a deep breath, and tapped his hand on the kitchen table, needing something to touch.

“I’m sorry.” Dean muttered, glancing over to Duke, who just held his hands up and shook his head.

“Ain’t the worst fight we’ve had. You really do need to get some ice on that eye, though.” Duke replied simply with a small lighthearted smirk. Dean reached up and touched his swelling cheek with a shrug.

“I’ll be fine.” Dean said. “I just don’t know what to say to her, now. I was wrong and I admitted it, or so I thought. But now…it’s all fresh again. I mean, what do I say to her?”

[h3] Cason [/h3] 

Cason watched as Nat spilled her guts to Esme, a little surprised, but glad that she was actually talking to someone. Bottling things up was the reason these little explosions happened. Cason knew that. That’s why he was trying to make it a personal mission to pull her away from the group every now and then to just have her let things off…

He just let them talk for a bit, seeing a lot of why Esme, Duke and Dean were so tense around each other at times and why those that were around Dean Winchester tended to stick around. He was what they needed, when they needed it. But he also tended to pick up people he needed…only to drive them away when he didn’t feel he needed them anymore.

When she looked up to him, he caught her eyes, lowering his eyebrows into a relaxed and polite neutral gaze. He wasn’t as afraid of her, now. While he appreciated her apology, it wasn’t necessary. It wasn’t hard to see why she was so angry at the asylum, and hopeless…

“It’s alright.” Cason told her honestly, “That was more than just emotions, Esme. I can tell how much you love that blonde idiot…I can’t imagine how it felt when they told you he was dead. I was blunt. I was unkind and coming from a demon, this may sound hilarious, but I’m sorry for that. I really am.”

Cason paused and he sighed, “And then everything else that happened, all that anger and…you know what? Let’s chalk our situation up to wrong place, wrong time. How about that? You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

[h3] Anna [/h3]

Anna held onto Sam for dear life as long as he was willing to hold her. His voice cut through all of the chaos and the anger in her mind. Her heartbeat slowly shifted, from frantic and anxious to calm, if not a little nervous. She could feel it in Sam’s heart, too, the little stutters of his heart every time she took a deep breath. She eventually pulled her head to just press her forehead against Sam’s chest, signaling that she was at least calming down a bit. She always seemed to. There was a reason it was so hard for her to be angry at Sam. His voice brought her down from the worst of her anger, sadness, anxiety…anything. He could get through to her when no one else could, and in some ways, that could be dangerous.

When Sam spoke up again, not just soothing her but actually offering ideas, Anna stopped and listened, catching her breath against his chest. She mulled over his words, not wanting to necessarily sleep outside in the cold, even in a car. But she also wasn’t staying in that house, with Dean under the same roof. After a moment, she nuzzled her forehead against Sam’s chest and then pulled away from him, her nose bright red and her eyes still flooded with tears. She knew she looked pitiful, but Sam wouldn’t judge her for it.

“I think um…I think I want to leave.” Anna told him honestly, as a fresh bit of crying came up, causing her to scrunch her nose as the tears poured down her cheeks. “I can’t be around him. I can’t even go get my clothes, because I don’t want him to look at me. Can we go? You don’t have to stay with me…I just…I just don’t think I can drive right now.”