LEXI

Lexi got out of the back seat of the impala, where she sat with Anya as she let Sam take the front for the leg room during the drive to the location. She didn't have the heart to make Sam sit in the back seat and be cramped up. It also meant she could chat with Anya for a bit using both words and sign language. At the location, she stretched her legs and arms once out of the car and looked around. It didn't seem like much of an area but she had no reason to doubt Cason's information.

When Dean pulled out a whistle, she couldn't help but smirk in amusement, still in disbelief that he actually found one in the bunker. “Still can't believe you actually found that” she told him, glancing over at how close Anya was to Sam and she really didn't blame the girl. Even if she was excited by this hunt, Lexi knew Anya had to be somewhat nervous to some degree. Or at least, she hoped she was as it meant she would be careful. Pure excitement always spelled trouble in people, especially new hunters in training. As Anya came over and asked where she had to go, she let Dean explain the plan, hoping Anya would be okay with it. He was right about the whole needing to not be seen by the demons and that left Anya in a very vulnerable position, but at least they had Cason to help get her out in a flash if needed. “You're gonna be fine Anya, we're not gonna let anything happen to you” she said as Dean unraveled the whistle in front of Anya's eyes

As Anya blew the whistle to test it, her head quickly snapped over to where Cason and Natalia were, seeing how he reacted really badly to the sound. Looking back toward Dean, and seeing his beaming look, he seemed rather happy with now knowing what the engravings meant. She also spotted the narrowing of eyes that Nat gave Dean, “oh you're in trouble later” she smirked as Anya kept the whistle round her neck and went back to Sam. “Let's just hope Anya won't need it when she's close to Cason yeah? Or you might have a rabid sister at your throat” she said again.

SAM

Sam was the last to get out of the car and went straight to Anya's side. He wanted to make sure she was okay with what they were about to do, but he saw how her nervousness was mixed with excitement and he somehow just knew deep down she would be okay. “Just please be careful tonight” he requested of her, before she went over to Dean and Lexi. He kept back as he didn't think he needed to be there right on her tail despite wanting to be. As he waited for Dean to explain the situation, he glanced over at the other car and saw how Anna pulled her backpack onto her back and headed to where she needed to be. He still felt awkward about Anna being brought here but he knew she was a valuable member of the team.

He looked back toward the others when he overheard what Dean said about having to leave Anya alone completely for a few minutes and he was right, Sam didn't like it. He never liked it. He hated the whole setting someone as bait situation, but he was hating it even more now that it meant leaving Anya on her own. As Anya took the whistle and blew it, he looked over at how Cason reacted to it, looking back at Dean. ‘of course he found an anti demon whistle…’ he thought to himself with a sigh. He then started to walk over closer to the other three and the moment he did, he felt Anya just hug him tightly, causing him to just wrap his arms around her. “It's gonna be okay” he told her once more, kissing the top of her head. “There's plenty of us to get you if we have to but you're in good hands with Cason” he explained, pulling her back ever so slightly and walking her over to Cason. “Okay, let's do this” he said to Cason and Nat.

NATALIA

At the location, Nat got out of the car after pocketing the keys safely and listened to Cason and Anna discussing where she would be needed. She couldn't help but notice how he was being like Anna's dad still, despite the chat before they left the bunker. So when Anna called him dad, she had to force herself to stifle a chuckle, smirking before Cason looked at her, which made wipe the smirk off her face. “Eh, you kinda did a bit” she remarked, following him round to the trunk of her car, popping it open for them both to get what they needed. As she did, she listened to him ask about if she was still wearing her ring, so she paused grabbing her bag and lifted her hand up to show him that it was very much still on her finger. “Never take it off, you know this. Tonight is no different.” She reassured him, moving her hand to his cheek and stroking it. “I'm going to be fine I promise and even if something happens? This ring will probably let you know before I even know it” she smiled softly, placing a short but loving kiss on his lips.

Turning back to the trunk, she grabbed her duffel bag and slung it over her shoulder as she always did. As she closed the trunk once Cason got what he needed for the summoning, she heard a whistle get blown, making her quickly turn her head to see it was Anya and smirk, yet seconds later she turned to face Cason to see it was hurting him. “Cason?” She asked worried, trying to see what was wrong when she saw it made his ears bleed, before looking back toward Dean, Lexi, Sam and Anya. Seeing the way Dean beamed at finding out the whistle wasn't entirely harmless she narrowed her eyes at Dean briefly, then looked back at Cason. “You good?” She asked, “I swear he will never grow up” she sighed.

Waiting for the others to be done with their pep talks, she readjusted her bag on her shoulder, holding it firmly in place so it didn't slip down. “Think Sam is more worried than Anya is” she remarked to Cason as she studied the body languages of everyone. “So where do you need me?” She asked, wanting to make sure she had all the information memorized correctly before the others would come over. She had some vague ideas but wanted to double check nonetheless so he could be assured by knowing exactly where she was. She knew how woods and being separated was always a slightly sore subject for them and made them both nervous, even if it had been years and they had done a lot more successful hunts near or in woods than not.

As Sam and Anya eventually walked over, she gave them both a glance and nod. “She’ll be just fine Sammy” she told Sam, patting his shoulder. “Good luck, not that you need it” she told Anya, giving her some positive energy in her words.

Dean chuckled at Lexi’s response, but as he glanced over at Nat, he winced a bit, his smile still ghosted across his lips. If there was ever a time that he hoped Cason wouldn’t have to bare the brunt of a weapon, having Nat there as a favor was definitely that time. Dean turned his eyes to Sam and Anya, sighing as he watched his brother try to calm any of Anya’s nerves.

