[IC] Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

[FuriePhoenix]

MIKA

Mika hated it when Bobby frowned because of something she either did or said, this time was no different. It was a reason for her needing to get it all off her chest and explain all their states the moment she let go of him. Not only that, she was convinced that if she held onto him any longer she would just utterly break down once more and never let him go. He wasn’t just her uncle in her eyes, he was her father. Even when her parents were around, Bobby treated her with more respect than her own dad ever did. So even now as an adult, she felt like such a small young girl when he held her and was glad she had come home alive.

His reaction to her updates about Duke wasn’t surprising to her in the slightest and she was almost thankful that it was her who broke the news to him about Duke, and not anyone else. Then came the words that she was partly expecting from him about Cason and Nat. “I know…none of us were expecting it. You’ll have to chat with Nat about it all privately. But yes, I do mean that kind of something and I agree it’s out of character for her, it’s making me worried and I know if I hadn’t seen the clues myself then I wouldn’t believe it” she replied to him before she yawned and he let go of her shoulders.

She listened to his words intently, needing his wisdom more than ever right now. “Okay” she said one last time with a nod before she had whispered to Bobby reminding him to be civil with Cason, especially in front of Natalia. She walked into the kitchen, waiting for others to eventually all gather in there whilst grabbing a beer, cracking it open and taking a long hard swig with a sigh afterwards. She had no idea how much longer she could possibly stay awake for and hoped that the beer would help to just knock her out when the time came round. Leaning against the worktop as she usually did, crossing one foot over the other she tried to still block out everything that had gone down as she wanted to forget some of the sights she witnessed. Disembodied demons being one of the big ones.

She was convinced that when she did eventually fall asleep, that would be one thing that would no doubt haunt her dreams and she really didn’t want to wake up in a cold sweat because of it. She heard Bobby greet Natalia, feeling relieved that they were all eventually filing into the house but it was Dean she was most concerned about. He was just as confused and haunted by Duke coming back from the dead as she and Esme were and she had no idea how harshly everything was going to hit him now they were in a place they could relax and shred the stress off their shoulders.

NATALIA

Nat saw how cautious Cason still was when it came to entering the house and she really couldn’t blame him. It wouldn’t have surprised her if Bobby did do extra precautions after the last demon ambush in the house and like Cason, she didn’t want anything to harm him after everything that he had possibly gone through. So when he trusted her words, she was glad he followed her inside before she greeted Bobby. Bobby’s words felt so on brand for him and she knew he would never disappoint when it came putting out drinks for them all.

She headed straight for the kitchen with Cason following behind, noting how he did the respectful thing to Bobby by letting go of her hand. She didn’t like the fact they were hiding their closeness from the man, but she understood it. Seeing all the options on the table that Bobby had put out for them all, Nat tried to decide what she was in the mood for as she also watched Cason just pour himself a large bourbon. She eventually chose a beer like Mika had clearly done and gave Cason a smile back as she sat in a chair opposite him, even though every part of her wanted to sit next to him.

His comment about being the least damaged person in their group did make her smirk a little bit as he wasn’t exactly wrong in that statement, but the idea of a ‘family show’ about to happen brought dread to her mind. It made her realise that Bobby probably wouldn’t let any of them leave his sight until information was fully divulged to him on what actually happened. She weighed up her options on what would be better when it came ‘getting her looked at’ as Cason put it before she finally came to a decision. “You. You’ve already seen the worse before Cass healed a lot of me, only difference now is much better lighting. You know where I was hurt” she said to him. If anyone tried to stop him from looking her over, they’d get an earful from her.

After talking, she took a swig of her beer and sighed as it went down her throat. She didn’t realise just how dry her mouth was until she took that first sip and had to tell herself not to just chug the entire bottle down. Looking up, she saw Mika was watching the two of them, but also seemed partly spaced out so instead of questioning her, she just looked down again and more to Cason as she heard all the others filing in finally.

SAM

Seeing Anna close to shivering got Sam all the more worried about her. He was glad to be able to get her inside after a few of the others had already got in, hearing small bits of chatter between Cason and Nat in the kitchen. The fact that Mika was being so quiet was one of two things; something to be really concerned about or something to just put down to one of her moments where she needed to not talk for a while. He gave Bobby a nod to say hello as he saw him give Anna a smile of sympathy whilst Duke looked like death walking. He too followed Anna’s gaze to the staircase that led to the basement and the demon proof panic room, his heart breaking just that bit more as he saw she was worried about going down there again.

“Come on…let’s get a drink before the others drink it all dry” he remarked, in an attempt to try and distract her from what could be, as well as distracting himself. He didn’t want to have to put her down there, knowing how much she hated the process last time but he also knew if the bed was made up down there it would have been a reasonable suggestion by someone. He walked with her to the kitchen to see everyone except for Dean had so far got inside, which wasn’t a shock as they had passed Dean on their way in. He grabbed a beer off the table and went to stand in a corner that was closest toward Nat as he still hadn’t seen for himself just how badly she was hurt in the asylum. He was worried about her, as he was about everyone, but he couldn’t bring himself to stray too far from Anna either.

He listened to the chit chat between them, catching the end of Nat’s reply to Cason. He wanted to check her over himself, but it was clear Nat had made her decision and only Cason seemed to matter to her nowadays. He looked up from his bottle in his hand when Dean finally came inside with Bobby following him in and asking for the story of what exactly happened. “Everything went wrong Bobby” he began to speak when it was clear no one else was going to speak up.

“It started off as a simple recon job and we just got ambushed from all sides. That’s when it started going wrong. Anna and Cason got taken into this barn, Duke got stabbed, Nat got knocked off a roof gaining a serious head injury. Due to her injury we all left her in the impala whilst going back for the other three but then Nat got kidnapped by the time we got back to the cars. Demons took her back to the asylum…” he began to explain but when he got to the word ‘asylum’ he couldn’t bring himself to continue, so he looked around the group to see who could continue on for him as he really didn’t want to.

Nat certainly didn’t want to talk about it but she knew she would have explain some of that stuff herself as she was the only one who knew exactly what happened to her. “They took me because they wanted Esme back there and to mess with the others…as well as myself. Said they weren’t done with me when Sam got me out last time.” she began to explain, trying not to let her voice break or look at anyone as she spoke as she didn’t want to see their faces when she said what she was about to. “They only kept me conscious by breaking my shoulder with a h-hammer along with slashing at my neck with a knife, arm and hip…got punched in the face a few times when I wouldn’t give in to their mind games” she described. “I tried to get away but I was strapped to a gurney. A gurney that they then threw in a water torture pool and tried drowning me and I blacked out by that point, I don’t know what else happened until Cason yanked me out and got me to wake up” she finally said.

Sam listened to her add to the story, every word she spoke made him feel worse about not going with Dean and Mika to get her. “Oh Nat…” he said quietly, but gave Cason a thankful look for getting to her in time. He saw how Nat couldn’t look at any of them as she spoke and he didn’t blame her in the slightest. That girl was scarred and not just physically.

[Wolvena]

Esme

As soon as Esme walked through the door of Bobby’s, and the familiarity of it hit her, she felt safe and could feel herself relaxing. Her eyes instantly fell on Bobby and how he was looking at Duke, like he was a ghost, before he made his way over to them. When Bobby brushed his thumb over her cheek with a fatherly smile, she smiled back warmly. As he moved to Duke and spoke to him, she let go of Duke’s hand, taking a step back, watching as Bobby hugged Duke and looked him over. It wasn't hard to see how much Bobby had missed him and was worried about him. The lack of a smile from Duke as he responded to Bobby, worried her, especially after getting a slight smirk outside moments ago. When Bobby sent Duke to the kitchen, Esme turned her gaze to Bobby, just as he wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her into him. She quietly whimpered at the action, then wrapped her arm around Bobby, hugging him back. “Yeah, I know. I don’t feel so hot either.” she replied softly with a smile at him calling them idjits. “Missed you too, Bobby.”

