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.

Dean’s shoulders dropped as soon as Sam stepped away from them, and went to be with Anya. He couldn’t even describe the relief he was feeling in that moment, but he brought a hand up and wiped it down his face, doing his best to calm the rest of his nerves. Anya was okay, which meant that, for the most part, they had all come back unscathed. They would just have to baby her arm, while she worked. That was something Sam could help her with. It wasn’t like the Winchesters were strangers to injuries or broken bones.

Dean turned and walked back over to Lexi, and took his seat again, leaning into her shoulder for some needed physical contact as he sighed, “Well, she’s alright. You heard the nurse. She’s alright. We still have a lot to talk about, but she’s alright.”

As he rationalized the entire situation, his leg bounced and he glanced around for Nat and Cason, wondering when they could get out of the hospital. He frowned and then turned back to Lexi, “If she doesn’t have any head problems, they should be able to let her go, right?”



Cason sat with Nat in the waiting room, just letting her lean on him as he watched the people file in and out of the hallway. He could tell that everyone in the waiting room was on edge. Half of him had expected the Winchesters to drop Anya off, and call in to check on her, now that her case was pretty much closed. It seemed to be Dean’s way of doing things, and preventing strays from getting killed, after all these years. Yet, both brothers were still in the waiting room, and neither of them seemed to be budging.

As Sam began to pace, Cason could feel Nat tense even more, and he was tempted to ask her if she wanted to take a walk, when she called Sam out for it. Cason wrapped an arm around hers, pulling her toward him a bit more for a moment, but then Nat suddenly decided to go for drinks and Cason, as always, went limp and allowed her to pull him with her. If it would get her out of all of the anxiety in the room, he was willing to take her wherever she wanted to go…even if it meant disappearing, her least favorite method of traveling.

As they walked, Cason shrugged at her words, “I mean, he’s just going through it right now. It wasn’t THAT long ago that Anna…died.”

But he did agree with her. Sam’s anxiety toward people being injured or killed had gotten much much worse since the situation went down in Colorado. It was almost as if the poor guy shouldered ever life on his giant shoulders, all alone. As they reached the cafe in the large hospital, Cason opened the door for Nat and stepped in behind her, before leaning in close to her ear, “I bet he’ll calm down a lot once he finds out she’s fine. I’ve been listening. Chances are, we’re leaving here sooner rather than later.”



Anya winced as the doctor continued wrapping her arm, seemingly manhandling her as he tried to get it done as quickly as he could. She looked around the room, chewing at her lips nervously as tears pooled in her eyes. She just had a bad feeling that the nurse would go out into the hallway, and that there would be no one waiting. Anya relaxed against the bed, and her lip quivered at the idea that any of them would just discard her because the case was over.

But then the nurse that went to retrieve came back and behind her was that familiar curl of sweaty hair. As Sam came to Anya’s side, she sighed, her breath shaky, allowing the thoughts of him leaving her behind to leave her mind as she heard his voice. Her anxiety fell even more as she felt the familiar squeeze of Sam’s hand in hers, and she squeezed his hand back, never taking her eyes off his face, even as he turned to talk to the nurses.

“Since she didn’t seem to have any head trauma or any…life altering injuries, we can send her home as soon as the doctor is finished and has her care instructions typed up. We’re going to give her some pain medication and she’s going to need to limit activities until the bruising on her back begins to fade, just to be sure that she doesn’t have any injuries to her spine.” The nurse explained bluntly to Sam, and Anya sighed once again, wishing that she could talk for herself. She could only really answer ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions in that moment.

“Long story short. If she’s careful and she agrees to rest, you can leave in an hour or two.”

Anya pulled her hand from Sam’s carefully as the nurse went to begin typing up her care instructions, and she brought the free hand up in front of her face, happy that she could sign to someone who could at the very least read letters. She spelled out the word, and tilted her eyebrows up with a small smile teasing at the corners of her lips, “Home?”

LEXI

Like the others, Lexi was incredibly relieved that Anya was alright and awake. As much as she was convinced Anya would be alright, there was still that little part of her that still worried. Anya had connected with them so quickly and she really felt protective of the girl. As Dean walked back to her and sat beside, leaning into her shoulder, she snaked her arm through his hand and interlocked their fingers, learning now this was his need for physical comfort in the sense of touching. “There will be a long chat no doubt, but like you said, right now the most important thing is that she's alright. She'll no doubt be sore for a few days, will have Sam doting on her every minute of the day, but she's alright” she replied with a soft smile, just thinking about Sam not leaving Anya alone for a single minute. The very thought equal amounts of amusing, adorable and worrying. She figured if Sam did get that bad, Anya would be finding all kinds of ways to tell him to back off just a little bit.

She saw Dean's legs bouncing anxiously and looking for his sister and Cason before speaking once again. Squeezing his hand in comfort she looked at him back properly, “she shouldn't be too much longer hopefully no. Depends on how long it'll take to process the paperwork and getting her some painkillers for that broken arm of hers.” She replied rationally. “I'm gonna guess up to an hour if they're as busy back there as it seems here” she said, glancing around at how much busier it was getting. “And I'm sure Natalia and Cason will be back soon. She seemed a bit on edge so probably needed some air as well as getting drinks” she said, figuring he needed some kind of reassurance about the others as well. During their wait, she got the feeling there was more than just worry about Anya running through the family but she also knew it wasn't her place to question any of it, they were there for Anya after all.

SAM

Sam listened to the nurse explain the situation with Anya's injuries, taking everything on board wholly, deciding that if the nurse said Anya had to rest for the most part, then he would make sure she rested. He would do whatever it took to make sure that Anya got better as quickly as possible, even if that made him insufferable back at the bunker. “I'll make sure she gets the rest she needs.” He replied, keeping a hold of her hand the whole time he spoke, until he felt her pull her hand from his so she could sign to him, letter by letter with her one good hand. He smiled and kissed the side of her head. “Yeah home” he smiled, knowing exactly what that would possibly mean to her as it meant the world to him and Dean when they got the bunker for themselves and made it their permanent home. There weren't many places they could call their home, the bunker and the impala were about those only places they called home and he hoped that Anya would come to think of at least one of those as her home someday.

He couldn't bear the thought of ever losing her and the fact she didn't seem too scared to go back to the bunker with them all, he hoped that meant the hunt going awry didn't put her completely off being around any of them. He knew in the back of his head that they would all have to discuss the hunt and that she would never get her voice, but he couldn't let himself think about it for the time being. The voice the demon made him hear still rang through his mind, echoing like some siren from the depths and it was haunting. If he let himself think about it, he would get distracted and right now Anya needed him completely in the room with her and not just physically. He pulled out his phone and quickly rattled off a text to Dean explaining what the nurse told him before putting his phone away. “Just giving Dean the updates so he can stop worrying in the waiting room. They've all been pretty worried” he told Anya.

“None of them will leave until you're able to leave with us. The family really cares about you already” he said smiling, knowing that if she was accepted by his siblings and Lexi, she was a keeper.