Anya melted into Sam as soon as he wrapped his arms around her, and she pressed her head tightly against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. She nodded slowly as Sam explained that they would keep her safe, one way or another. She had to believe him. It was the only thing she could hold onto, when she didn’t even fully know what they were up against.

As he pulled back, Anya nodded, and she signed a simple, “Okay.”, before walking over to Cason with him. Dean pulled Lexi with him, and he patted Sam on the back as they separated, carrying out a plan that Dean could only hope went off as simply as Cason seemed to think it would. He stepped off into the opposite direction in the woods, from Anna, giving plenty of distance for none of them to be seen during the exchange, and hopefully killing of this rogue demon.

“So, remember the plan. No matter what we hear or see. No matter what he makes us see, we don’t go after her until Cason himself calls an all clear, or comes for us.” Dean explained as they walked, “He said this demon is good at mimicking whatever it has to. We won’t be able to trust each other. So, don’t leave my sight.”



Cason nodded as Natalia asked him if he was okay. Other than the bleeding and ringing in his ears, the whistle was more like a taser, temporary, painful, and stunning. Cason pulled an angel blade for himself, and then situated all of the other supplies he needed for the summoning under his own arm. At Nat’s comment about the worry for Anya, Cason shrugged his shoulders, “He’s sweet on her. I remember a time where he didn’t let Anna out of his sight, even knowing she was just as powerful as he was. It’s not that surprising that a simple human would make him anxious. It’s not like she has much other than willpower and the ability to run…to protect herself.”

As he looked around the woods, he noticed that it was a perfect place to plan a circle. Which meant that there was an obvious place to put Natalia, “You’re one of the ones we need the closest, the sharpest. So, I need to you to walk directly that way…count thirty or so steps, and then find a place to hide. Make sure you can hear me, but you can’t see me. It’s the same plan I gave the others. Anya will stay with me. I’ll summon the demon. I’ll offer her up on a cute little platter, and then…she takes him out with Ruby’s knife.”

He turned to Anya and Sam, making eye contact with Anya, “You have the knife?”

Anya pulled the knife from the back of her pants, wiggling it in the moonlight, the light glimmering off of it bringing back a few memories for Cason as he nodded in understanding. He turned his eyes up to Sam, and then nodded in the direction not far from where he told Nat to go. Then, he turned himself back to Nat, “We’ll be fine. Go.”

Anya stepped up close to Cason, reluctantly releasing Sam’s hand, her fingers slipping from his as if she was terrified to let him go. She then followed Cason as he stepped into a clearing and began laying out supplies. He opened a few of the vials that he had brought with him, dropping the contents into the large bowl he was holding. He sat the bowl on the ground, reaching over to pull his angel blade closer and then held his hand out to Anya.

“What?” She signed, and Cason held his hand out with a little more authority.

“Knife.” He ordered. Anya handed the knife over, but instead of simply taking it, Cason grabbed her wrist, taking the knife from her hand, and then forced her fingers open, slicing open her palm. She hissed in pain, her eyes widening as he held her bleeding hand over the bowl and then released her after he had enough blood. “Sorry. I forgot to mention that. Here…”

Cason pulled a bandana from his pocket, and handed it to Anya, along with the knife. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling a book of matches, igniting one, and then dropped it into the bowl. The bowl flamed up, causing Anya to flinch, but then Cason pushed her away from him, signaling for her to stand up. She stood, holding the knife out in front of her as she turned in a circle, but everything went quiet.

After a few moments, the moonlight went away. The woods were plunged into darkness, and Cason reached out in the darkness, reaching for Anya.

“Anya? Anya, I know you can’t call out to me but follow my voice.”

“Oh, sweet baby boy. I’ve removed the little diva from the equation, because…I want to talk to you.” A voice called out in the darkness. Suddenly, the moonlight returned, but only in one place, above Cason and the demon that he had been expecting.

“And what would you want with me?” Cason asked, reaching to the ground to grab the angel blade. As he glanced down, the blade was nowhere to be found, and Anya…was nowhere to be found.

“You’re meddling in the affairs of other demons, and you’re back with the Winchesters. I just find it…curious. I can’t exactly just let go of the fact that you’re this close to the King.”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t seen Crowley in years.” Cason muttered, narrowing his eyes. The demon laughed, tilting his head back as he did so.

“Dean Winchester is on speed dial with the King of Hell and we’re all supposed to just believe that his pet demon isn’t in the same…pocket?”

“So, what? You’re going to parlor trick me to death? Snuffing the moon. Concealing the girl. What’s next hm? Unicorns? Rainbows? See…I know the parlor tricks. Even if I had a lead on Crowley, don’t you think I would have brought him with me? Creating fake deals with humans? That’s bad business…” Cason pouted, tilting his head to the side as he disappeared, causing the demon’s eyes to widen and the moonlight to return as he looked for him. Anya reappeared as well, and the demon simply picked her up by her throat, carrying her off into the woods. Cason appeared beside him, angel blade in hand, and swiped.

But the demon quickly tossed Anya, returning the moonlight so that Cason could see her flying through the air, before the moonlight disappeared again, and Cason only caught a glimpse of her scared face as she reached for him, begging for him to help her.

“No!”