Esme then headed to the kitchen after Bobby had let her go. Once in the kitchen, she grabbed a beer from the table and found a place on a wall near Duke. She then took a long drink of her beer, wincing slightly at the soreness in her throat. Leaning against the wall, she crossed her arms in front of her, waiting for the others to file in. She knew that Bobby wasn’t going to let any of them go to bed without looking them over or without hearing what happened that night. It had definitely been one hell of a night for all of them. Esme had zoned out briefly, staring at her beer, when Dean and Bobby came in last, and Bobby spoke, snapping her out of it. Esme wasn’t looking forward to talking about what happened. She didn’t want to relive it. But when Sam spoke first, she closed her eyes and listened to what he told Bobby. Then Natalia chimed in when Sam couldn’t finish. She winced when Natalia said her name and that she was taken because the demons wanted her back at the asylum and to mess with the others. She remained quiet as Natalia spoke.

She felt sorry for the woman. She should have never had to go through all that again. She knew she needed to fill in the rest of the story from her perspective when things fell quiet. She didn’t look up from her beer as she sighed and prepared herself to tell the rest of the story. “After we found Nat had been taken, Mika found items that belonged to Nat and a pamphlet for the asylum. There was a note for me to come back on it. We took Duke to the hospital, and I was the only one they would let in with him. He was in such bad shape they took my blood to give him. But a little later, they came and said he…. Died.” Esme paused for a moment, gripping her beer tighter. “I fell apart, and then Cason showed up to take me to the asylum to help get Nat. I fought my way through the demons, lost control of myself, and found the two demons that tortured me in that hellhole for two years. I killed one before Cason came back for me. When he found me, I was….. Not myself. I was feral. I had lost all control over my emotions.”

“I know I scared the hell out of him with the state I was in. I almost attacked him before the second demon showed up, I killed her, and almost attacked Cason again when Dean showed.” Esme sighed heavily. She didn’t want to tell this part of the story. “I was at the point of going nuclear when Dean showed. He tried to talk me down, but it was too late for me to stop it. I tried to get him to leave, but he refused. I went nuclear and took out the asylum. As it crumbled, hellhounds jumped in and shielded us from the rubble. Castiel showed up and pulled us out of the rubble and healed Dean and Nat. Then we found Duke walking down the road, dazed and confused on our way back to the hospital. He didn’t think Dean and I were real.” Esme felt silent, squeezing her beer until her knuckles turned white. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out to collect herself. Suddenly, her legs gave out, and she collapsed hard to the floor with a groan. She knew it was only a matter of time before her legs finally gave out, but she hoped it would have been near a bed or the couch.

“Tapadh leibh uile!” she breathed, closing her eyes tightly as immense pain washed over her. Opening her eyes, Esme tried to get back on her feet, but couldn’t get her body to cooperate, it felt like a lead weight. It had finally succumbed to the energy drain of her going nuclear. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes as she sat on the floor of the kitchen, shaking from the immense pain that shot through her body from the fall and still hadn’t subsided. Esme dropped her head, trying to breathe through the pain the best she could.

[JustAnna]

Anna

Anna nodded to Sam as he suggested that they go into the kitchen and get a drink with the others. She wasn’t exactly excited to look any of them in the eyes, especially Dean, who she wanted absolutely nothing to do with. But she also, in a way, missed all of them in one place, safe.

She followed Sam to the corner, glancing around and finally deciding to sit on a piece of counter, within arms distance of him. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about…them, but she knew that in that moment, when the basement might be an option, she wanted to keep him close. She also wanted to hold onto a glimmer of the hope she had felt when she saw his face in the barn, like seeing an angel coming to save her.

Anna climbed up onto the counter, turning her back to it and using her sore arms to hoist herself up with a groan of pain from her shoulder, mostly. She then reached a hand out and wrapped a corner of Sam’s flannel around her fingers, like a little leash to hold onto him. Her head perked up, however, when Dean stepped into the kitchen, and picked up a drink Cason had prepared for him. She kept her eyes on Dean, until his eyes turned up and looked straight at her.

She turned her eyes down for a moment, and then glanced up, and Dean was still staring at her, as if he had something to say. As if Dean and Cason were communicating silently, Cason poured another glass of Bourbon, and slid it to Dean, who picked it up and pushed himself away from his spot. He stepped over to Anna, and without a word, held the whiskey out to her.

Anna turned her eyes down, taking the glass, as Dean shoved it at her a bit more insistently. She said nothing. She told him she was done and she was done. She released Sam’s shirt and took a small drink of the amber liquid, as the hard conversations suddenly started. She didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to talk about the barn, or Dean…

But she did want to know why they were there in the first place. Maybe the others had figured that out, by this point. Maybe the conversation could be a good thing.

Dean

Dean sighed as Bobby came into the room and demanded answers and explanations. He knew that the conversation was coming, but there was a tension lingering in the air, between all of them, and Dean couldn’t see how the conversation wasn’t going to be just full of more confusion, heartbreak and potentially anger and fighting. He wasn’t quite sure.

His eyes fell on Anna, a million reasons to have a conversation with her running through his brain, but he also hadn’t figured out how to explain himself to her. There really wasn’t anything to explain. In a moment of panic, he had made a harsh decision and as it appeared…it was the wrong decision. Seeing Nat with Cason, in that moment, he couldn’t imagine the shape that Natalia would be in, if Cason had died in that barn. But how could he look Anna in the eyes and just tell her he was wrong? It was a bigger deal to her than him simply ‘making a bad decision’. She had watched the person she believed kept her alive, in that barn get left behind…because of Dean’s decisions.

After a moment, Cason read his expression and poured a glass of bourbon, sliding it toward Dean’s empty hand and Dean sighed, picking the glass up off the counter before pushing himself away from his spot in a moment of bravery. He walked straight over to Anna, and pressed the glass into Anna’s limp hand on her lap. As she took the drink, he dropped his hand and tried his best to coax her to look up at him, but she didn’t, and he gave a sad nod, stepping away from her and returning to Mika’s side.

Once there, he sighed and scratched at his eyebrow as Bobby asked the million dollar question, prompting Sam to begin a general run down of how things went south as fast as they did. Dean tensed when Sam brought up the barn, watching the body language of everyone in the room, especially Cason. Cason didn’t react at all, simply taking a drink from his glass. But when the word ‘asylum’ was uttered, Dean looked down at his feet, taking a deep breath.

He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to have this conversation tonight. Part of him wanted to dip out of the room and run upstairs, before anything progressed. But then Nat began explaining what happened at the asylum further. Dean frowned, hearing every single thing that Nat had gone through in that horrible place, and thanks to Dean, she probably would have died, if Cason wasn’t much more crafty than Dean had given him credit for. Dean glanced up, tears in his eyes, at Cason, giving him a simple nod. The gesture was a mix of ‘thank you’ and ‘we need to talk later’.

Dean was tempted, as Esme began her part of what happened, to step forward and convince her that she didn’t have to tell anything. She didn’t have to tell Bobby she wasn’t human. She didn’t have to break that news to Duke, in the state he was in. She didn’t have to relive all of it, but he kept quiet, glancing to Mika briefly, before taking a long drink of his bourbon.