NATALIA

Nat sighed when Cason reminded her that Sam was only being as worried as he had been because of Anna dying and coming back. She knew he was right, but she also felt like his words weren't completely dismissing what she was trying to convey either. She knew a bit of her intolerance towards Sam's worrying was down to her own issues with hospitals, but she had also learned, even if they were selfish thoughts, not to bottle it all up. As they reached the cafe, she walked in after he opened the door for her, hovering until he was in and then headed over to where the hot drinks could be made, glad that for once it wasn't entirely machine coffee. “Yeah… I hope so, I still can't get fully over my dislike of these places. Stupid I know…” she replied to him, then turned her attention to the member of staff, ordering drinks for those of them left in the waiting room area.

Waiting for the drinks to be made, she couldn't help but look around at the families and friends all waiting for loved ones or talking with loved ones who clearly weren't getting out of hospital any time soon, but spending this time to feel normal in the cafe. She truly felt sorry for the patients who were in for the long haul, though she also couldn't help but feel like they were lucky in the sense that at least this type of hospital, they could have visitors. She snapped out of her thoughts when the drinks were ready, pulling her wallet out of her pocket and paying for them all before thanking the staff member. Picking up two of the cups and handing one of them to Cason, so she didn't have to hold them all herself and risk dropping them. She also was well aware she had been petty once again and not got one for Lexi, deciding she could use the excuse of not knowing what she liked. Grabbing the other cups, she began to walk back with Cason. She had hoped the walk would have taken longer, but being away for even a little while was better than nothing. She didn't know that Sam had been called in to see Anya, but thinking about what Cason said earlier about having heard she was okay, she knew they couldn't be in here for much longer.

Reaching the waiting room again, she walked in and over to Dean and Lexi, seeing how nervous Dean still seemed to be. “It was a longer walk to the cafe than we thought” she explained, which wasn't entirely a lie as she handed Dean one cup that she knew she had was his. She then started to bottle in the pettiness she was feeling towards Lexi, and at the very last second to not look petty she took the cup of Cason's and handed it to Lexi. “Hope it's alright, don't know what you like” she grumbled to Lexi as Lexi took the cup, surprised that Nat included her in the drinks run. “Thanks” Lexi replied, to which Nat just shrugged her shoulders, shrugging the thanks off and stepping back to their seats that were luckily still free. She would just have to share her drink with Cason to make up for giving Lexi his drink.

Dean calmed just a bit as Lexi spoke to him, trying his best to be the strong leader he used to be. His detachment ability was a lot lower than it was when he was younger, and he knew that. What he was feeling, was likely helplessness toward someone that he barely knew, but that his brother was so attached to, he could only hope that she came out of this basically unharmed…other than the obvious broken arm.

“Alright. So, if she can come back to the bunker, we can have those hard discussions then. No need to worry.” Dean reassured himself using some of Lexi’s own words. As he finished the words, he glanced up to see Nat returning with drinks and his shoulders relaxed even more. She seemed to be doing her best at diplomacy, but he could tell from the way that Cason furrowed his eyebrow at the cup of coffee being given to Lexi, that the cup wasn’t originally meant for her. So, it was definitely diplomacy.

Dean reached his hand out and patted Nat on the arm, subtly telling her thanks for trying to be nice to Lexi. Cason on the other hand stepped back and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as they waited for Anya to be released.

“Cason, you wanna go grab something for yourself? I can come along.” Dean offered, but Cason chuckled and shook his head.

“Nah. I will be alright. I don’t sleep, remember?” He reached out and grabbed the back of Nat’s jacket, pulling her close to his chest and then wrapped his arm around her like a stuffed animal. Dean smirked and shrugged his shoulders, turning back to Lexi. He wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t just sound like insane anxiety. So, he nudged her knee with his and sighed.

“Are you good? Everything’s good?” Dean asked, but then Sam’s message came through and Dean’s shoulders dropped a tiny bit as he read the quick message. He dropped his phone back onto his leg and wiped a hand down his face, “She’s gonna be alright. She’ll be out when they finish wrapping up her arm.”



Anya watched Sam’s face as he smiled, and confirmed that she was coming home with him. She was going to stay. He wanted her, even after everything that had obviously happened with Anna, to stay. He wanted her to stay. Her smile widened and she leaned into the kiss to the side of her head, keeping herself as close to Sam as possible. This was how things should be. No matter how much her arm hurt or how heartbroken she was deep down that things had gone so badly, she was safe.

She noticed that Sam was thinking about something, and although she wished she could see inside his mind, she had a feeling it was something to do with the hunt, and the fact that she wouldn’t get her voice. But then he texted Dean, and Anya remembered that Sam had said everyone else was still there. The fact that they were all worried about her, despite barely knowing her warmed her heart and made her eyes well up with tears a bit.

She turned her eyes back up to meet Sam’s scanning them, before nodding as a tear slipped down her throat. The family cared.

“Alright little lady! You’re wrapped up and as soon as that hardens, you’ll be good to go. Why don’t you let the nurses get that pick out of your arm. I will give your partner the papers for home care, and you’ll be out of here.” The doctor suddenly spoke up, squeezing at the hardening cast as he stood up from his stool and then removed his gloves. He nodded toward a nurse and she took off toward the printer. The other nurse that had been hovering stepped over and gently removed the needle from Anya’s arm, shoving the IV pole to the side.

“Home…sounds…good…” Anya signed slowly, the cast on her arm making it a bit harder for her to get the words out, but she hoped that Sam would at least understand the basics of what she was saying. A bit quicker than expected, the other nurse came over and handed the folder of information to Sam, and then touched her cast.

“You are pretty much good to go. Don’t get the cast wet for at least twelve hours. Get that medication filled, or you won’t be feeling so hot in a few hours. Keep an eye on her?” The nurse turned to Sam, and then nodded her head expectantly.

“Let’s go.” Anya signed quickly, sliding off the side of the bed and against Sam’s chest. She wrapped her arm around him, finally able to hug him.

LEXI

Lexi glanced at him when Dean basically repeated her own words just to really get it drilled into his own mind. With Nat and Cason back, it didn't go unnoticed to her that Cason seemed a bit put out that she was given the cup of coffee he was holding and it made her feel slightly bad that she seemed to have taken his drink. However, if Nat was willing to at least make a small move towards being nice to her, then she would take it, lifting the cup up to her lips and taking a sip as Dean subtly thanked his sister for being nice. She stayed out of the conversation as Dean offered to go with Cason to get something only for Cason to shut down the idea and grab Nat like some soft toy.

As she felt Dean's knee nudge her own, she looked up at him and nodded, about to reply when Dean's phone alerted him to a text from Sam. She saw the relief wash over him as his shoulders continued to drop and shake off all that anxiety. “That's good! I bet she'll be ready to leave as much as the rest of us” she replied. “That girl deserves a comfortable bed and being fussed over by Sam for a few days” she remarked.

—back at the bunker, the next day—

With morning rolling around, Lexi for once was up early. Despite having her own room, she had once again stayed in Dean's room to be close to him. Natalia's sisterly suspicion the night before didn't deter her from wanting to be close with Dean. She wasn't going to cave to someone younger than herself because they thought she wasn't up to the standard of the brother's ex.

So with her awake early, she had written a note for Dean and left it on her pillow beside to say that she had gone to the bunker's gym.