In the woods around them, a voice began to echo, almost disembodied, and quiet. It was Anya’s voice, touching each individual person. To Dean, and Lexi, the voice was screaming from no particular direction. The loud scream of their names, and “HELP ME!” Called out in the darkness, causing Dean to flinch and turn, searching with his eyes narrowed, as if he could see through the piercing black.

To Sam, the voice simply called his name a few times, before whispering “We did it. My voice! It’s back. Come this way, Sam. I love you. Isn’t it perfect? We can move on now!”

And not far from Cason, as he trampled through the woods in the dark, trying to find Anya, Anya crawled, backing herself up with some effort and a broken arm to a tree. The demon stepped up in front of her, illuminating himself with a sickening grin as her own voice echoed through the woods, “Isn’t your voice beautiful? I was going to give it to you, you know. But then…you brought them. You brought the Winchesters.”

Anya reached behind her as he spoke, and she wrapped her fingers around the knife she had dropped. As soon as she picked up the knife, she held it still, just glaring at the demon as she cried, the pain in her arm intense. She groaned as she pulled her other arm up, before the demon could get any closer to her, and pulled the whistle to her lips, blowing it with every bit of force in her lungs.

She heard Cason cry out in the darkness, fully planning to apologize later, but as the demon in front of her bent double and covered his ears, Anya kept blowing the whistle, groaning as she rolled forward onto her knees, stabbing Ruby’s knife directly between the demon’s ribs. He sparked, his eyes wide and his ears bleeding, before he fell to the ground Dead and the moonlight illuminated the woods, almost brighter than before.

Anya collapsed, whistle still in her mouth as she nearly passed out, holding her broken arm to her chest.

LEXI

Hearing Dean chuckle at her little quip made Lexi smile. Nat may not have found the situation funny, but it was amusing to her how Dean reacted to what all the sigils on the whistle meant. It was such an innocent reaction in her eyes that she couldn't help but find the amusement in it. She also had a very big hunch that Cason would be just fine from a little whistle sound. Her smile softened when she too saw how Sam was comforting Anya and telling her how she was going to be okay. It was clear to her that Sam was falling hard for Anya, that he felt so responsible for her safety and she really hoped this job would go as smoothly as others thought it would. She didn't want Sam to feel like it was his fault if it went wrong, especially after hearing a summary of his history with Anna.

As Dean pulled her with him, she followed into the woods to a good position. As they walked, she listened to what he was saying, going over the plan once more so they really remembered what to do and what not to do. “Right, and I won't I promise” she replied to him, not having any inclination to leave his sight when a mimic demon was about to be dealt with. The last time she ever dealt with anything that had that ability, it was a shapeshifter pretending to be Owen and she wasn't in a rush to fall for the old trick again. “I'll be right here by your side the whole time. I'm not planning on falling for a mimic trick again” she told him as they found a good spot to hide out in, she went behind one tree right next to him so she was in his sight but not too far away.

After a few moments and when the woods plunged into pure darkness, she found herself looking around herself, trying to find Dean and remember her surroundings and where he would be. ‘He's right next to you, just remember he's right next to you’ she thought to herself, trying to get her eyes to readjust to the darkness but it was no use. She couldn't even see her own hands in front of her face. She didn't like this one bit, every fiber in her being wanting to move but she knew she couldn't as it was just too dark. All she could do was focus her ears to try and hear the conversation between Cason and this demon and hope that Cason had it all under control, but it was difficult from their distance. As the moonlight suddenly and briefly came back, she instantly glanced over to Dean to see if he was still in the same place, then glanced around to try and spot the others when she heard Cason call out, but not to them. This didn't seem to be going as smoothly as Cason assumed it would, making her keep her hands on the tree trunk to stop herself from moving from her spot. Looking again at Dean, she gave him the look to say ‘I don't like the way this is going’ just as it plunged into darkness all over again .

It felt like a natural form of strobe lighting and it was beginning to jar with her eyes as she kept still when all of a sudden she heard a female voice she didn't recognise at first, before it clicked. It was Anya's voice. Like Dean, she tried to pinpoint where the voice was coming from but couldn't, as she forced herself to remember this probably wasn't even Anya. Then she heard it…the whistle. Things had gone south to some degree and Anya had to use the whistle. The moonlight coming back brighter than ever made Lexi shield her eyes for a moment to readjust to the light before looking at Dean once more then saw Sam making a run for it from his position. “We gotta go after him” she told Dean.

SAM

Feeling Anya melt in his arms, Sam held her tighter for a brief moment until she went to Cason and Nat. He didn't want to leave her alone, but knew she was in good hands with Cason. If he could trust his sister dating him, then he could trust Anya being in his protection as well. He glanced at Dean when he parted his shoulder, giving him a nod in response as Dean and Lexi went off to their own position. He remained close enough to Nat, Cason and Anya so he could hear what Cason had to say, seeing Anya show Ruby's knife to Cason when asked if she had it. After a long day of training with Nat, he was confident Anya would be okay with it after giving it to her in the car on the way to the location. Glancing at Cason, he followed his silent instruction on where to go and began to walk to his position, just ahead of Nat. Reaching his spot, he walked round and hid behind another tree and rock formation, making sure he wasn't seen but was close enough that he was certain he'd be able to hear everything when it all went down.