As Esme worked through every single piece of the asylum, Dean tensed. He knew what he had seen. He knew that he had felt the Hellhounds wrapping themselves around he and Esme, but part of him thought he imagined all of it and got out purely on luck. Of course that wasn’t the case and of course it was something uncomfortable and belief challenging that had saved him.

Before Esme could get to the ‘not human’ part of her story, she collapsed and Dean quickly forgot about the hammering of his own heart in his ears, suddenly having flashbacks of himself, Duke and Esme in the very same kitchen, all of them worse for wear and worried about each other. His body went into that protective mode, and he sat his glass down on the table, rushing around it as Duke scrambled out of his own chair. Dean placed a hand on Duke’s bare chest and shook his head, “I got her.”

The look he got back in return caused him to raise his eyebrows briefly, as Duke seemed angry, or at the least ready to fight Dean, as if Dean was stepping in between himself and Esme.

“Duke. You’re not in any shape to handle anything, alright? Just sit down and relax, and let me help…it’s alright.” Dean comforted Duke, his hand sliding up to Duke’s shoulder to sit him back down in the chair. With a sigh, Duke looked away from him, spacing out, and nodded.

“Esme. Hey…Hey sweetheart. Let’s get you laid out, alright? C’mon…” Dean cooed to Esme, softening his voice as best he could as he carefully slid an arm under her legs and around her back, before hoisting her from the floor. Before stepping around the table, Dean glanced down at Duke, a little uncomfortable with how angry he seemed with the whole situation. Anger wasn’t even an emotion Duke was capable of, half the time…and jealousy? Never.

Duke

Duke barely remembered walking to the kitchen, as his body ran on autopilot and he took his seat that he always sat in, next to Cason at the table. He reached across the table with a shaky hand and picked up a beer, quickly cracking it open and taking a drink as he spaced out, staring toward the blowing curtains in the open window above the sink. The drink felt foreign and strange as he swallowed, and his sore throat screamed at him. He hadn’t even realized until that moment how much damage the breathing tubes and crap they shoved down his throat to try and save him had done.

As the explanations began, Duke continued to stare off into space, memories of the kitchen flooding his brain. Small bits of the conversation rattled around in between images, especially when Esme told her own story of what happened. So, they had told her he died, of course. Obviously she had told Dean, who told Mika and so on. That’s why they were all looking at him so weird. He was dead and they had all left the hospital to go save Natalia, which was why he woke up alone.

The memory of the night that Dean had confronted Duke about his attachment to Esme played over in his brain, as he zoned out once again. They were young. Duke hated seeing Esme alone, when Dean was away…especially right before John went missing. Dean buried himself in work, but refused to let anyone come with him. He had his dad. So, Duke stayed back, and for once didn’t run away, because if he had, Esme would have been alone. That conversation hurt their relationship, and Duke couldn’t remember them ever fixing things, other than time just healing some of the wounds. He felt like Dean blamed him for losing Esme in the first place…

Hearing that Dean had ‘sacrificed’ himself to try and save Esme almost made Duke shake his head, his only reaction coming out as a small finger tap against his bottle, which perked Cason’s head up. Duke sniffled, tilting his head to the side as he grappled with how easy it seemed for Dean to just…move on from people dying, these days. Even with Mika, who Duke looked up to like a big sister, Duke couldn’t help the sinking feeling that Dean was relieved he was dead…

Duke was snapped from his thoughts as Esme collapsed, and he sprung from his chair, ignoring the tugging of his stitches to tend to her. And like clockwork…like a bad dream, there was Dean. Duke stepped up close to Dean, almost nose to nose with him as his blue eyes burned into Dean’s. Dean quickly began to talk him down, pulling the same brotherly crap that always worked when they were kids and the feeling in Duke’s stomach felt foreign. He wasn’t the jealous or the angry type. This unresolved, pushed down feeling didn’t feel right at all.

He sighed, and turned back to his chair, sitting down heavily with a nod, before turning his eyes up to Bobby, who frowned down at him, as if he was disappointed…but worried. Duke then zoned out, turning his beer in circles in his hands as he stared at the window once again.

Bobby

As Bobby heard everyone’s stories, he tried his best to just stay quiet and stoic, being the solid that held them all together as best he could. But his emotions were a mess internally, as tears played at the corners of his eyes. This all seemed so hopeless, even with them safe, now. A million thoughts were rattling around in his brain, along with questions that he would need answered before he could make any sense of what was happening. Why would the demons want them back at the asylum in the first place, just to mess with them? Who was messing around at the barn, and why? Why set such a simple trap, just to…kidnap some of the girls and leave the boys alive after a fight?

But when Esme collapsed, Bobby was snapped from the questions rattling around in his head, and he turned to run and help, seeing both Dean and Duke springing into action. It was a reminder of one of the most tense and heartbreaking summers he had ever had with his kids. He watched them tear each other apart over attachments. He watched Dean leave, break Duke’s heart, and at the same time, bring Mika back to him. He stepped forward, as Duke’s aggression rose, ready to grab his son and keep him from making a mistake…after all the years of holding those emotions in.

“Duke. Don’t.” He called out to him. As Duke agreed to sit down, Bobby simply shook his head the second he made eye contact, trying to keep his face neutral for Duke’s sake. He was really starting to worry about the kid. As soon as Duke settled, and Dean stepped out of the room, Bobby turned to call back to Dean, “I’ll be in there in a few to check her over.”

“Yeah! Her head, man. She needs someone to look at her head.” Dean called back as he carefully laid Esme on the couch.

“Ten-four.” Bobby called back, before turning to those who were left in the kitchen. He looked around at the group and sighed, “So, here’s what I want to know. What the hell did they want with you in Missouri, anyway? I mean there has to be a reason, other than just messing with you.”

“I wasn’t going to bring it up, but I might…I might have managed to dig a bit of info from one of the demons I killed on my way out of that barn.” Cason started, and Anna’s head snapped toward him with raised eyebrows. “They told me some things about the farm…and Anna…and Lilith.”

“What?” Anna asked, straightening with wide eyes as she stared down at Cason.

“Go on.” Bobby urged Cason to continue. His eyes were narrowed in curiosity.

“Lilith wanted her there.” Cason continued, and Anna shifted uncomfortably on the counter. “Lilith wanted her in the place where it all began, because she wanted to use her to break a seal…well…a couple of seals, actually. The house up the way? The one that was burned to a husk? It’s where your family died, Anna.”

“No. No no no. This didn’t all happen because of me.” Anna shook her head, looking around at everyone as if they were going to blame her for the terror they had all experienced the night before. Cason shook his head.

“No. We all just got wrapped up in it. They would have gotten to Nat either way. No matter what we did, we would have ended up somewhere…ambushed and it would have happened either way. This was just the path of least resistance for them.” Cason explained, before taking a drink. Bobby tilted his head, knowing that this information was a lot for Anna to take in, but he was careful not to press. Instead, he moved onto his next question.

“And was it one of the big bads that took her?”

“Alastair.” Cason and Anna said in unison. Anna could almost feel the tension from Dean in the next room as the name slipped from her lips.

“Well that’s great. Here’s a good question, while we’re sharing and caring.” Bobby started, taking a deep and exasperated breath as he tried to handle all the information he was just strapped with, “Why the hell does Dean look the way he does…and Nat looks the way she does…and yet, Esme looks…”

“Because she’s not human.” Cason blurted out, interrupting Bobby. Duke's eyes shot over to Cason, and he narrowed them. Cason nodded sadly, trying to convey to Duke that it wasn't his conversation to have with the cowboy. Esme needed to talk to him.

