[h3] Dean [/h3]

Dean decided to drop the conversation about Natalia as soon as he saw Lexi’s smile drop. She definitely didn’t seem to want to talk about it anymore, and he was happy to let it go, if it would ease ANY of the tension in the bunker. As she stepped inside and picked up one of the angel blades, Dean shoved his hands in his pockets and he just watched, having to chuckle as she commented on the craftsmanship of the blade.

“They are pretty nice. It’s the dicks that carry them I don’t care for as much.” Dean chuckled, shaking his head. Hearing that her fiancé’s nerdiness for swords and blades rubbed off on Lexi just made him tilt his head back with a smirk that said ‘interesting’. He walked a little closer, picking up one of the blades and spinning it on his palm, “And if you’ve picked up on a few things, then that means you’re good with one of these. I would say that comes way…way in handy in this line of work.”

He held the blade up in the light, watching the way the light flickered onto the wall next to him and then he turned his eyes back up to Lexi with a bright smile, “And you wanna know the best part? These things? They can kill demons. Not smoke ‘em out. Not send ‘em back to Hell…kill them. Dead as they would be if we shot them with the Colt. Hell, they can kill anything, and we have a ton of them, one for each of us.”

[h3] Anna [/h3]

Anna tilted her head, dropping Sam’s hand as she placed her hands on her hips and listened to him explain that he was as good as could be expected. She was genuinely glad to hear it, although she did wonder if things would have been easier for him to handle Dean’s grief and binge drinking if she had come home. She was good with Dean, after some healing between them. Maybe she could have kept him off that ledge, but at least he seemed good for the moment. He seemed almost healthier than when they dropped her off.

“I’ve been good.” She replied when he complimented her, but quickly he started explaining himself, and Anna took a deep breath, not quite sure how to handle Sam actually talking. They normally didn’t talk. They just…let the past sit there, festering until the next awkward moment. Around and around that bend. He had also never stated that he might have been wrong, which took Anna aback. He was saying everything she had wanted to hear from him for months, but never thought he would say out loud. But as he continued speaking, Anna’s heart plummeted. He was protecting her after she had died. It made her feel like dying was an inconvenience, like if she could have prevented it somehow, he wouldn’t have left. He would still be hers. She would still be home.

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly say that things have been stable, or normal.” Anna started, sniffling as she began to pace back and forth, slowly in front of him. She took a deep breath, pushing down the anger that suddenly began to bubble up, now that they were spilling their guts to one another, “I mean, unless you count Duke having to sit with me until dawn most nights, right after you left, because I woke up screaming for you. I still dream about you. I dream about the look on your face, while the light faded from my eyes. I saw your face. Did I ever tell you that? I watched you, until the very end…”

Anna’s voice broke, and she let out a soft sob, gritting her teeth, “And I was there for you, through everything. Dean even promised me, and you know he doesn’t make promises…he promised me you would come back. He promised that he would come get me, and yet here we are. I get it. You were scared. You were scared you were going to watch me die, or that I was going to have to live without you but all you did was make me have panic attacks every time the phone rang…”

Anna stopped and she squatted for a moment, collecting herself by pushing her hair back from her face and wiping both her hands over her cheeks to try and reign in some of her emotions. Standing to her feet again, she sniffled and turned back to Sam, holding her hand out.

“Did you stop and think for one second about what I might have wanted? That maybe I was scared too, and all I wanted was to be there for you? Or that maybe after everything we have been through together that I could handle what was coming? Or did you just…think of yourself without so much as speaking to me about what you were feeling. That’s not you, Sam.”

She pointed a finger at Sam’s face, and then went quiet for a moment, beginning to pace again as she grappled with the confused emotions that were rumbling around in her brain. Part of her hated Sam for what he did to her, and the other part of her just wanted him to tell her to come home and they could start over like nothing had ever happened…

[h3] Anya [/h3]

Anya hadn’t heard the entire story of Mika and Dean’s relationship, but she knew that Mika had been close with the Winchester’s entire group. From what Anya knew, they had all split up after her death, in one way or another. So, hearing that Dean had known Mika forever, Anya’s eyes softened into a sad frown. She could tell that Dean was still struggling his way back to normal, or at least whatever was normal for him. But thinking of him being so worse off that those closest to him would fear he was going to kill himself, Anya couldn’t help the pit that formed in her stomach.

Anya changed her face back to a neutral smirk as Natalia mentioned that she was actually happy to have a mole on the inside. She nodded, and pulled her phone, typing a quick, “Ask me anything. I’m an open book. But I might have some questions too…about Sam.”

When Natalia asked her if she knew how to use a knife, Anya typed another message, letting it play, before sliding her phone in her back pocket and out of the way, “I assume you just stab them with the pointy end and hope for the best. But I also assume there’s more to it than that, or you wouldn’t have me in a muddy field to teach me how to do it right. So, I’m your student. Show me…and let’s talk.”