He looked over and watched where Nat went to hide so he knew where she would be, he needed to know exactly where his sister was as well as knowing Anya's location. It had been a while since they got to do a hunt with Nat and like how he was with Anya, he felt he needed to know Nat's exact location, not knowing that she still had the ring Cason gave her a long time ago and it still worked between them. Shaking his thoughts into some kind of priority list in his head, he focused mostly on thinking about Anya and hoping she'll get out of this alive. Like Dean, he couldn't cope if they lost someone else because a simple hunt went south when it shouldn't have. He kept himself hidden, noting that Nat was to his right, Dean and Lexi were to his left just like Anna probably was and Cason and Anya were ahead of them all. Peeking his head round to try and see Cason and Anya, he watched on even though his view of them was completely restricted. Then came the darkness down like no other, making him look up at the sky trying to find the moonlight but it was nowhere to be seen. ‘what the hell?’ he thought to himself, having not seen something this powerful of a trick in a long time. It made him start to question if Cason got his knowledge of this demon wrong.

All he knew was that if this dark was was shrouding them all, then the summoning had worked and Cason had begun the work to kill this demon and get Anya free of its clutches. He felt on edge, hating that he couldn't see a thing, he could barely hear what was being said, his senses trying to make up for the lack of sight. Then he heard it, a call of concern from Cason and he found himself really digging his feet into the ground to stop him from running in the dark to try and save Anya. His worry only got worse when he heard a female voice calling out to him, telling him it was Anya and she had her voice back, that she loved him. Tears pricked at his eyes, wanting to run over to Anya but remembered what Nat told him about how this demon mimicked voices to lure people out. “It's not real…it's not real…” he whispered to himself, trying to convince himself it's all a trick, even though a tiny part of his mind was asking ‘what if it isn't a trick?’.

He wanted to move so much, his feet getting twitchy in the dirt until he heard the one thing he knew couldn't ignore. The whistle. Anya didn't have her voice back and she was using the whistle as a defense and a cry for help from them all. It seemed to work as he heard Cason's screams and the other demon yell out in agony, so Sam pushed himself up and vaulted over the rock in a swift action as the moonlight came back, brighter than ever. He didn't even look behind him as Nat began to chase after him, calling his name to come back. Coming into the clearing, he saw Cason dealing with the after effects of the whistle whilst Anya was barely awake on the floor, whistle still in her mouth. “Anya! Hey hey I'm here, I'm here!” He called out, skidding in the dirt to his knees and scooping Anya into his arms, seeing one of her arms broken. “I got you…I got you, I'm here” he cooed, brushing her hair out of her face and removing the whistle from her mouth.

NATALIA

Natalia listened to Cason explain about Sam's attachment to Anya. It made sense and she knew her brother was always the first one to get attached to people out of the three Winchesters. Sam was always the one who could empathize with people better than herself or Dean could. “Yeah true” she simply replied before they moved the conversation on to where he needed her to be. If he told her where to go, he would know exactly where she is which would be one less thing for him to stress over. She followed his gaze with her own and looked exactly where he needed her. “Got it. 30 paces that way, make sure to hear not see you” she repeated to show him she understood his instructions. With Anya and Sam now making their way over to the two of them, she gave both Anya and Sam a comforting smile. She had faith in her teaching that she knew Anya would be good with Ruby's knife if she had to use it. With Cason telling Sam where to go and then turning to her, she nodded. “Good luck” she told him and Anya and headed in the direction she said she would.

As she walked, she counted 30 steps and then turned to her right to hide behind a tree. Looking back out, she saw that Cason and Anya were well out of sight but she could still hear Cason asking Anya for the knife. “Good…just perfect distance” she whispered to herself, turning around and leaning her back against the tree as she began the wait for the summing to work.

With the darkness falling over them all, she looked up seeing the moonlight completely vanish from the sky and the silence of nature becoming evident. It felt like she had her eyes closed from how dark it was, despite them being very much open. She listened to Cason's voice, hearing that the summoning had worked and she mentally kicked herself when the demon said about knowing they were in hiding. How did this demon know they were nearby somewhere? She was certain they were all hidden well enough and no one had given the ambush away. Remaining silent she kept listening to the conversation, making note of how Dean's connection to Crowley had been mentioned and she didn't like that. She had hoped he had stopped all contact with the bastard, but it seemed not. Cason mentioning unicorns and rainbows made her smirk to herself. Still as snarky as ever to his own kind. She actually felt rather proud of him for it and wondered if some of her own snark had rubbed off of him, making his own snark all that much worse.

The smirk didn't last long however when she heard Cason yell ‘no’ out and she knew something bad was happening that wasn't part of the plan. Then came a disembodied female voice, she heard it calling out to Sam and she knew instantly what it was. In a hushed tone she tried to call out to Sam, “Sam, it's not real…it's the demon…” but she was certain he couldn't hear her and she couldn't risk being any louder than she was. So all she could do was hope that Sam wouldn't ruin the plan and stay put as she twirled an angel blade in her hand, ready to help if it was required. She heard the demon then talk to Anya, confirming that it was indeed just a trick for the rest of them to try and lure them out. Standing firm in her spot, she heard the whistle get used which at least told her that Anya was still alive. A small blessing even if it was hurting Cason a great deal.

The moment the dark lifted and the moonlight came back, seemingly brighter than before, she blinked a few times to readjust to the light hitting her eyes when she saw Sam make a run for it before they knew it was safe to do so. “Sam!! Sam get back here!” She called out after him, making a run for it behind him to try and get him back. “For crying out loud!” She hissed to herself as she then saw Sam skid to a halt at Anya's side. She stopped beside Cason as she saw the demon they had summoned dead on the floor. It was over but Anya was clearly hurt, turning her head back towards the woodland area, she called out to Dean and Lexi, “it's over! It's safe!” Then looked back to Cason, checking his ears and face to make sure the whistle hadn't done too much damage. “You good?” She asked him.