“Come again?” Bobby asked, looking around at everyone in the room, lingering on Sam and Mika and then Duke, who turned from Cason with a lost and devastated look that Bobby couldn't quite place.

[FuriePhoenix]

NATALIA

Hearing Esme's voice be the next to speak made Nat go silent. She stared at her bottle on the table, her hands at the base of the bottle, one finger simply tracing over the dark glass bottle. Flashes of what she went through kept repeating through her mind now she had said everything out loud, whilst also half listening to what Esme experienced. She only managed to mentally press pause on her memories when Esme mentioned how she too was tortured in that same place. It all now made sense to her why Esme said she knew what Nat was going through and had gone through. No wonder Esme felt genuine empathy for her situation and never got surprised by her outbursts defending Cason so strongly. She knew at some point when they weren't all beat up and tired she could talk with Esme now that there was someone who can truly get her.

As Esme continued to talk, Nat went back to spacing out once again not wanting to look at any of them, especially after she did moments ago, see how Dean and Mika reacted to what she said out loud. Everything Esme said about what she did on the top floor of the asylum sounded like a strange echo, almost like she was listening to their conversation from under that watery pool all over again. Which just triggered her memories in her mind to play all over again. She could hear her own screams in her head as she felt the blade cutting through her flesh or when her shoulder got hammered down upon. The lingering pain coming back as if someone had just whacked her with the hammer all over again. Nat didn't want to hear anymore of what happened after that, but she knew she couldn't move from her spot as her body just refused to move.

She only snapped out of her memories when Esme's legs finally gave out from under her and made her drop to the ground before cursing about the action. Like the others, she looked up quickly to see both Duke and Dean rush to Esme's side and aid, only for Dean to push Duke back and make it his duty to pick Esme off the ground and carry her to the couch in the main room. Seeing Duke get angry, jealous and hurt at Dean having to be the girl's saviour didn't go unnoticed by her, just as it didn't to anybody in the kitchen.

Bobby's questions were completely valid in her eyes, they were questions she also wanted to know answers to. There had to be more of a reason as to why the demons felt the need to take her and convince Esme back to the asylum. She didn't want to be left thinking they only took her because they could and they considered her an easy target out of her family. She didn't want to be an easy target or someone who just became a liability like the demons tried making her believe. "I wanna know too" she mumbled, pulling her bottle closer to her and up to her lips to take another swig of the drink. When Cason finally spoke up and said he might have a theory about that, she finally looked up from the table top and looked at him to listen.

Hearing the ultimate goal was to get Anna for Lilith, she didn't know how to process that. She didn't blame Anna for anything that happened, far from it. Cason was right, they all did just get swept along to create chaos amongst their group. This wasn't anyone's fault- not directly at any rate. She felt so sorry for Anna having to find out more and more was stacked against her, which she figured wasn't going to help Dean's conflicted opinion about the girl.

Then came the moment all of them were dreading- the moment that meant they had to come clean about Esme not even being human. Yet the way Cason bluntly told Bobby after he hinted that she and Dean still looked rough made her scrunch up her face in dislike. The words still didn't sit well on her mind, so she could only imagine how uncomfortable they were making Esme. She couldn't even begin to think how she would react if she was told she wasn't human after thinking her entire life she was.

SAM

Being in the kitchen finally, he let Anna wrap a corner of his flannel shirt between her fingers so she had that connection to him to feel safe. Sam knew that she still didn't know how she felt about him leaving Cason and they still had a lot of work to do to get the level of trust they once had with each other back again. So if just grabbing onto his shirt was what she needed right now, he would let her do so. He looked up when Dean came over with a glass of bourbon for Anna, he knew his brother was attempting to make small gestures of apology to her to show her he wasn't going to just give up even though she told him she was done with him.

He gave Dean a nod before looking round at the others in the kitchen, seeing Duke in his own world next to Cason, Mika against the back worktop where she usually was seen, Natalia sitting opposite Cason and Esme adjacent to to Mika. He sighed as he forced his mind and body to try and relax but the tension in the air was just too thick and it felt like he could cut it with a knife. So he had to admit, he was glad that Bobby entered the room and demanded information, making him feel like he had to be the one who started talking first.

After Nat had spoken her part and he tried to make himself move on from her haunting words in his mind, he listened partially to what Esme had to say and what happened with her. He looked wide eyed when she explained how she somehow made the whole building come down ontop of herself and Dean which got him wondering how either of them were still alive. He was also surprised that yet again Dean just willingly almost sacrificed himself for someone who wasn't Mika and he couldn't imagine that sitting well with the woman. It was messy and getting more and more complicated as each of them spoke up. He really needed to sleep this whole crap off at this stage. His mind couldn't take anymore information going into it, yet it seemed more information was coming.

He watched everything quickly unfold when Esme collapsed to the ground but stayed awake. He watched as Dean and Duke silently confronted each other over who would pick up Esme and take her to the couch until Dean won out, but it was clear Duke was angry and he couldn't say he ever knew a time when Duke was like this personally. He watched Mika instantly go to Duke's comfort whilst Dean was in the living room putting Esme down.

MIKA

With Dean's hand on her lower back, Mika began to relax a bit more as all she wanted to be close to be Dean without no one else really around. She promised Bobby she would go rest but at the moment that was the last thing she was able to do. At least, fully anyway. She hated hearing everyone discuss what happened, giving Bobby the lowdown in as much detail as they were able to do until Esme collapsed and she watched Dean get to her before Duke could. She understood why he did, it was second nature for him to rush to anyone who just drops to the ground when they're injured, but the fact it was Esme somehow still hurt her heart.

She saw Duke show jealousy and anger toward Dean and that hurt her just as much as she hated seeing her chosen brother get pushed out and away from the woman he loved and always had loved. She had always known how much Duke had cared for Esme, even if for a long time in the past, she didn't know who Esme actually was. There was always a part of her that knew Duke was in love with someone and he was always the one that people looked passed when he was an incredible guy.

With Dean out the kitchen with Esme briefly, she instantly went over to Duke and leaned over him from behind, wrapping her arms round his shoulders to hug him. She didn't even say anything at first, just let him know she had his back in her simple action, knowing exactly how to comfort him when he needed it but didn't ask. Then came the news of Esme not being human and she felt Bobby's eyes fell onto her, making her look back at him with sadness, not letting go of Duke. "We only found out after Cas healed Dean and for the most part Nat. He said he couldn't heal Esme because she was not human, but we don't really know what she is or how it's possible. She knows more than we do" she explained, nodding her head toward Esme in the other room.

Right now, Duke was her priority even though she didn't know how much longer she could be strong for everyone else before she eventually broke. "I know how you feel Duke....I got you little brother...I got you" she said softly and quietly to him, feeling so lucky and privileged to even be holding him right now. She wanted to protect him at all costs and show him that she was never going to hurt him or leave him. She just hoped he didn't hold it against them all for leaving him at the hospital to go get Natalia.

[Wolvena]

Esme

Esme nearly flinched at how fast Duke and Dean reacted to her collapsing. It was like old times with the three of them, but something about this was different. Duke was different. Duke was angry and possibly jealous about Dean stepping in to help her. Yeah, she had felt anger from him before, but never on this level, and it was scary, to say the least. Esme held her breath, hoping nothing would break out between them with all the tension in the room. When Dean got Duke to sit back down, she released the breath she was holding, then looked at Dean as he spoke to her as he prepared to lift her from the floor. As soon as Dean lifted her, she took in a sharp breath, holding in her groan. When Dean looked down at Duke, she looked at him too, matching Dean’s uncomfortable feeling at how angry Duke seemed. When Dean carried her out of the kitchen and to the couch, Esme rested her head on his shoulder. She quietly groaned when Dean laid her on the couch as he and Bobby exchanged words. She turned her head to look at Dean. “I’m so sorry, Dean.” she told him softly.