”morning handsome,
Don't panic, I'm in the bunker's gym,
Lexi xoxo’

She felt overdue for a good workout and as she couldn't get back to sleep, she decided she would find the gym and do a morning workout instead whilst she would most probably be the only one up to use it. Which she was and was grateful for. The gym was impressive considering how old it was, but it was also clear that slightly more modern equipment had been bought and set up, something she assumed was Sam's doing or possibly someone else in their family before Mika's passing. She had already been up for a good forty-five minutes and had decided she would stop after an hour, so after using weights and other apparatus, she decided to use up her last fifteen minutes of her time by getting some boxing in.

SAM

As he put his phone back in his pocket, Sam looked back at Anya and saw her getting emotional again about having everyone waiting for her and not abandoning her. He gave her a soft smile and wiped the tear from her cheeks and throat before lifting his hand up and stroking the back of her hair. She was rapidly becoming part of the family and he wanted to make sure she knew that over time. He glanced back at the doctor as he spoke to Anya about just giving the cast a few minutes to harden, nodding at the information. He watched as one nurse jogged off to the printer to get all her after care information folder and another removing her IV needle and drip. He watched as Anya signed three words slowly, seeing how much more difficult Anya was finding it with the cast, but as she hoped he would, he did get the jist of it. “Home definitely sounds good” he agreed with her as the nurse that went off to get her folder, came back quicker than he even thought she would be.

He took the folder of information from the nurse, tucking it under his arm whilst keeping ahold of it as she told Anya what to do and not do, before turning to him. “I'll be definitely keeping an eye on her” he confirmed with a smile just as Anya signed to go and slid off the bed into his chest. He chuckled softly at her eagerness to leave, wrapped his free arm round her and started to walk her out to the waiting room to meet up with the others, stopping at the in hospital pharmacy on the way to get her pain meds.

—back at the bunker, the next day—

The night before, Sam insisted on Anya staying in his room for the night so if she needed anything, he could easily help her. He was paranoid that she'd wake up in the night in pain and wouldn't be able to alert him if she stayed in the room that they set out for her. He also knew if she wasn't in his room, he wouldn't be able to sleep. It was completely irrational, but after everything and everyone they had lost or almost lost over the years, he wasn't taking chances. Even though Anya was in no way a critical condition. So when morning came round, he opened his eyes and looked over at Anya, smiling that judging by her position on him, she seemed to manage to get some kind of rest. He kissed the top of her head and gave her a squeeze into him. He knew the day would probably entail a long chat about the reality of what last night brought them, something he wasn't particularly looking forward to. He also knew that if there was absolutely no chance of Anya getting her voice back, then there was no doubt nowhere else they could turn to get it for her.

Would she even want to stay if there was no hope of having a voice? He couldn't say for certain what choice Anya would choose but he hoped she would stay with him and the others, even with Dean's attachment to the First Blade and the mark of Cain being a big black cloud hovering over the whole bunker. That was yet another thing he had to worry about with keeping Anya safe from, knowing what Dean's anger when he used the blade did to his brother. It was bad enough that they hadn't even told Natalia about the situation, knowing it would no doubt send Nat off on one of her rants about how stupid Dean was for doing something so big without discussing it with them all. There was so much to discuss, or get out in the air that he didn't know how this next day or so would turn. The only thing he could control or know was that he was going to continue looking after Anya to the point that Anya would have to tell him to back off before he willingly did so.

NATALIA

Nat gave Dean a nod of acknowledgement as he patted her arm, just knowing that was his way of thanking her for making an effort with Lexi, albeit a very very small amount of effort. She was still reluctant in having made the move, but right now she knew it was not the time to keep up the suspicious grudge against Lexi because she wasn't Mika. She still had no plans in seeing Lexi as any sort of mother or sister figure any time soon. No one could take that mantle from Mika in Nat's eyes. She was about to take a sip of her own drink when she felt Cason's hand grip the back of her jacket and pull her back into his chest, wrapping his arm around her like a plush toy. She smiled at the action, used to the way he would pull her into him like this, draping her free arm over his. “Sorry for giving her your drink…I caved under pressure to not be petty” she quietly told him. “I'll make it up to you at the bunker” she smiled, leaning her head back just enough to be able to kiss his cheek.

She looked up at Dean when he got a text and felt relief that Anya was okay and would be out soon. “My guess is Sam will be like a leech on her for a few days once home” she smirked. She just hoped that Anna would still be okay about it until they decided it was time to leave again. Yet she would only leave when she knew for sure they weren't going to be needed. She intended originally to do this hunt and just head back out on the road, drop Anna back in Denver and probably stay at Duke's for a few days, but she didn't have it in her to leave just yet for Anya's sake. Dean also owed her take out for making the stupidly long drive to them all.

—back at the bunker, the next day—

Waking up in her designated room that Dean and Sam always kept for her, felt strange as it had been so long since she last was in the room. Turning onto her side, she cuddled right up into Cason, draping a leg and arm over him. “Morning” she sleepily greeted him, feeling more rested than she thought she would. She put it down to finally having space and time alone with Cason the night before, without always worrying about whether or not they'd be ambushed at a motel or something needing their attention at the last second. She actually got to just be Cason's other half, feeling relaxed knowing no threat would be getting into the bunker and she could actually be intimate with him the night before.

She hadn't even looked at the time via the clock on the wall above her old desk, just enjoying being tangled up in Cason. So she had no idea if others were already up or not, not that she cared too much. The only thing she ever cared about was whether or not she slept soundly the night before or not, but she guessed she had done considering how rested she felt and content. Another upside to having sex with the love of her life.

Dean yawned, after the quiet of his room woke up the next morning. He had slept in. He could feel it. His body could feel it, and he was stiff and sore from sleeping in the same position too long. He turned onto his back and stretched his arms, moving his feet around until the quiet actually dawned on him, and he realized that Lexi wasn’t in bed. Glancing over to her side of the bed, he frowned with confusion, and reached over, picking up the note.

Not only was she up earlier than him, but she was in the gym. Dean scoffed at Lexi’s assumption that he would panic, but his calming racing heart actually just verified her suspicions, and it caused him to smirk to himself. She already knew him too well…

He reached over to the night stand and picked up his phone, checking for messages. There were several from Crowley, which he swiped off the screen, completely ignoring him as he scrolled through the rest of his notifications with a sigh. Eventually, he was going to have to bridge the conversation with Lexi and especially Cason, about Crowley. Eventually, he would have to answer Crowley back, or the dumbass would show up in the parking lot, basically strong arming himself into the bunker with some sort of bait. It wasn’t exactly easy to just ignore the King of Hell.

Dean groaned, dropping his phone on his chest for a moment, as he ran his fingers through his hair and then sat up in bed, swinging his legs over the edge. He was normally up three hours earlier, and so his entire morning routine was shot, but he also wanted to give Lexi a little space to get some frustration out of her system if she needed it. With all of the tension between her and Natalia, being back home would either be bliss (if Nat could be civil) or it was going to be Hell.

Dean quickly pulled on some sweats and a black t-shirt, and scratched the back of his head, opening his door and stepping out into the hall, on his way to the kitchen for coffee while he waited for Lexi.