Anya blinked at the sky as she lay there, trying to recenter herself through the pain in her arm and the shock to her system of actually fighting and killing something. She had killed something! She had won a fight that honestly, should have killed her. She knew she owed a lot of it to the whistle just happening to be enchanted. But she also had held on long enough to use the stupid thing. Dean would have so much fun with the fact that their idea had worked after all, with a little extra oomph.

As Sam showed up, his face appearing in front of hers, curtained by his hair, Anya smiled softly, releasing the whistle as he pulled it from her mouth. She held her broken arm close to her chest as he scooped her up, and she leaned her head against his chest with a sigh and a rumbling growl from her chest. Part of her was so relieved that it was all over. The other part of her was so disappointed that she couldn’t have her voice back. She couldn’t talk to Sam. She would always have to rely on her hands to communicate with him, complicating a lot of things, even if he didn’t seem bothered.

She brought her good hand up, trying to decide on the best way to sign to him one handed. She chose to just sign letters out slowly with the one hand, “I am good. But ow…”

Anya chuckled and placed that hand on Sam’s jaw, before the buzzing in her head grew a bit louder and she fainted with a soft sigh, falling limp in his arms.

“She’ll be alright.” Anna sighed, stepping up beside them as Anya fell limp. Anna crossed her arms, angel blade draped over her elbow as she listened closely for Anya’s breathing, confirming in her mind that she was okay. She was just in a bit of shock. “Hospital or home job?”



Cason removed his hands from his ears and he gasped for air for a few moments, letting his vision return to normal as he looked around him, and finally his eyes settled on Anya, lying in a heap on the ground. Sam skidded to her side, and scooped her up, causing Cason’s head to burn with worry, as Nat reached him. He shook his arms and his legs, standing from his knees to crack his neck. He pulled his hand up and wiped a stream of blood from his nose, before nodding at Natalia.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” He muttered, wrapping his arm around Nat’s waist after a moment. As she called out for Dean and Lexi, Cason checked her over, seeing nothing wrong with her other than a bit of dirt on her clothes from hiding. His shoulders relaxed, and he turned his eyes back to Anya, hearing Anna confirm that Anya was at least going to live, but he had misjudged the whole situation horribly, “I had no idea he had like…trickster levels of bullshit in his tank. Most of these guys are just Vegas magicians with a bit of hell power behind them. He controlled the whole area. And now Anya’s hurt. I couldn’t have seen that coming. I should have…but…”

Cason sighed, as the acid burn of human guilt washed over his brain, “I don’t know how I’m gonna explain that to her.”



Dean could barely concentrate as the moon turned the woods into a night club, but in slow motion. Anya’s voice screaming for help caused his heart to clench as he reached out for Lexi in the dark, half tempted to break his own rules and pull her to him, just to keep them both safe. He was also tempted to run after Anya, to find the source of her voice and save her. But then the light just came back on, accompanied by quiet, and the whistle blowing loudly through the echoing woods. Cason and the demon screamed with the whistle, and Dean knew right then that it was all an illusion. The light, the voices, everything.

Before he could really compute what was happening, his head turned toward Sam running after Anya, disregarding Dean’s instructions to ignore everything they saw or heard. He didn’t know if Sam had heard Anya screaming, or something else, but either way, his brother was running into danger, surely getting himself killed in the process, “Sam! Wait!”

Dean caught Lexi’s own concern for Sam and he nodded, running over to her. He grabbed her hand, shifting his blade into his opposite hand as he dragged her with him through the woods, trying to follow Sam’s footsteps. He stayed back, giving Sam a chance to defend himself from afar. But then Sam skidded to a stop next to Anya, and Dean’s eyes widened. He froze for a moment, only brought out of his worry by Nat’s voice calling for him and Lexi, “We’re over here. We’re all here.”

“Sam, what’s our move, here? Is this all over?”

Cason nodded, and held a hand out to Dean, “Yeah. Yeah, it’s all over. Demon’s dead. His contract that wasn’t valid in the first place is dead with him.”

“Good. So, we’re all in one piece? I mean, other than…” Dean stopped himself, dropping his hand at his side as guilt washed over his own face, matching Cason’s. “Demon’s dead. She’s good. The demon’s dead…”

LEXI

Lexi saw Sam making a run towards Anya when the light back to the area, seeing him vault over the rock like it was nothing and she knew they had to get him back before he possibly screwed everything up. Sam was running on emotions and that was always dangerous. Something he had always told her not to do when they did a hunt together, especially the hunt they did a few weeks ago that involved a kid a demon had possessed. She learned the hard way of running in guns blazing with her emotions leading the way. She couldn't see Sam go down that same path. Catching Dean's eyes, she made a run for it with him, hand in hand until they reached the clearing and saw that it seemed to be over whilst Sam was knelt down with Anya in his arms. She felt a lump in her throat, unable to speak, thinking the worst until Cason confirmed that Anya was actually still alive and it was the demon that was dead. A huge relief washed over her, her whole body relaxing knowing they had all come out of it alive, with only Anya truly hurt.