Whether he realized what she was apologizing for or not, she felt the need to apologize to him. She was apologizing for the trouble she felt she caused him that night. Apologizing for nearly killing him, worrying him, and putting him uncomfortably close to Hellhounds. She went quiet, looking up at the ceiling as she listened to the conversation in the kitchen, shaking her head lightly as she heard what Cason said. ‘Of course, he was able to get info from a demon from the barn.’ she thought. Esme continued to listen and instantly felt sorry for Anna when Cason spoke about her. She knew this was a lot for Anna to process. “Poor girl.” she whispered. She fell silent again, listening to the rest of the conversation and tensing up when Bobby asked why she looked so much worse than Dean and Natalia. When Cason blurted out what Castiel had told them, Esme closed her eyes tight and balled up her fists. “Damn you, Cason!” she called out, bringing a hand to her sore throat with a wince after Mika spoke up. ”I didn’t want that coming out like this! And it wasn’t your place to say anything either!”

“Yes, I know it would have come out eventually, but it was my place to tell them and a little gentler than you just did!” Esme sighed heavily as she laid there on the couch, wanting to punch Cason in the face. Mika’s words didn’t help her mood either. “I don’t know any more about what I am than you do.” she said, not expecting anyone in the kitchen to hear her. “I’ve gone my whole life thinking I was a human and an Empath. Then, one day, I’m able to burn demons by touching them, and then the next, I become a nuke….. I don’t know what the hell I am.” She sighed heavily again, running a hand across her face in frustration and exhaustion. Esme then turned her face away from Dean so it was almost buried into the back of the couch, closing her eyes tightly. “Maybe I would have been better off not coming to check if you were back from the dead. And maybe I’d be better off alone so I don’t continue to hurt everyone I love.” she mumbled into the couch.

[JustAnna]

Duke

Duke’s brain was flooded with thoughts that he quickly tried to push away as he grappled with the ‘Esme’s not human’ revelation. Sure, he knew she was different. She had made that much clear when they spent time together. She had gone nuclear right there with him, and he had wondered about it then, but the idea that she wasn’t human had only ever briefly crossed his mind.

As Mika’s arms wrapped around his shoulders, Duke tensed for a split second but then leaned his head back against Mika’s shoulder, taking a deep breath as he attempted to relax in her arms, like the old days. And like clockwork, Mika’s voice calmed him down, at least a bit. No one else knew about Esme’s humanity. He wasn’t even sure, by the sounds of it, if Esme knew…at least fully.

His mind instantly began to race with thoughts from the first night that the cracks in his relationship with Dean began to show themselves.

2004

“We need to talk.” Dean muttered, as Duke walked into the kitchen. Duke’s eyebrows raised, and he took off his cowboy hat, laying it in the center of the kitchen table, before pulling a chair. He was used to these conversations coming up, every time he decided to leave and come back. Dean was always there as Bobby’s white knight, letting him know how horrible he was to his surrogate father, and how ashamed he should be. But this one felt a bit different, as Dean didn’t look up at him, simply tilting his beer from side to side as he thought about what to say.

“Alright. Well, spit it out.” Duke pushed him, and Dean finally leaned back in his chair and made eye contact with Duke.

“You can’t…do this again.” Dean started and Duke scoffed, ruffling his own hair in amusement, but he was brought out of his amusement by Dean, “I mean it Jason.”

“And what exactly did I do. Hmm? You’re gonna come in this kitchen and tell me that after all these years, I’m doin’ something awful, as if Bobby doesn’t expect it every now and then?”

“I’m not just talking about Bobby!” Dean raised his voice, and Duke flinched frowning in confusion at the hard look on Dean’s face. “Do you have any idea the mess you left, when you ran off? Esme’s been a mess. I told her early on…not to get attached to you. I told her early on that you probably weren’t the safest person to confide in, to enjoy being around, to hold onto…”

“And what right was that of yours? She’s a grown woman. She can make her own decisions.” Duke rationalized, a tiny hint of venom in his voice. Dean shook his head, closing his eyes.

“She is. I know. But I tried to protect her…from you.” Dean spoke in a low and, in Dukes opinion, hurtful voice. Duke snarled his nose and narrowed his eyes in confusion at the sudden tension between himself and Dean. There was no ‘it’s good to have you back’ or ‘I’m glad you’re okay’.

“Well…I will smooth that over. Me and her? See we’ve talked about it before. She knows that sometimes I have to clear my head. I have to get away from all the worry, all the sadness…I need to just hunt and be me.” Duke tried to explain, and Dean laughed and shook his head.

“And you never think about the ones that are left waiting on a call that you’re dead, right? If not for Bobby checking in, we wouldn’t have known. He had to track you like an animal, this time. You covered your tracks well. Why did you come back anyway?”

“Because my family is here.” Duke explained in a small and gentle voice. “I always come back. You know that.”

“Yeah. Yeah I do. But this time felt different. No note. No phone. You just…bailed. But then you come back. You hug her. You seem like you’re coming back from a war and no one knew you were back…except Esme. Why?” Dean pressed, before taking a frustrated drink of his beer. Duke sighed, and nervously wiped his hands on his jeans before shrugging.

“I felt like she was the one that would care the most, I guess. She gets me.”

“Are you in love with her?” Dean suddenly blurted out, and Duke froze, laughing out a sigh as Dean nodded in understanding. “You’re in love with her. Well…see, from what I’ve seen around this house the past few weeks? She’s grown mighty attached to you, too.”

“That don’t matter. Not really. She’s crazy about you, dude.” Duke tried to smooth things over, this rare jealousy from Dean taking him a bit off guard. “Are you…jealous?”

“No.” Dean scoffed, shaking his head. But then he leaned across the table, setting his beer down, and pointing a finger at Duke, “It’s not jealousy. But I will tell you this…I will never watch her go through that again. Do you hear me? Mika dealt with it. Bobby Deals with it. I’m done with it. If you so much as give a sign that you might run off again, I will break both your legs. I can’t stop you from holding onto whatever crush you’re feeling, but you’re not taking her down with you, like you do every…single…person that gets close to you. You break…everything you touch.”

“Wow.” Duke turned his eyes down to the table, and shook his head. “Well, I wonder what she would say if she saw this side of you, hmm?”

“Duke I’m not joking with you. I’m serious here. You don’t love her. You think you love her. If you loved her, you wouldn’t leave her a mess while you go find yourself, or whatever. You would let her know you’re alive, man!”

“Is that what really bothers you? Or does it bother you that I know more about her, than you? Maybe it’s the way that she sleeps out there with me when you’re in one of your moods, or when your daddy calls and you have to run off with him. Or…here’s a thought. Maybe you’re worried that one night, she’s gonna come out there with me and I’m gonna tuck her in and tell her a bedtime story about who you’ve been callin’ late at night, while she’s asleep. Maybe she will find out that you’ve had one foot in and one foot out of your relationship since the day you met her, because Mika also tells me everything. Maybe, just maybe, you’re worried that one day…she’ll leave too.” Duke spat at Dean, standing from the table. He picked up his hat and walked around the table toward the kitchen door, headed for his RV.

“And where the hell are you going?”