Anna had slept soundly, after sitting in her room, staring at her bulletin board of pictures for what felt like hours. She was glad Anya was okay, and she was glad that Sam hadn’t lost her, but at the same time, she was still quietly grappling with the fact that she was home. She was in the bunker, and Sam wasn’t with her. It just seemed off, even if she knew it was how the future looked for them. If she was going to remain part of the family, she had to accept that Sam…wasn’t hers. As she woke up the next morning, she stared at her ceiling fan for a long few moments, trying to decide if she would be able to handle seeing Sam and Anya together, or if her mind was going to play ‘clingy’ all over again.

With a sigh, she shook her head, and spoke to the ceiling, “No. Remember what Duke said…Duke’s never wrong. You are allowed to move on. You’re allowed to acknowledge that no one will measure up to Sam Winchester. But you’re allowed to move on. C’mon. Up.”

She sat up in bed and placed her feet on the floor, staring at the door for a long moment as Duke’s words and his reassuring bright smile flashed behind her eyes. Maybe this wasn’t home. Maybe…just maybe, Denver was home. Duke and Esme were home. The horses, the snow, and the creaky floorboards of the cabin were home. Maybe a run, like she took every morning on the farm would cool her off before the others woke up.

Anna walked over to her bag, grabbing a fresh t-shirt and a pair of shorts. She quickly changed and then pulled her sneakers, dropping them next to her bag. She stepped into them, and pulled the door open, all in one movement, walking quickly down the hall toward the gym. As she approached, she could hear someone punching a bag, and at first, she assumed it was Natalia. She and Nat had spent what felt like forever in that gym, just practicing strikes and holds.

“You’re feeling nice and spry this morning!” Anna called out, but then she noticed it was Lexi and her smile dropped momentarily, before turning into a softer smile, “Oh sorry. I assumed you were Natalia. I hope you don’t mind if I um…if I go for a jog? I don’t really like running the streets around here.”

Anna pointed toward one of the large treadmills Sam had installed when they had first moved into the bunker. She stepped toward it and then turned to Lexi and decided to strike up a bit of casual conversation with the woman she didn’t know, “Dean’s not up yet? He’s usually fully caffeinated by now.”



The night before had been full of a lot of hovering, and making Anya very aware of how scared everyone was of her being mute, in crisis situations. Sam had requested that she sleep in his room, not that she minded, because without her voice, she would have to physically get out of bed and walk to his room to wake him up, if she was in pain. Once she finally convinced him to rest, she was able to get some heavy sleep, partially due to the good meds that the doctors gave her.

As she stirred awake, she could already feel that Sam was looking at her, before she ever opened her eyes. If she had a voice, she would have made fun of him for the concern that she could almost hear in his eyes, but when she opened her eyes a bit, she smirked because he actually didn’t seem that worried. He seemed pleased. Her head was still swimming from the pain medication and the throbbing in her wrist made itself known the second she moved it from her stomach to her pillow.

She scanned Sam’s face, noticing how much closer his body was to her, than even the first night they had spent together. She had a feeling that if he wasn’t careful, he would mold into her like putty, before all of this was over. At that moment, she didn’t mind. Reaching under her pillow with her good hand, she pulled her phone, and quickly used her word bank that Cason had set up on her phone to type a simple message with a bit more ease.

“Please tell me you slept last night and didn’t just stare at me.”

As she pressed play, she raised her eyebrows in an accusatory way, her smile spreading a bit more. She then used her thumb to push a few more words, to put together another message.

“I do appreciate the attention, though. You’re a good nurse.”



Cason felt Natalia stir the next morning, and he sank himself back down onto the pillows behind him, pulling the blankets up around them a bit further as she turned to him and draped her leg over his. He smiled, a bit of relief flooding in through the burning worry in his mind about everything. Her eyes were puffy and she seemed to have slept pretty well, after they had their fun the night before, for what felt like the first time in ages. He brought a hand up to brush her hair away from her face and down the side of her head, before tracing the same hand around to her jaw, pinching her chin.

“Morning. You seem pretty rested.” He murmured, placing a soft kiss to her nose as he watched her eyes. He didn’t really care what time it was, most of the bunker occupants seemed to still be asleep. The only sound that he had heard coming from anywhere was Anna and Lexi moving around and ending up in the gym together, and Dean walking toward the kitchen, for what Cason assumed was coffee. “Your brother is getting coffee. His…Lexi is in the gym, and from what I heard, Anna is also there. Sam and Anya? I haven’t heard them at all yet. Anya’s pretty quiet.”

At his little joke, he chuckled, “And us? I need to…find more ways to get you to make things up to me. But seriously, we can stay here all day, if you want. Tough conversations need to be had, but what’s the rush?”

LEXI

Lexi didn't even think about the possibility anyone else would be up and wanting to use the gym, so when she heard Anna call out, she paused her punching and looked over. Judging by the looks on Anna's face, she didn't think Lexi would be in here either, which was confirmed by Anna telling her who she thought she was. Giving the woman a smile, she waved off her apology, “don't sweat it! And go for it, I'm almost done here anyway” she replied honestly, as she rotated her shoulders and neck whilst she was taking a momentary break and Anna went to the treadmill. If Anna thought she was Natalia, then she guessed the gym was almost like their little area to bond and work out together or train together. It would only be natural that Anna wouldn't be used to anyone else being in the room, especially someone like Lexi who was new to the group and close with Dean at that. She was about to start boxing again when Anna decided to strike up a casual conversation about Dean and she couldn't help but softly chuckled, “no, not that I'm aware of anyway. He was still out cold when I came in here. Decided I wouldn't wake him and just let him actually lay in. I get the feeling he doesn't let himself do that often” she replied, then went back to boxing, but more than happy to still talk if Anna wanted to.

Lexi soon stopped the boxing and walked over to the other mats to do a cool down, curious if Dean was actually awake yet and saw her note of if he was still asleep. Part of her wondered if thanks to her note, he would come to the gym, even if it was to confirm he got the note, but then the other part of her told her they weren't kids. They didn't need to be within touching distance of each other in the bunker 24/7. She was also trying to not come across as this clingy woman to his family, at least, his sister as she really did want to get to know her. She just hoped Natalia would want the same thing eventually and see her for her. For now though, she would take any kindness shown her way from Anna or Cason and decide that if Nat needed time to adjust to her being around Dean, then Lexi would give her that time. For all she knew Nat wouldn't be sticking around for too long and it may not become an issue anyway, but if she did stick around for a while, Lexi would like to at least try with Natalia.

After a few minutes of cool down stretches, she felt like she had well and truly worked up a sweat and was ready for whatever the day threw in her direction. Grabbing her towel and water bottle, she looked up at Anna, “enjoy the run!” She smiled as she waved with a flick of her wrist goodbye and headed out of the gym and towards the kitchen first. She needed a good shower, but she also wanted to partially refill her bottle of water and was curious if Dean was up yet. As she finally made it to the kitchen, she saw that Dean was indeed awake and up. “Morning sunshine” she smiled, walking up to him and kissing his cheek before going to the sink and refilling her water bottle partially for a quick drink to finish cooling down.