She looked over as Nat comforted Cason and tried to convince him he wasn't to blame for any of this. Taking in the situation around them as Sam stood up, still holding Anya close to his chest in his arms. “We'll get her to the nearest one soon Sam” she told him, seeing that Ruby's knife was still on the ground. She was going to suggest they all headed to the cars just as Sam had got there first by saying he'll meet them all there. Letting go of Dean's hand with her only free hand that wasn't holding an angel blade, she knelt down and picked up Ruby's knife, walking back to Dean and handing it to him for safe keeping. “I don't think he'll wait much longer. We should get her to the hospital and just take a moment to figure out what to say to Anya, if there even is anything to say. Or like your sister says, go back to the drawing board” she said to Dean. “Seems everyone is feeling somewhat deflated about tonight” she pointed out, seeing how Cason was clearly feeling what she could only see was guilt, even though it was crazy to her still to think of a demon feeling human emotions.

SAM

Seeing Anya looking up at him made Sam sigh with relief that she was okay, hurt, but okay and able to communicate with him through her eyes. He could tell just by the way she was holding her arms close to her chest, and the swelling that it was broken. He had broken his arm at least once before and he knew what it looked like. He watched her as she lifted her good arm and hand up, signing to him letter by letter and as he focused to understand what she was saying, he nodded to her. “We're gonna help you okay?” He spoke as she lifted her hand up higher to his jaw, but that relief didn't last long when she fainted in his arms. “Anya?” He called before looking over at Anna, only now noticing that she had followed him, along with the others. Anna's words became another wave of relief when she confirmed that Anya was okay, making him see for himself her chest rising and falling asleep she breathed, despite being unconscious. “Hospital, I think anything at home or supernatural will be too much for her” he replied to her.

Keeping hold of Anya, he carefully stood up onto his feet whilst making sure he didn't drop the girl, keeping her close to his chest, Ruby's knife still on the ground. He looked around at the group as Nat checked Cason over and vice versa, Lexi just looking on whilst Cason answered the questions Dean had asked of Sam. “Like I said to Anna just now, we need to take Anya to a hospital. She's broken her arm and I think she needs to get it seen normally and not by our way. She's been through enough tonight.” He explained to the others. He glanced back over to Anna and gave her a nod of thanks for confirming for him that Anya was okay before looking at the others and seeing other than Cason's bloody nose and sore ears, they were all okay as well. “We can focus on what's next after we've got Anya’s arm seen to at the hospital” he finally commented, “I'll meet you at the cars” he stated, deciding to walk ahead of everyone else, heading straight for Dean's car, hoping that Anya would wake up soon. For all he knew, she hit her head pretty hard and had a concussion that they didn't know about. He needed to know by a professional that she was okay or at the very least, going to be okay.

He didn't want to just assume it was only a broken arm Anya had endured during the fight with a demon. Though her remaining awake long enough for him to get to her, he had a sense of pride for her willpower. He didn't blame Cason for any of this even if it would be easy to do exactly that. He couldn't blame the one man who was able to be anywhere near close enough to her to try and help. Anya may have been the one to make the kill, but just knowing Cason was there was a comfort to his mind. He knew when they had a moment to just chill out, he would have to thank Cason for doing what he could to help Anya. Looking down at her in his arms, he felt so bad that she couldn't get her voice back, the sound of what the demon made him hear echoing in his head. “I'm so sorry you couldn't get your voice back” he spoke softly down to her. He knew how much she wanted it back, to be able to speak to him normally. He could see it in her eyes any time she spoke about it in the bunker. Saw how it ate away at her little by little when she wanted to just communicate normally before resorting to her phone or ASL.

NATALIA

As Cason shook his arms and legs and cracked his neck from being on the ground, Natalia was relieved when he confirmed to her that he was good, despite the bloody nose. As she called over for Dean and Lexi, but mostly her brother, she wrapped an arm round Cason as a natural reaction when she felt his arm around her waist. She was aware he was checking her over himself, but luckily for herself, Anna, Dean, Sam and Lexi, nothing came for them other than the pitch dark. The moment she got confirmation that Dean and Lexi were nearby before coming into view, she looked back toward Anya and Sam. She felt guilty that Anya got hurt on this first hunt of hers and they failed to get her voice back for her, but she was also impressed that Anya managed to kill her first demon with a clearly broken arm. Her eyes looked up at Cason when he began to speak, listening to him all but blame himself for what happened. “Hey..none of this is your fault babe” she told him, lifting her free hand up to his cheek. “there was always going to be a high chance she'd get hurt in some way during this. As much as that sucks to hear and accept, it's the truth. You should have seen the state of me after my first hunt. I was in worse shape than Anya was. Just ask the boys. That asshole played us all.

He made us all hear her voice, a voice that he never truly had. He played us all like damn violins in the dark. But that girl is made of tougher stuff. She killed him whilst having a broken arm.” She told him, hoping that at least some of her words would be of some comfort to him. “Right now, the important thing is to get her arm checked out in a hospital and then we go back to the drawing board” she added, looking him in his eyes and seeing how guilty he was feeling. Sam's voice broke through her moment with Cason, making her look over to him as he said about heading to the car ahead of them all. She couldn't blame him for wanting to walk on ahead whilst carrying Anya's unconscious body. She really was thankful that Anya was alright even if she was out cold. At least she was alive. After everything they had gone through the last year or so, anyone who survived a hunt or fight and came out alive was a big mercy in her eyes. She knew no one could lose anyone else, whether they were known to her family for five minutes or five years. She also could see how torn up Sam was, even if he wasn't showing most of it on the outside. He was worried about Anya and what they all heard in the woods was clearly eating him up inside.