“I’m gonna go wait out there. Maybe Esme will stop by later. She might need a break from her possessive boyfriend and I’m happy to oblige…” Duke teased Dean, placing his hat on his chest and bowing, before stepping out into the covered parking garage.

Cason and Bobby

Cason nodded at Mika’s words, as she explained what little they knew about Esme’s humanity. He hadn’t even had time to dig into it. He knew there was something about a demon deal. He knew that she was obviously a demon nuke, which meant her powers were either angelic - unlikely or demonic - most likely. He straightened his leg out, and kicked gently at Nat’s foot under the table, dipping his head to make eye contact with her and gave her a small reassuring smile.

Suddenly, Esme erupted from the living room, and Cason closed his eyes, sighing through his nose. Cason said nothing until Esme was finished, suddenly feeling a bit like the thorn in everyone’s side, until Bobby chimed in, tired of the tension.

“Alright. That’s enough! Quit the fightin’ and the bickerin’ and the blamin’. We gotta stick together on this.” Bobby called out to Esme and Dean both, before turning and glancing at Duke, who was still staring at the top of the table, “Now…what exactly does a demon think about all this?”

“All I know is that if an angel can’t lay hands on her, he’s probably right. It’s something to look into.” Cason muttered, tilting his head to let Bobby know he was speaking directly to him. Bobby nodded his head and sighed.

“Yeah. It’s one hell of a something to look into. I’ll hit the books once I get you all patched up, I guess. The million dollar question still kinda lingers though.” Bobby started and Cason narrowed his eyes, a bit confused as he thought everything had pretty much been covered, in agonizing detail. There were bits and pieces they still had to look into, like Anna’s family, how to hide her from Lilith and what the hell was going on with Esme. “How the hell did Duke come back from the dead?”

Cason stared across the room for a moment, pondering and then he frowned as a thought came over him, “Esme said that the hospital gave him her blood, right?”

Bobby thought about it to, and his eyebrows raised, before he brought a hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Are you suggesting it’s the blood?”

“I mean, would it be so weird?” Cason asked, turning in his chair to look up at Bobby. Bobby tilted his head, trying to find a way around the thought as he didn’t want to agree with Cason on this. But Cason had a point. “I’ve never heard of it, but it’s a possibility. If it is her blood, it begs the question…”

“How does her blood relate to demon blood.” Bobby finished Cason’s sentence and Anna shifted uncomfortably on the counter, wiping her stained hands on her pants. “You think?”

“I think it’s as good a theory as any, right now. Good luck getting her to let us test it out.” Cason replied with a sigh.

“Yeah. I agree. At least we have a demon handy.”

“That we do.” Cason finished, settling back in his seat and pouring another glass for himself. He didn’t want to make eye contact with Duke as they spoke about the poor kid like he wasn’t even in the room. He and Bobby had just had a breakthrough, and as long as Singer wasn’t trying to murder him, he would take what he could get.

Anna

Anna didn’t know what to say or what to even think. Demons were on her trail…still. Lilith wanted her, but was playing games with her. Lilith was a demon. If Lilith really wanted to she could possess Anna at any point and time, kill everyone she loved, and just run off with her body. The thought made Anna feel sick to her stomach and she shook her head, bringing her hands up to push her hair behind her ears in her discomfort.

As Cason and Bobby began discussing demon blood, Anna once again shifted on the counter and sat her drink down. She plugged her ears, leaning her elbows on her knees as she bent over. She closed her eyes, listening to her own breathing to try and drown out the mixed sound of her heartbeat…and Cason’s. If he didn’t give her blood soon, she was going to fall into withdrawal and she knew it. It was coming and so was the basement.

“I think I need some air…” Anna breathed, as tears began to threaten her eyes. The last thing she wanted, was anyone making a fuss over her, while the world seemed to be falling apart. Maybe it was the demon blood in her system talking, but it all felt so hopeless. At the least, it felt like there was nothing she could do to stop what was coming. “Yeah…I need some air.”

She climbed off the counter, and crossed her arms, her shoulder opening up even further as she hugged herself and walked out of the kitchen, to the front door. As she stepped outside, the cold air hit her like a brick and she gasped, taking a deep breath through her nose with her eyes closed. It was then that she realized how tired she really was. It took her a few seconds to open her eyes as a few tears slipped down her cheeks, spattering against her collar bone. She sniffled, and walked over to the steps, stepping down and sitting on the top step to put her head in her shaking hands.

“You’re safe. You’re safe…” She muttered to herself, staring down at her bloody boots for a moment, before closing her eyes tightly, still faintly hearing Cason’s heart buzzing from inside.

Dean

Dean narrowed his eyes, his brain not computing why Esme would apologize to him at all. Nothing that happened was her fault or within her control and he didn’t blame her for any of it. He shook his head and brought a hand up, brushing some of the hair from her forehead, “Don’t apologize. We’re good. You and me are good.”

He smiled down at her, also listening to the conversation that they could both hear coming from the kitchen. After Cason explained everything he knew about Lilith and Anna, Dean glanced up, hearing footsteps. Anna quickly exited the house and Dean was tempted to stand and follow her, but he had to let someone else deal with that, for now. The last person Anna would want on that porch with her, was Dean. He turned his eyes back down to Esme, brushing his thumb across her forehead until Cason blurted out that she wasn’t human and Dean felt the eruption coming before it ever did.

Even after being prepared for it, he still flinched, sitting back on his heels to avoid any flying hands. He closed his eyes as she screamed at Cason, feeling like the tension was only going to get worse, the longer the day went on.

“Hey. Hey…no one is expecting you to have all the answers. Mika just…” He started, as Esme spoke indirectly to Mika, after the comments made about her knowledge of her humanity, or at least the suspicions she must have had. He stayed back, letting her try and calm herself down, but when she turned away from him, he sighed, dipping his head.

Her next words hit him in the chest, and he frowned, shaking his head, “No. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m fine. And Duke? Kid would be lost without you. You know that by now. He’d still be wandering around on the highway, if you hadn’t seen him. You just need to rest. You need to rest and we’ll figure the rest out, alright? Just don’t pass out yet. I still want Bobby to look at that gash in your head.”

Dean almost winced at how much his words sounded really protective and similar to speeches he used to give her when they were together. But it was what she needed to hear at that moment. She needed to know that everything she said back at the asylum, before the building collapsed was completely wrong. She was part of the family, and even if she ran off, she would still be part of that family…

[FuriePhoenix]

MIKA

Duke's initial flinching didn't take her by surprise as she figured he might still be a tiny bit jumpy after everything that unfolded, but the moment Mika felt him behind to relax in her arms and against her shoulder she knew he knew he was safe with her. She was also glad that what she said was agreed by Cason as he seemed to nod at her words. But then Esme absolutely lost her temper in her tired state at Cason and herself. She tried to rationalize it by putting it down to the woman being exhausted and in pain and not take offense. Yet, her outburst told Mika that there was no way she was leaving Duke with Esme if she's going to be like this.

She sighed, and forced herself not to say anything back when it was clear that even Dean was trying to defend their words and calm Esme down. As much as she appreciated for once, Dean attempting to have her back around Esme, she still couldn't help but see how he was with her and it felt like Dean truly wasn't fully over Esme and that hurt. Not just because he spent a while being in love with someone else when she wasn't around, but also because moments like this act like a sledgehammer of reality hitting her with the fact she was partly to blame back in the day for driving him into Esme's arms. If she just had been a better person back in the day and not caused so many arguments, he never would have felt the need to find someone else. Bobby's angry scolding made her shake those thoughts out of her head, he was right. Now wasn't the time for arguing and shouting matches.