SAM

Sam didn't want to come across as a creep but he did want to make sure Anya was okay. So when she opened her eyes and smirked at him, he raised an eyebrow before noticing that she was feeling the pain meds beginning to wear off as she moved her arm. He leaned back a little as she moved her good arm to grab her phone from under her pillow, to give her space as she used the word bank to say what she wanted to. At the remark, he couldn't help but softly chuckle as he nodded, “yeah I slept, I'm not a total creep you know” he replied, serious but also slightly teasing her in a way as she looked at him in an accusatory manner before she typed out something else. He gave a little amused scoff as she called him a good nurse, “well don't expect a nurses uniform” he joked. “But seriously, did you sleep alright?” He asked her. “I know trying to get to sleep with a cast on isn't exactly the easiest thing to do” he told her, to show her that he really did know what she was currently dealing with. He just hoped that the meds she was on weren't wearing off as much as he was suspecting they were for her just yet.

As they laid there, he began to think that they had to get up sooner rather than later and he could have sworn he heard the familiar footsteps of Dean's walking through the hallway towards what he could only assume was the kitchen. “I guess we should get up at some point” he sighed, laying back down onto his back beside Anya, before he decided to sit up a bit instead. Running his hands through his hair to sweep it behind his ear, remembering that they had to talk to Anya about the facts from the night before. He still didn't really know how to touch that subject as he didn't want to upset her, but how could it not be upsetting? They had to tell her she would never get her voice, he just knew it had to be a stab in the heart for someone like Anya. “So…lots of rest today in the bunker, guess we'll find a few things to do at some point” he glanced down at her with a smile., glad that after last night he still had her beside him. Despite being happy, he still couldn't get the image of her on the floor hurt out of his head and how for the briefest of moments, he thought he lost her as well.

NATALIA

As Cason traced his hand through her hair and down to her chin, she smiled. It truly did feel like a much better morning now that she had a proper night's sleep. “I am pretty well rested. For what feels like the first time in absolute forever” she said after he kissed her nose. A little notion that had become a favorite of hers over the years. There was just something so tender about it coming from Cason. She didn't care if they would be the last people to get up and show themselves to the family, she was just enjoying the moment of not waking up still stressed out or groggy from a crap night's sleep. It still surprises her that the boys kept her room the way it was and more importantly to her, kept the bed and not switched it out for a mattress that she would have hated sleeping on. When she first left the bunker after Mika's death, she was convinced that one of them would have stolen her mattress for themselves, but it seemed she was completely wrong about it. She listened to him relay what he had heard throughout the bunker, even to this day, finding it a very useful skill he had. With Cason’s talent she didn't ever need to resort to having someone out in the open as a distraction for whatever reason. He could stay with her and still alert her to anyone coming nearby.

She rolled her eyes at his joke about Anya being quiet, but she still smirked at the joke nonetheless. She also was aware that Cason wanted to call Lexi Dean's girlfriend, but changed his mind at the very last second, so she decided to ignore it…for now. Her smirk only grew when he said about finding new ways of her making it up to him. “Oh like you were complaining last night” she pointed out, lifting her hand up and tapping his nose with her index finger. “But taking our time emerging from this incredibly comfortable bed sounds like the best idea right now. I can't remember the last we got to do this. Just chill for as long as we want to. I've missed it” she told him on a more serious note. “Yeah there's serious discussions that need to be had but like you say, what's the rush?” She smiled, leaning down and kissing his lips briefly. Raising a hand, she tangled her fingers up in his hair, watching him as she enjoyed not being in any rush to get up.

She knew they'd have to get up at some point but there was no way she was going to do that, just because she had to. If that meant staying in bed until someone had to bang on her door, then so be it. Nat then decided to move by rolling on top of Cason, looking down on him with a smile.

Anna was a bit surprised when Lexi was so cordial toward her, which just cemented in Anna’s mind that her best friend was a bit aggressive, and that the aggression wasn’t coming from Lexi’s end. Before they left the bunker, Anna would have to work on Natalia’s aggravation with Lexi. If anyone was going to convince her to chill out, it would be Anna…or Sam, but Anna would do it, if Nat would actually listen, for once. Maybe she could offer her contraband snacks.

When Lexi willingly retorted to Anna’s small talk, Anna smirked and stepped onto the treadmill. Judging by Lexi’s words, Lexi was forcing Dean to loosen up a bit. She seemed to want him to rest and wanted to take care of him, something that Dean had needed for months, and Anna was constantly worried about when she was brave enough to call and check on him in the early morning hours before Sam woke up.

“I’m glad he has you to look out for him. Honestly, he looks the best I’ve seen him in a while.” Anna admitted, turning on the treadmill. She noticed that Lexi seemed to fall off into thought while she was stretching, and Anna thought it best to drop the conversation, for the moment, but she would definitely poke and prod a bit more later on. If anything, it would help her build her case to Natalia. As Lexi finished up her stretching and called out to her to enjoy her run, Anna smiled and glanced back over her shoulder, turning the speed up on the treadmill to make things a bit more difficult, “Thanks. I’ll be around in a bit!”

After a while, Anna slowed the treadmill, walking to cool her body off as she came down from the heavy run. The whole time she was running, Sam rolled through her brain, a mixture of him leaving, and the time they had spent together the night before. She knew this had to be the end for them, but she didn’t want to lose him. She wanted to find a way for them to bridge that gap the way that her and Dean had, after their falling out years before. She wanted them to all be family, and to come and go as they pleased. She knew Duke would love to see them…

“We’ll be a family again, one way or another. It’s alright to move on…” Anna muttered to herself as she pushed the button to stop the treadmill and then grabbed her phone, texting Duke to let him know that she was at least thinking about things.



Anya giggled as Sam defended himself from any creep allegations. She was happy that he smiled, even if he was defending himself. She wanted him to know she was mostly teasing him. She was glad he was so close, and hovering so much. As long as he didn’t feel the need to follow her everywhere, if she asked him to give her space, she would let him hover as much as he wanted. It was Sam. And she was pretty sure that there wasn’t much of a chance in hell she was leaving this bunker…

Anya glanced down at the cast on her arm, as she held her phone in front of her with her other hand and Sam teased her about the nurse comment but then asked how she slept. She nodded, raising her arm to show him that she had basically slept on her opposite side the entire night. So, it was a bit easier to sleep than she had expected. Even with the pain in her broken arm, she felt comfortable and safe. Her opposite side was just a little numb.

She typed out another message, and smiled, “As cute as you would look in a nurses uniform, I think it might be a little…short. And I slept. The pain meds helped keep me still. So, I slept. But I need coffee.”

She played the message, delayed for a moment as she listened for any sounds outside the door, which seemed to be the same thought Sam was having. But when Sam sat up and he ran his hands through his hair, mentioning that they should get up, Anya played the message and laid her phone on her pillow, pushing herself up awkwardly with her good arm.

She looked up at Sam as she pushed herself back against the headboard with a hiss of pain, and glanced down at the hideous pink cast on her arm. She knew that he was trying to dance around the conversation that she felt looming as soon as they had returned to the bunker the night before. Even though she had been half out of her mind on pain medication, and Sam had carried her inside, she distinctly heard Dean ask how they were going to bridge the subject of her voice.