“I just hope Sam can continue forward after hearing what we all thought for a moment was Anya's voice” she sighed, watching as Lexi stepped forward and picked up Ruby's knife to hand to Dean.

Dean stayed still for a moment as Sam scooped Anya up and began to walk back to the vehicles. He could tell that Sam wasn’t running on some sort of anger at any of the rest of them. He was just upset that Anya was hurt, in general. Dean nodded, and he almost reached out to pat his brother on the back, but instead, he stood there and watched as Lexi reached down and picked up Ruby’s knife, handing it to him. He wiped the demon blood off the knife, onto his jeans and then slipped the knife into the internal pocket of his jacket.

“I think that’s a good idea. If it’s just a broken arm, she’ll be in and out within an hour, and hopefully, she takes all of it pretty well. She’s tough…” Dean admitted, turning to watch Sam walk back to the car. Dean then turned his eyes to Cason and Nat, and he sighed, dropping his shoulders a bit. “I think the deflation is coming from how much we all underestimated this little piss ant. We know what demons are capable of, and we thought it would be too easy. That doesn’t fall on anyone…it’s all of us.”

Dean nodded his head toward the cars, and he began to walk back, letting Nat get ahold of Cason’s emotions so that they could get Anya some help. Anna walked up next to Dean, linking arms with him on his opposite side, seemingly calm and okay with the situation with Sam. Any tension and jealousy that Dean had expected was gone, and she seemed very work oriented. Dean tightened his arm around her hand, and he kept walking until he reached the Impala and pulled his cellphone out of his pocket to try and find the closest hospital.



As much as Cason didn’t want a pep talk out of his guilt, as soon as Natalia’s hand reached his cheek, he sighed and listened to her. He always did. Cason tilted his head, realizing that things definitely could have gone worse for Anya, if the demon hadn’t arrived alone. He had to agree. Cason wiped his hands on his pants, slipping his angel blade up his jacket sleeve, and then watched Sam walk back to the car with a soft sigh.

“Alright. We get her to the hospital. I figure there’s one on the way back to the bunker. But I don’t think there is much of a drawing board to go back to. Outside of angels and literally Crowley…which I won’t even get started on, her voice has never existed. I don’t think there’s a way to get it back. But she’s safe.” Cason shrugged, and reached down for Nat’s hand. He tugged and began pulling her toward the cars as she voiced the same concern he had about Sam. Sam had heard Anya’s non existent voice. That was something he would likely never get out of his head.

“Hopefully we can break through to him that it wasn’t real. It’s a pretty dream, sure, but not real.” Cason explained, keeping his eyes on the cars as they walked.



Anya jolted awake with a gasp as the doctor working on her arm reset the bone and held it still. A nurse reached forward and placed an arm across Anya’s chest as she raised up from the mattress and quickly began scanning the room for Sam or any of the others. She didn’t even remember them making it to the cars, or driving to a hospital. For all she knew, they had dropped her off. She wanted to believe that Sam wouldn’t allow Dean to basically drop her off like a puppy at the pound, but she didn’t know if she would put it past him, either.

It was then that she realized her voice would have been the best tool. She couldn’t sign to the nurses, not like any of them actually knew ASL. She had no idea where her phone was and there was no one in her immediate eye sight that could translate or even listen to her. As she whimpered silently, the nurse pressed her tightly against the mattress and signaled to one of the other nurses, as the doctor began to work on wrapping Anya’s wrist. She had a bruise on her cheek that had been tended to, but other than that and the soreness she could feel in her body, she assumed she was mostly fine.

“I’ll go get him. Hold on.” One of the nurses voices broke through the haze in Anya’s brain. She walked out into the small waiting room, stopping her steps as Dean stood from his seat and began to approach her. She held out her hand and turned her eyes toward Sam. Dean turned to look at him, as Anna released Sam’s arm she had been holding onto, in order to keep him as calm as she could. The nurse took a deep breath and smiled, “Sir, she’s awake and a little scared if you wanna come let her know you’re alright.”

LEXI

Lexi agreed with Dean that with any luck, Anya would be in and out of a hospital in no time if it was just a broken arm. She had a hunch that Anya simply passed out from the adrenaline leaving her body and the pain in her arm making her black out so she didn't have to feel said pain. Yet she also was acutely aware that she was not a healthcare professional and for all they knew Anya could have suffered something internally, but her hunch didn't think so. “I agree, we all underestimated what we were facing and that shouldn't fall onto any one of us. We all share the rookie mistake” she then replied, seeing Nat talk Cason down. Looking back at Dean, seeing him nod towards the cars, she nodded in understanding and began to walk with him and Anna towards the cars. She saw how Anna link arms with Dean and she couldn't help but let a small smile briefly cross her lips. It felt so familial in nature and Anna didn't seem to be as worked up about Sam or the situation with Anya as she was when she first arrived at the bunker. Clearly Anna and Sam had an actual chat as well as falling into old habits before the hunt which in Lexi's eyes, could only be a good thing.

Once at the cars, she leaned against the impala letting Dean pull out his phone and search for the nearest hospital whilst also looking over at Sam to check he was going to be okay as he held Anya on the other side of the car. “She'll be okay Sam” she tried reassuring him, making him glance towards her, “yeah…yeah” he said, not as convinced at the moment as he wished he never had to use Anya as bait. Turning back to Dean and Anna, Lexi looked at Dean, “find a hospital?” She asked.

