[h3] Anna [/h3]

Anna pinched the wound on Dean’s forehead together and she placed the two butterfly bandages that she had stuck to her fingers across it, basically stitching him up. She brushed his hair away from his face, as his mouth fell slightly open and he began to snore, the exhaustion and upset obviously knocking him out cold. For the first time in days, he seemed relaxed and at peace, but she couldn’t imagine what he might see inside his mind while dreaming. She was honestly afraid he would startle awake at any moment, but as she brushed her fingers through his hair, he continued to sleep and she let her shoulders drop with a sigh.

She sat back a bit, wiping her hands on her jeans and then turned to glance at Sam. He was a mess, and there wasn’t much she could do to help him, either. At the moment, all of them were barely hanging on by a thread and supporting each other came in waves of strength…then breaking down…then more strength. She nodded at Nat’s words, having just had the same thoughts herself, “Yeah. I think his body just kinda…gave up. I’m hoping this is a turning point for him. And I really really hope Duke is okay. I can’t even imagine what’s going through his head after all of this mess and then hitting Esme?”

As Nat entered the bathroom and then came back into the room, Anna could feel that Sam was thinking about leaving the room, for one reason or another. She was a bit worried for him to be alone, even just for a few moments, but she also knew that pushing him too much could cause him to run, just as fast as Duke did. Ruby was still out there, after all. So, when he mentioned that he was going to get a drink, Anna turned and she watched him closely for a moment, but then she nodded, “Okay. Come right back, though, okay?”

As Sam left the room, Anna sighed and brought a hand up to her forehead, leaning over and just breathing. The tension was still high in the house, and until Mika was laid to rest, she couldn’t see any other way for them to coexist. She sat in silence for a bit, just listening to Dean’s labored breathing and her own heart thumping wildly in her head from the demon blood that seemed to be roaring like the wind.

But then Nat spoke up and Anna snapped back to reality and turned to look at her, before glancing toward the door. 

“He is taking a while…” She remarked back, before standing carefully from the bed. She stopped in the center of the room, pushing her hair back from the sides of her face before turning to Nat and holding a hand out to her to make sure Nat heard her, “Can you um…can you watch him for a bit? I think he’s gonna be out for a while, but I’m also a little worried he’s going to wake up scared half to death, if he’s dreaming. I’m going to go check on Sam…”

After a moment, she turned and walked out of the room, jogging down the stairs. She turned and glanced through the kitchen, not seeing Sam there, and her stomach dropped. She knew exactly where he was. He was in the panic room. He was with Mika. That could either be a point of closure for him, or it could be the thing that ripped him apart. She slowly approached the basement door, taking each step to the basement with care so she didn’t potentially startle him. As she turned to step into the open panic room, she stood against the door and sighed. He was sitting there, in that chair that Dean had sat in for days, and he mirrored his brother’s pose, nearly identical. He was quiet, and he seemed to be trying to come to his own terms, but Anna could tell from his body language that he was absolutely defeated.

“Sam?” She whispered, the quiet of the panic room causing even her quiet call to echo a bit, “Do um…do you wanna take a walk? Maybe get some air? I can um…I can help you get her ready in a bit, if you want. Let me help.”

[h3] Cason and Duke [/h3]

Cason winced as Esme came into view. He had warned her that he couldn’t help her out there, but seeing her looking a bit worse for wear all over again did bring a sear of burning guilt into his mind. He shook the feeling off, as they had more pressing matters to attend to in that moment, and he nodded as she gave him the look of thanks that he never would have asked for. He was bringing Duke back mostly out of a sense of pride toward the women of the group, especially Esme and Natalia. Any other time, he wouldn’t have cared what happened to the cowboy. 

Duke shook his head at first, refusing to look Esme in the eyes as Cason held him, but after a moment, he sobbed softly and he nodded his head at the proposition of going to the hospital first, before anything else was addressed. Duke was exhausted. He was spent. All he wanted to do was sleep, or die…he wasn’t sure which. Cason scooted him a little closer to Esme, “I’m sorry I couldn’t be out there with you. But we’re bringing him home, and from the sounds of things, you don’t sound….that hurt. But we do need to talk.”

“I thought you said you didn’t bring her…” Duke barely managed to get out of his mouth as he took a staggered step forward, and leaned his bodyweight completely against Cason. Cason lifted him a bit as Esme stepped under his other arm and Cason moved his arm up, giving her room to help carry the poor guy.

“I gave you a look that said she wasn’t inside. She wasn’t inside. She was outside. Whatever happened out there isn’t technically my fault.” Cason quipped to Duke, as he started walking toward the door. Duke tilted his head weakly and he smirked. “I’m a demon remember?”

Cason glanced up and over at Esme, smirking at her to try and lighten a bit of the mood, now that the worst of the danger was over. It was what Duke would need, and if Cason knew anything about the idiot in his arms, bringing back his nature was going to be the most important part of keeping him sane and around until they could say goodbye to Mika.

“I’m going to willingly ride in that stupid truck.” Cason said as they walked through the door and out onto the lot. “In fact, I’m going to drive that stupid truck. Lucky for me, you left it running.”

“I had…I hot-wired it.” Duke muttered with a soft scoff, Cason quickly bringing his free hand to Duke’s chest as Duke stumbled between them. He nodded with his own chuckle and shrugged.

“Well, that gives you something to fix while you’re moping around the house.”

[b] At the hospital [/b]

Cason sat in a chair in the corner as the team of doctors and nurses in the tiny town hospital worked on both Esme and Duke. He tried his best to brush off the nurses, but had to deal with their looks of disbelief when they realized that all of the wounds on his body that showed in his ripped clothing were healed. Not a scratch existed, outside of some smeared blood from the initial stabbing. As Duke lay there, the nurse next to him wrapping his wrist in a cast, he glanced over at Esme and he sighed.

“So, how long are you gonna hate me?” He asked her bluntly, his tired voice hoarse and weak. He still wasn’t sure he was in his right mind, as everything in him wanted to resist going back to the house. But he did know that he had messed things up with Esme, at least on some front…and judging by her nose? He had really…really messed up. "I didn't know...I didn't know it was you that grabbed me. I didn't. I would never lay a hand on you."