Anya reached back and picked up her phone, scooting herself closer to Sam, to make sure that he knew she wasn’t going to break at the slightest touch. She typed and press play, glancing up at Sam with a smile, “I think that resting around the bunker sounds great. As long as I’m with my awesome hovering nurse and he makes me coffee and finds my pain meds, I’ll be bored in the bunker until this cast is off my arm.”



Cason raised his eyebrows at Natalia’s comment about the night before and he laughed incredulously, “I never said anything about complaining. I’m not complaining. I don’t complain…well…much.”

His eyes crossed as he watched Natalia’s finger tap his nose, but his expression softened as she spoke with some seriousness about the fact that they had been on the road for so long, and hadn’t had much time to be able to just…exist. He had to agree. It seemed like their lives had been pure chaos, even before Mika died. After? The split had made things even more tense and chaotic. It seemed they were all on the edge of the world ending, at all times. One morning wouldn’t kill anyone, even though they had just as much to do later in the day.

Cason only smiled when Nat did, matching her smile with one of his own as he melted into her kiss, bringing a hand up to brush her hair back from her face. As she broke the kiss and rolled on top of him, Cason brought one hand down to squeeze her thigh, and kept the other cradling her jaw with a smile, “Well, I’m sure that there are a million ways that we can just…enjoy the nice comfy bed, and the quiet room, and the absence of brothers, just a little while longer.”

He chuckled and leaned up, pulling her to meet him in the middle as he kissed her deeply, as always, putty in her hands.



Dean tapped his fingers against his empty coffee mug as he wait for the coffee pot to finish brewing the first caffeine of the day. It was quiet in the entire bunker, and for a moment, it felt like it was just him and Sam again. It felt like the whole place was empty, and Sam was moping somewhere in the corridors, buried in studying, while Dean pretended that he had something to do and was up early. But it was late in the morning, and honestly, Dean was happy that he knew the bunker was pretty full. It was a welcome change from the looming threat of Crowley just calling or showing up at any time, wanting Dean to do this or that.

The light turned green on the coffee pot, showing that it was full and warmed, so Dean pulled the pot and poured himself a mug, taking his time until he heard Lexi’s footsteps against the old wood floor. He smiled softly as she stepped up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, right as he took his first drink of coffee.

“Well good morning to you too. You’re…hot. Sweaty, I mean. How long have you been up? Early morning is normally my thing.” Dean teased, as he turned around and leaned against the counter, watching Lexi walk across to the sink. He sighed quietly, just taking in the simplicity of her being there. He took another drink, glancing around toward the door way to listen for anyone else but it was quiet. “I’m assuming everyone slept super well last night. I haven’t heard a peep from anyone since I’ve been awake. I slept like the dead. You should have woke me up. I would have come to the gym with you. I don’t work out much but I could have kept you company. I do…enjoy…you know…bodies.”

Dean snarled his nose at his stupid words, and chuckled, “You know what I mean.”

LEXI

Dean's morning flustered and bumbling of his words made Lexi smile, just as it always did. She chuckled as he pointed out it was unusual for her to have gotten up earlier than himself, knowing he wasn't exactly wrong about that fact. He was usually the first one up out of the two of them, but this morning she just found herself naturally waking up earlier and in the mood to get that morning workout in. “Figured you could do with the lay in this morning. As you said yourself, you're usually up way earlier than should be normal and you looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you” she smiled, slightly teasing him whilst also being serious in her reasoning. She took a long drink of her water as she turned and saw him clearly listening out for anyone else before he made a remark about no one else seemed to be awake. “Anna is awake, she's in the gym on the treadmill. But I didn't notice or hear anyone else awake. Though I think after last night and yesterday's early start for the others it shouldn't be surprising. I think we can allow Natalia and Cason to get up whenever they want after that long drive from California” she pointed out.

Using a free hand, she pulled her gym towel off from her neck and used it to actually pat down the back of her neck instead of any possible sweat before doing the same on her back. “And like I said, figured you too could do with the rest. You're always up early and you deserve to sleep in some days you know” she told him, pointing her water bottle at him as she spoke. She couldn't help but mull over what Anna told her earlier about how Dean was looking the best he had done in months and she really had to wonder if it really was because of her. Has her entering his life really made that much of a difference that it's possibly put a lot of relief in people like Anna? She knew Dean had been struggling with his grief from what Sam had warned her about when she first came to the bunker, but now she had Anna's words rattling around in her mind and it brought it all up again. It even made her see how he really helped her come out of her own shell more, more so than even Sam had.

“So, I'm gonna go for a shower as, like you so eloquently put it, I'm sweaty and no one needs a sweaty me walking around the place” she smirked, stepping up to him once more and pecking his lips. “I won't be long, so keep that coffee hot for me?” She requested.

SAM

Sam smiled when he watched Anya glance down at her arm and lift it up to him to basically say she slept on her opposite side all night. He was glad she had woken up in a pretty good mood as part of him expected her to wake up in a less than happy mood after everything that transpired the night before. If she had, he wouldn't have blamed her for it at all, he knew all too well how grumpy having an arm in a cast made someone, and topping it off with the fact it was a sly demon that had caused it? He really wasn't expecting to see her still so chipper, but he was happy she hadn't lost the positive attitude. As her message played out, he started laughing at her remark about a nurse's uniform being too short on him. He stopped laughing, but kept the happy look on his face when she confirmed she had slept pretty well thanks to the meds the hospital gave her. He also wasn't surprised that she mentioned needing coffee to start the day. “I'm sure we can accommodate that need” he replied to her.

As he sat upright, he kept a watch on her as she moved up to join him in a more upright position. He wished he could do more to help her when she hissed as she moved to lean more against the headboard, but let her scoot closer to him after grabbing her phone again, instinctively he lifted and draped his arm around her shoulders so she could be closer to him. He didn't know that she heard about the discussion involving her voice last night, but he had hoped he could delay it as long as he could even though everyone else probably wouldn't let him delay it. Listening to her next message, he smirked and gave a nod, “good and I can get you coffee” he replied, kissing the side of her head. “I got your meds right here” he then added, stretching his free hand over to his bedside table and grabbing the bottle that contained the tablets, giving it a little shake in front of her. “Purposely kept them close in case you woke up in the night needing them” he told her honestly. “So…coffee” he said once more before forcing himself to pull away from Anya so he could actually get out of bed.

Every part of him wanted to just dive under the covers again and stay in bed, but he knew it was already late into the morning and if they didn't move, someone, probably Dean, would come and make them get up just so he wasn't the only one up and about. “Let's get you that caffeine before Dean drinks it all” he smirked, standing up and grabbing some basic clothes to yank on so he was at least presentable now that there were a lot more people around the bunker. The last thing he wanted was for his sister or her boyfriend to see him in his boxers. He waited for Anya to get up and join him as he grabbed her pain meds for her and then walked out of his room and towards the kitchen with her, eventually seeing Dean in there, which was of no surprise whatsoever. “You look like you haven't been awake long” he pointed out to Dean.