As Cason and Bobby began to discuss what very little they did know, she wasn't sure how much Duke would be able to hear, but she didn't want to get him out of the room just yet as she herself was curious to what the two men had to theorise. Tilting her head down, she kissed the top of Duke's head, not wanting to let go of him in the slightest but her head lifted up when Anna declared she needed air and just walked out towards the front door. Sam looked worried and so she gave him the nod and tilted her head towards the direction Anna went in, “go after her” she mouthed to him, which seemed to work as she watched Sam put his drink down and follow Anna out.

As the conversation started to fizzle out, theories she found interesting to say the least, she knew Duke would have heard enough. She gave him a light tap on his shoulder, “come on…let's get you in the RV” she told him softly, but in a way that told him she wasn't going to take no as an answer. She looked up at Bobby, “gonna get him in the RV so he can rest up in quiet and have the space” she told him, so he knew where to find Duke if he decided to check on him himself. She gently pulled Duke up onto his feet, keeping a protective hold on him the whole time as she guided him to the back door to reach the RV. She barely even looked at Dean in the main room as she focused on Duke, not even sure how to tackle the Dean and Esme moment right now. It was the least of their worries and she had to stay focused even though she was probably one of the only people who did still want him around. She just had to keep her focus on Duke, he needed her more than the rest of them right now.

Letting go of him with one hand, she opened the back door and guided him outside to the RV, seeing that Bobby had left the door to it I locked for them, she got Duke inside and sat him down on the makeshift bed of his. “Okay, this is much better” she sighed, squatting down in front of him so she could look him in the eyes. “I'm not gonna ask you how you're holding up or any other stupid question. It's clear you aren't, none of us are. There's been far too much to compute in the last few hours, but I will tell you this” she began to say to him, lifting her hand and making him look at her, keeping his head in her hand. “I got you okay? I'm not gonna leave you to deal with everything on your own, you're my baby brother and I'm never deserting you. Dean is an asshole sometimes with control issues- we both know it. And if you need to get anything off your chest, you can off load to me, just as you always have been able to. I can empathise with more than you probably realise” she told him softly, a tone that she has only ever used with him.

She stroked his cheek with her thumb, just wishing she could take away all of his pain, physical and mental. It broke her heart seeing him as this shell of the person she grew up with. “I love you Duke. Always will” she told him, “so talk to me?” She requested. She felt if she didn't get him talking first, she'd never get round to checking the ripped stitches on his stomach.

NATALIA

Nat was well and truly lost in her own head I til she felt Cason's foot nudging hers under the table, making her snap out of it and look up at Cason to see him giving her a reassuring smile. She gave one small smile back, before looking back down at her beer bottle on the table. she tried to focus on what was being spoken about all around her but it felt like there was a million and one things all being discussed at the same time and her brain just couldn't comprehend anything being said. She just wanted to find some kind of bed or bed like item of furniture and crash for a few hours, preferably hugging Cason.

Esme's outburst knocked her out of her mind yet again and she was beginning to feel so frustrated at all the bickering. She got it, they were all exhausted but she was so fed up of hearing raised voices and drama. Which she realised was quite something considering even she knew she was usually the one who started the arguments or kept them going. “can we all just stop?” She mumbled, her voice drowned out by Bobby's scolding. She was aware of Anna leaving the room and eventually Sam but she didn't react to any of it. She was done.

When the conversation did eventually come to some sort of end, she looked up as she saw Mika take Duke outside to the RV, thinking Duke was so lucky to have someone just get him out of the tense atmosphere. “so…can we just get everything done so I can go crash somewhere please? I’m desperate to get some sleep” she asked nobody in particular in the room. It was solely a plea to be checked over already so she could leave the tension. “So if one of you is gonna check me over, please do so soon” she then said more to Cason and Bobby this time. It was getting clear that she was close to just falling asleep here at the kitchen table if she didn't move soon and she would rather not add back pain to everything else by falling asleep slumped over the table.

SAM

Hearing everything for the first time from everyone felt like so much to take in when they were all so tired, but somehow Sam managed to keep up with every single bit of information. When Cason told them all that a lot was to do with Anna and her unwilling connection to Lilith, he just wanted to wrap Anna up in bubble wrap or an invisibility cloak so he could protect her from what was coming. They knew Lilith was a big player in all of this but every little snippet of new information just made it feel so much bigger than all of them and he didn't like what it was doing to Anna's mental state. He saw how every word spoken was making Anna even more anxious and uncomfortable from the way she was fidgeting on the worktop, wanting to grab her hand and give her a reassuring squeeze, but before he could do anything, she muttered about needing air and was gone out the front door before he could even react.

He wasn't sure at first whether he should go after her or not, but when he looked towards Mika and saw her mouth to go after Anna, he gave a nod and went after her. He hoped it was the right thing to do as he walked through the hallway, glad to be out of the tension and Esme's outbursts. Opening the door, he stepped out, closed it behind him and sat on the step beside her as he saw her hugging herself and clearly upset. “I don't know if you want me around, but I'm here if you do…I won't speak or go anywhere, I'll just be a body for comfort if needs be.” He softly spoke to her, not reaching out or making any sudden moves. He just sat next to her to let her make any moves she wanted. The most important thing to him right now was just letting her know she wasn't alone and didn't have to comprehend all of this on her own. He never wanted her to feel like she had to deal with this alone because she wasn't alone, even if she felt differently about the fact.

He noticed the pulled stitches on her and desperately wanted to take care of her but he knew right here on the steps of Bobby's front door he couldn't do that until she felt ready to go inside again where there were kits to actually tend to her. Part of Sam wanted to talk but he promised her that unless she wanted him to, he wouldn't speak. This was all to be on her terms and time, he'd wait hours if it meant it for her. Crossing his arms over his chest, mostly to stay relatively warm he stared out in front of him, seeing the sun was trying to poke out from beneath the clouds as it rose to tell the human race that it was the start of a new day. A sure sign that it really had been a long night if they were already coming into the next day and none of them had really slept or relaxed yet.

His mind going through everything that had been spoken before he and Anna left the room, wondering how they were all going to just bounce back to their usual selves from knowing what they now know. They could have come back with a minimum of two less people in their group, four if they were truly unlucky and the more he realised that, the more it terrified him. He almost lost his brother and sister all in one night and he wasn't even there when it almost happened. It was a painful truth he had to accept if he were to ever be able to move forward and get focused at whatever was coming their way.

[JustAnna]

Duke

Duke came out of his memory, as if re-entering the world from space. A mixture of Esme’s voice and the beginning of another memory sucked him out of it. As soon as Duke’s eyes began to clear up so that he could see the room around him, Mika tapped his shoulder and he flinched, tilting his head to hear what she had to say, as clearly as his fuzzy brain could. He gave a simple nod, and sighed, turning in his chair to stand up. He took Mika’s hands, and pulled himself close to her, nodding as Bobby gave him a ‘I wanna talk to you later’ fatherly look. Duke didn’t look to the living room as they passed. The last thing he wanted to see, while struggling with this whole night/morning was Dean reliving his greatest hits with Esme, comforting her and driving her away from him. There was no way to tell what Dean might say to her, this time.

As they stepped out into the covered carport, Duke took a deep breath as the cold night air hit his bare skin, but the familiarity of the big space calmed him, in a strange way. As soon as Mika walked them through the doors of the RV and he felt his thin little mattress and blankets under his fingers as she sat him down, he felt oddly safe. It was like he was in a shell. Duke glanced around the RV for a moment, just taking in the place that had been so safe for him, every time he had come back from one of his trips.