—A bit Later, at the Hospital—

She waited in the waiting room with the others, minus Nat and Cason due to Nat’s insistence on getting them all a hot drink whilst they waited. She sat beside Dean, one leg crossed over the other, propping her head in her hand as her elbow was propped up on the arm rest. One thing she was thankful for was Anna taking Sam's hands and forcing him to sit down and calm down. His earlier pacing was even making her nervous and she was sure he would just wear a hole in the ground if he didn't stop. She began to wonder how much longer it would take when a nurse came out and signaled for Sam to follow her to Anya. She sat upright as Dean stood from his seat as Sam listened to what the nurse was saying, sighing in relief herself that Anya was okay but a little scared.

SAM

When the others made it to the car, he waited for Dean to find the closest hospital before Lexi spoke to him and he replied with not as much optimism as she had.

Once Dean found the route to the nearest hospital, he got in, carefully getting Anya in first, then before Lexi would insist he goes in the front, he climbed in the back, refusing to leave Anya’s side. In his seat, he gently pulled Anya into him for safety reasons and to keep a hold of her just in case she did wake up before they made it to the hospital, and he could calm her down if it happened.

Sadly, it didn't happen before they made it to the hospital and he just carried her in, walking up to the reception and explained what happened in the most normal of situations as possible, making sure to leave out the whole demon summoning and demon fight parts. With Anya being checked in, he helped the nurses by carrying Anya through to a bed whilst the others remained in the waiting area. At the bed, he put her down and stepped back, nodding reluctantly as the nurses told him to go wait in the designated area with the others he came in with. He knew she would be scared when she woke up and it tore away at him having to leave her side. Walking back to the others, he explained to them all that they're tending to her and it's just a waiting game, but he couldn't just sit still. So he remained standing for a bit before his restlessness got the better of him and he just kept pacing back and forth. “Sam just sit down, pacing isn't helping anyone” Nat sighed, “I'm too restless..” he said back to her a bit flatly, before Nat decided to go get everyone drinks.

He only eventually stopped when Anna forced him to sit beside her and held his hand. The touch made him finally begin to calm down somewhat. “...thanks” he mumbled to her, accepting her calming touch. He sat much more still than he had been as all kinds of thoughts ran through his mind, scared that as they all waited in this waiting area, Anya would wake up and think they all abandoned her. He didn't want her thinking that whatsoever as he couldn't ever imagine just abandoning her after what they just put her through. When the nurse came out, he looked up straight away and let go of Anna's hand, standing up behind Dean, listening to the nurse say Anya was okay but needed him. He instantly followed the nurse without a single word spoken, reaching Anya where he swiftly went to her side. “I'm here, we are all here. The others are waiting in the waiting area.” He told Anya, taking her good hand and giving it a squeeze. He saw how frightened she looked and he just knew she had thought exactly what he feared she would.

He then looked up at the nurse in the room, “when can I bring her home?” He asked.

NATALIA

Nat knew Cason never wanted her to talk him out of his guilt, but she would always do it anyway because she hated seeing him blame himself for something that was out of his control. She saw no benefit to him beating himself up over Anya not getting her voice or getting her arm broken. She also knew that as much as he was reluctant to be talked out of it, he always listened to her and knew she spoke sense in these moments. The way he tilted his head told Natalia that her words had gotten through to him and he saw the reality. Giving him just enough room to wipe his hands on his jeans and stow the angel blade up his jacket sleeve, she listened to him speak and nodded. She didn't like the idea of Anya's voice never actually existing but she also could understand why Cason didn't want to get into the possibility of bringing Crowley into the mix. It was better if those two kept their distance from each other, as she knew she'd stand between them to protect Cason, even though he could protect her a lot better than her protecting him.

Taking his hand, she just let him tug her towards the cars as she always did. She didn't fully know when over the years it even started, but it somehow became their thing and she didn't complain once when he did it. “I hope we can break it to him as well, we both know how he latches onto things like this instead of letting them go” she replied to him as they walked, reaching the cars. Letting go of Cason's hand, and as Dean checked for the nearest hospital, Nat walked to the trunk of her own car and popped it open, placing her angel blade inside before she gestured with a grabby hand motion for Cason to give her his blade so it could also be stored before closing the trunk.

With the directions to the hospital retrieved, she walked round to the driver's side of her car, opening the door. “You lead, we'll follow” she told Dean before they all got in and headed out.

—at the hospital—

Reaching the hospital, she followed everyone inside, and went straight to the waiting area, pulling Cason with her whilst Sam got the help that Anya needed and carried her through to a bed. Sitting on a chair, she leaned her head on Cason's shoulder and kept a hold of his hand as even after all these years, she absolutely detested hospitals. She tolerated them if she really had to, but overall she hated them with a passion due to her past. The trauma of her past may have subsided for the most part, but her hatred of any kind of hospital didn't diminish over the years. She glanced her eyes upward when Sam eventually came back and began to pace not long after that, which just made Nat irritable. She understood why he was pacing but it still irritated her all the same thing. “Sam just sit down…pacing isn't helping anyone” she sighed, using her free hand to rub her temple. “...I can't,” he replied flatly.

If Sam was going to continue to pace around the waiting room, then Nat decided she wasn't going to sit around and just watch him drive himself crazy. “I'm gonna do a drinks run.” She declared, pulling Cason up to come with her so she didn't have to carry so many drinks all on her own and walked around, following the signs to the cafe. “His pacing was driving me mad” she admitted, even if it was more obvious than she thought it had been. “I hope Anya is okay, I do, but ugh…if I see Sam panic pace any longer I'll knock him out myself” she complained.