NATALIA

Cason's defence of him not complaining made Nat laugh. At least he had the sense to say ‘not much’ because she could easily point out many times when he would complain, whether it be the times over the years of having to drive long distances, even now or when she had the odd bit of junk food or junk snacks. She was just impressed that his constant complaining about her older eating habits did actually change her diet and it was a lot more varied now than it once was. So maybe his complaining wasn't always bad.

She just knew deep down that he would agree with her about making the most of being able to just be normal for a short while and not worry about the next job or destination. She had craved it for so long, even amidst the time she left the bunker and just wanted to go on hunt after hunt to distract her mind from the fact Mika had died and was not coming back this time. Part of her still wished she was the one who could track down the demon that killed her and destroy the weapon that did it. For what felt like the longest time, she could never get that moment out of her head, just seeing Mika's body on the ground, turned ashy grey, the stab wound sparking and hissing after she just managed to tell Dean 'it's okay…’ despite being absolutely terrified at the knowledge she wasn't coming back from that fight. The demon hadn't just killed Mika, they obliterated the phoenix that kept her alive as well. The extra hidden weapon in the group's arsenal. She was convinced for a while that not even Cason could have brought her back to reality and reason, but he somehow did and it made her love him even more.

She continued to smile when he swept her hair behind her ear and cradled her chin in the way he knew would always make her melt to him, just as she had a way of making him putty in her own hands. “I'm sure there are too, so I think we should find out what those million ways are…don't you?” She teased back with a flirtatious smile as he pulled her to him, meeting halfway and kissing him back just deeply.

Dean was thankful that Lexi seemed to be used to his habit of sticking his foot in his mouth and barely even acknowledged it. Instead, she focused on the fact that he wasn’t happy with sleeping in, which just felt so refreshing, as much as he wanted to complain. He couldn’t help but shrug his shoulders at Lexi’s reasoning for letting him sleep in. Honestly, he could use the rest, even if he wouldn’t admit it half the time. So, he wouldn’t argue too much, “Fair enough. I do feel a bit better…”

When she mentioned that Anna was up and working out, Dean almost frowned in confusion, but he had to remember that this wasn’t exactly the same Anna that they had left in Denver. She was a lot more independent, at this point. She had a little muscle on her and was used to hard farm work and a lot of activity. She wasn’t the ‘mope around the library with a book’ Anna anymore. So, it wasn’t that strange that she would be in the gym.

“Yeah. I don’t think Cason and Nat will be out for a while. If I know anything about Cason, he’ll make her lay in bed until he’s convinced she’s not going to drop dead from being road tired.” Dean scoffed, taking a drink of his coffee as he glanced toward Lexi and watched her every move. Lexi bringing up his lack of resting that typically made him feel like shit made him think of Cason in a little bit of a better light all the sudden. Cason was obsessed with Nat being healthy and being with him as long as possible…considering he was immortal. Dean lived very fast and loose, because he never saw himself living this long. Some days, he could feel every bit of his age. “Well, I’ll accept the care and the spoiling, if you’ll accept that I’m not gonna change. Habits, maybe…but I’m still the same reckless idiot that you heard about. I’m just a little nicer…most of the time.”

Dean chuckled again as Lexi stepped forward and said she was going for a shower. He was tempted to invite himself, but judging by the peck on his lips that didn’t linger and her request for him to keep the coffee pot on, he figured she wanted the space, something he was trying to learn cues of, “Well, I’d offer to join, but I gotta watch…the coffee pot. So, can you give me a rain check on that shared shower? Tree huggers would love us for not wasting water.”

As he teased Lexi, he leaned close to her shoulder, tilting his head to press a tight kiss against her cheek, “Go get a shower. I’ll be here when you get back.”

After a few moments of being alone in the kitchen again, Dean heard footsteps and he turned his head to the sound, half expecting Natalia, but it was Sam, with poor Anya behind him. In the brighter kitchen light, Dean could see the light bruising around the side of her face and over her eyebrow, as well as some purple angry skin to the shoulder of her injured arm. At Sam’s observation, Dean shrugged and frowned, trying to find a way to play off how late he slept in, and finally settled on just admitting he had slept well.

“Believe it or not…I’ve only been awake about an hour. I slept like the dead. It’s odd. I feel like a lazy bum.” He scoffed and glanced down at Anya, “How’s the arm this morning?”



Anya was so happy to see Sam smiling that morning, as if they hadn’t completely failed the hunt the night before. She didn’t want to feel like part of their failure or have everyone looking at her like some sort of ticking time bomb. She had never known her voice, and it wasn’t the end of her world if she didn’t get it back. It would have just been easier to communicate, that’s all. And having a cast on her arm just made it worse, because she couldn’t sign as effectively and was stuck with a phone reading out her words in the weird little robotic voice that she was pretty sure most people she knew just assumed was her own voice by that point.

When Sam agreed that they could just get coffee and be lazy together, Anya smiled a bit, not catching any sign of looming awkwardness in his eyes, something she was so thankful for. They were their normal bright hazel, and all she could see was support and empathy…her Sam. With a soft nod against his lips, Anya closed her eyes as he kissed the side of her head and reached across for her pain meds. Of course he had kept them close. He had been hovering within a few inches of her since he found her in the woods.

She reached her hand up and signed a simple ‘thank you’ with her good hand, before scooting herself away from him, with a bit of effort and reluctancy. She was wearing one of his t-shirts, and other than hanging off her bad shoulder a bit, she felt covered enough to face whoever was out in the bunker without feeling naked. So, she reached her good arm up and brushed her curly brown hair to one side and waited for Sam to throw on some pants.

Anya reached over to the desk by the door and grabbed the sling that they had given her at the hospital, a simple black fabric (ugly) thing to help with the initial pain of holding her arm down to her side. She hated wearing the stupid thing, but it really did help her fingers not feel like they were hit with a hammer. She tossed the sling over her shoulder, and slipped her elbow into it, using the deep pocket to slip her phone in, like a purse.

Making a face that said ‘hmph. That’s convenient.’, she looked up at Sam as he headed toward the door and then giggled silently, following him out of the room and into the hallway. As they stepped into the kitchen, she narrowed her eyes at Dean, who not only looked very well rested, but still had messy hair and puffy eyes, which Sam pointed out. What she wasn’t prepared for was Dean asking about her. She zoned out for one moment, which caused Dean to frown and look up at Sam as if asking him if everything was okay. Then Anya pulled out her phone and she pressed a few words with her thumb, holding the phone out toward Dean.

“The arm hurts. And I would like to request that you don’t treat me like a kid over all of this. I know what happened. I know what it means. Can I be a part of the conversation instead of the subject, please? I just want everyone to be normal.”

Dean tilted his head in sympathy, something that he wouldn’t have shown for her if he didn’t feel that she was already part of the family. He nodded, and took a drink of his coffee to show that he was calm and then glanced up at Sam, “I don’t see why not. You’re tough. We should let you be tough.”

“I am tough. I want to stay.” Anya’s phone suddenly blared out to Dean’s face and Dean tilted his head back in a long nod.

“And I don’t see why we can’t talk about that, either. We’ll sit down in a bit and do that. But for now, no kid gloves. How bad does it hurt?”

“Pretty bad.” Anya’s phone played as she snarled her nose and shrugged her shoulders. “I’m going to take some pain medicine with my coffee, I think.”

“Well, I’m sure the hovering giant that is my brother will help with that. Help yourself. Sam, you good? Sleep good…feel good…all that?” Dean asked, giving Sam a face that said he was genuinely concerned about his mental health after how the hunt went.

LEXI

The way Dean frowned in confusion when Lexi told him about Anna being in the gym, she took that as a clue that it wasn't a normal thing for the girl to do, or at least, a common thing to do when she was last at the bunker. Yet Anna earlier thought she was Natalia which gave Lexi the impression it was a common thing. It was becoming evident that she still had a lot to learn about the old group and family and even for Dean, things seemed to have changed drastically. When he spoke up about Cason and Natalia, agreeing with her assumption that the long drive probably has finally caught up with Natalia in particular, she couldn't help but smirk and softly chuckle at Dean's remarks about Cason being incredibly protective and almost fussy over Natalia. Something that still seemed utterly bizarre to Lexi. She was aware of him watching her every move as he always did when she was in his sights, making it just one reason for her to have pecked his lips.

Him calling for a negotiation of accepting the spoiling and fuss if she accepts he'll always be a reckless idiot made her also chuckle and nod. She wouldn't want him to change if she truly was honest with herself and him. Dean was Dean and she felt like if he was more like Sam he wouldn't be himself. As much as she did still miss Owen greatly and would always love him and his ways, she didn't want Dean to be another Owen. They were so vastly different from each other and Dean felt like a breath of fresh air who always kept her on her toes and she loved it. She didn't want him to lose that ability to always surprise her or catch her off guard, whilst also being the clingy lovable guy she had seen him to be. He was exciting and she hoped with every fiber of her being that she would always be able to match that for him.

At him throwing out so casually about sharing a shower until she suggested keeping the coffee pot hot for her return, she smirked. Normally she wouldn't ever deny him a moment to share a shower, but she really did need a coffee after a good workout. She chuckled at the tree hugger comment and gave him a wink, “rain check given” she replied as he leaned in and kissed her cheek before telling her to go. “I'll be back before you know it” she told him, then walked out of the kitchen and headed to the shower rooms where she heard Sam's bedroom door opening followed by Sam and Anya talking, via Anya's phone. It brought a smile to her face as she walked down the halls glad to hear that it seemed the two of them were in good spirits after the night they had. As she continued to walk, getting close to the shower rooms, she passed what she realized very quickly, was Natalia's old room. Two clues standing out to her. Firstly it was Natalia's name on the door in rather interesting lettering, seemingly done by a very artsy person, but she couldn't say who she would see as being an artsy person. Unknowingly, it was Mika who had designed it for Nat before Mika's passing. The other clue was the giggling and other noises coming from her room, telling Lexi that Nat and Cason were very much awake and being extremely close with each other in the bed. It made her smirk, silently chuckle and shake her head, easily imagining if it was Dean walking past the room and how he would be reacting to his little sister having a good romp in the sheets with her immortal boyfriend. “I'm gonna have to tease Dean about that…” she whispered to herself as she made the left turn, into the shower room and making a beeline for freshening up.

Stepping up, she turned the shower on, I dressed and stepped inside as she grabbed her shower gel and wash mitt, wasting no time in getting clean before giving her sweaty hair a wash at the same time. The hot water and fresh fragrance of her shower gel and conditioner instantly relaxing her. She soon got done and stepped out, turned the shower off, wrapped a towel round her body and finished up in the mirror by combing through her hair, wrapping it in another towel and then headed to her room for clothing. The walk was the same until she reached her room and went inside, closing the door behind herself for privacy so she could get dried off and dressed before using her personal hairdryer to dry her hair. Once dried, she decided to pick up a claw clip and clipped half her hair up to get it out of her face, whilst also still letting the shorter face framing front layers fall to frame her face before she made sure to moisturise her face with tinted moisturizer as she always did, then headed back towards the kitchen to see and hear Sam and Anya were in there talking with Dean.

SAM

Sam didn't think that Anya needed to thank him for anything, but he took the thanks anyway with a smile and nod. When she got up, he felt he could already tell that she had no plans on changing as she was already pretty well covered in one of his spare shirts. It made her look even smaller and it was a sight he would never tire of. Just like with his old shirts and Anna, it was like this particular shirt was just meant to have Anya in it. He waited for her as she grabbed the sling, trying not to hover too much incase she needed his help putting it on, but it was quickly obvious that she didn't need his help as she got her arm in and then her phone. The action made him smile in amusement at how she decided to use the sling as a purse for her phone and see that it did seem rather convenient for her. He had to admit, he probably would have done the same thing if he was her in that situation. With them both ready, they headed to the kitchen and that was when they saw Dean by the coffee pot and after greeting his brother, he gave Dean a look of surprise at hearing that he had only been up for at most an hour. That really wasn't like Dean at all but at least he got some decent rest. He was also tempted to say something along the lines of ‘because you are a lazy bum’ but managed withhold his tongue when Dean turned his focus to Anya and asked about her arm.

As Anya pulled her phone out and replied to Dean, he decided to walk over to the coffee pot and make himself and Anya the coffee she requested in the bedroom. The conversation wasn't all that shocking to hear, of course Anya wanted to be treated normally and not like a child who would just call apart because of one broken arm. As he poured them both coffee into mugs, he noticed the look of sympathy Dean gave Anya and he knew at that moment Dean was already accepting her as part of the family. He didn't expect Dean to be that accepting so soon but it seemed Dean really was changing to some degree. He put it down to possibly Lexi's influence and the clear joy he had having Nat and Anna back in the bunker again. It was no secret to Sam how much deep down Dean had missed Natalia and Anna being around and fussing over the two of them. Which made him think that that need to be a protective big brother was now washing over toward Anya and he actually welcomed it. He picked up the mugs and walked back towards Anya with them when he saw Anya's body language as the phone replied about how tough she was and how she wanted to stay. That smirk appeared on his face once again as he put her mug on the coffee table until she gave herself a free hand again.

He listened to the conversation between the two of them, the mention of meds and coffee making him pull out the bottle from his jeans pocket and opening it for her, tipping two tablets out and placing them beside her mug. “Way ahead of you” he spoke up at Dean's comments about sorting Anya out with what she needed. He looked up at Dean as he got asked how he was, recognising the facial expressions all too well. “I'm good. Slept hard and feeling good” he told him honestly, reaching a hand out and patting his brother on the shoulder. He then looked around and saw no one else, figuring that Nat and Cason were making the most of their old bed, he just didn't think they were in the way they actually were and he couldn't say where Lexi was. He strangely had gotten so used to seeing her up and cooking in the morning that it felt odd she wasn't around. “It's weird not seeing Lexi cooking” he mused out loud, when suddenly she appeared from behind him, “wow Sammy…that's what I've been reduced to? Your chef?” Her voice broke from behind him in a teasing manner. “I uhh…no, that's not what I meant...I…” he began to stammer before getting a playful slap on the back, “I'm messing with you yah dingus!” She laughed.