But he brought his eyes down to Mika as she squatted in front of him, her voice an instant calming sound, like it had been pretty much his whole life. He never really forgave Dean for letting her go, all those years ago, and pushing her away from Duke. She was the constant anchor that he didn’t even realize he had needed, until she showed up, when he was way too young to understand how much he needed her. They were as close to blood as Duke had ever had…

But when she lifted his head and made him look her in the eyes, Duke’s eyes filled with tears. It was so rare for him to cry, and so painful to allow himself to that he almost reached for his chest as he wrinkled his nose. He didn’t say anything at first, trying to fight back the urge to just cry and scream and be legitimately angry and scared for the first time in his life.

“I love you…” He suddenly whispered, in a slightly delayed reply to her own words. It was all he knew to say, but just saying words made his chest hurt a little less. This was a safe place. This was a place that no one would think to come to, other than maybe Esme, or Dean if he wanted to start a fight. This was somewhere that Duke could at least let some of those painful tears out, and he did. He closed his eyes tightly and let some of the pressure off his chest, sobbing for a few moments, even though it hurt his stomach and back to do so. It took what felt like forever for him to calm himself down with heaving breaths, enough to talk, and then he shook his head in Mika’s hands.

“Do you believe in Heaven?” He asked her with a small and shaky voice. He didn’t even wait for her to answer, just kept explaining the thoughts that had been rolling around in his brain since he woke up. “When I um…when I passed out in the car, I saw all these things. It was like the greatest hits tape of my life. And it was nice. It was one of those dreams you just…don’t want to wake up to, you know. And then…the lights just came on. I was layin’ there and I couldn’t breathe. I had this tube thing down my throat and a sheet over my face, and at first I thought I was buried…”

He paused, tempted to just go quiet again, not wanting to scare Mika or make her sad. But he needed to say it, to rationalize it to himself.

“But then I got all that off, and out of my throat, and this nurse screamed. She looked at me like I was a zombie or somethin’ worse. I’ve never seen anyone look at me that way before. I’m not a scary guy…and Mika…” He paused again as the tears rushed in once again. “I think when I died…I might have been in heaven before whatever…or whoever dragged me back here.”

Anna

Anna heard Sam step outside, his footsteps thumping against the old wood feeling foreign in the quiet air around her. Even the bugs weren’t singing anymore, but there were a few birds around her that seemed to not understand that she wanted quiet, to clear her head, in the early morning air. As he sat next to her, she sighed, and instantly felt the need to just bury her face in his chest, or his hair. She wanted to touch him, and just be normal, in all this stupid chaos. But she couldn’t bring herself to move.

“I do want you around.” Anna said simply, raising her head from her hands to look over at Sam with teary eyes. She reached her hand out, and slipped it under his elbow against his side. Then an idea came to her mind, and she leaned her head against his shoulder, his heartbeat immediately drowning out the buzzing sound that was wrecking her mind. After what they had heard inside, Anna couldn’t be upset with Sam. She was still mad at the blind following he tended to do with Dean, but she needed him. He was the only one who would understand the feeling in her brain, at least on the base level and he was the only one who would stick with her, it seemed.

“I can hear Cason’s heart buzzing. It’s not really a heartbeat. It’s more like a broken light fixture…just buzzing in my head. It makes me want to rip his throat out.” Anna said honestly, pressing her ear against Sam’s shoulder a bit harder. She didn’t even know if she wanted to talk about the Lilith stuff, at that moment. But she knew they needed to clear the air, even if it sucked. “I don’t want to be a monster…”

Cason

Cason turned his attention to Natalia as she spoke up, and he frowned, seeing how tired she seemed. Of course she was. She was fresh from almost dying and they were so distracted by everything that had happened during the day that they hadn’t even had time to patch anyone up, and the girls were in pretty bad shape. With a small nod, Cason turned to look at Bobby, “Where’s everyone crashing?”

“I figure Mika will take her old room, with whoever she takes with her…” Bobby started, thinking for a moment. He glanced toward the living room, and then sighed, “Sam and the little one don’t seem to be on the best of terms so…I can grab some pillows and blankets and set them up in the study. Nat, you take my room. I’m up for the day.”

Cason raised an eyebrow, as if asking Bobby if he was sure, since Cason was obviously going with Nat. Bobby simply nodded and quipped at him, “Just don’t touch the fixtures on the drawers or the window. Might bite a bit.”

Cason chuckled, in a bit of disbelief that Bobby was being so civil with him, and then he turned back to Nat, since Bobby didn’t seem to force his way into taking care of her. It seemed the old man was attempting to trust Cason with her, “Let’s go get you looked at. I’ll grab your stuff. I’ll be gone less than thirty seconds. Go get comfortable.”

With that Cason disappeared, causing Bobby to raise his eyebrows and scoff, “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that…Jesus Cason!”

Cason reappeared with Nat’s bag on his shoulder, stepping out of the kitchen without another word. The other bags were all piled up beside the couch as he passed through the living room and stepped through to Bobby’s bedroom door. He pulled up the bottom of his shirt to cover his hand, and carefully turned the doorknob, opening the door and stepping inside, dropping Nat’s bag by the dresser.

Bobby stepped out of the kitchen after Cason and Nat left, reluctantly stepping over to the couch, looking down at Dean and Esme, “So, who needs a doctor?”

[Wolvena]

Esme

Esme slightly flinched when Bobby scolded them all for yelling and bickering. She couldn’t help it. Cason blurting out just made her so mad. She should have been the one to break the news about it. She also didn’t realize that Anna and Sam went outside or that Mika took Duke out of the kitchen. After Esme mumbled her words, she regretted it. She didn’t mean to hurt Dean with her words. That was the last thing she wanted. But it was how she felt. If she hadn’t needed to check if Dean had come back, she wouldn’t have had to deal with Cupid, demons kidnapping her and Cason, and Duke would have never found her there. There was a chance he would have never gone to that barn and been stabbed and died. Dean’s words caused her to pull her face back to look up at the ceiling again. “I noticed.” she started in a whisper. Yes, I know he would be.” Esme sighed quietly as Dean continued, his words bringing back memories of when he would say something similar when they were together. “Alright. I’ll stay awake till then.” she told him. Even though she felt she could pass out at any moment, she wasn’t quite sure just how much rest she would get.

“I still can’t help but feel he would have been better off not finding me when Cason and I were kidnapped.” she said, her voice barely audible. “And even now, with me not knowing what I am or what else I’m capable of doing.”
“I’m afraid of hurting him. I’m afraid of hurting you and the others.” she admitted. Esme looked at Dean, the fear of what she could possibly be showing in her eyes. “I almost killed you and Cason tonight because I lost control. If I ever killed you, Duke, Bobby, or one of the others from losing control, I’d never be able to forgive myself.” She took a shuttered breath, wiping away the tears stinging her eyes. “I’m a bomb that no one knows when it will go off.” Esme looked back at the ceiling and closed her eyes. “I’m dangerous. A possible monster…. I know you want me to feel like I’m part of this family, but how can I, and how can you want someone around that could possibly kill that family? Maybe instead of trying to hide somewhere, it’d be better to just lock me up in the basement for everyone’s safety.”

She then brought a hand to her aching head and rested the other on her queasy stomach. The thought of her taking them all out made her sick to her stomach. Esme was genuinely starting to think everyone should keep their distance from her. Esme feared that if she lost control again like she did tonight, the only way to stop her would be to kill her. But she didn’t see any of them being able to do that. She wasn’t even sure Sarah could do it because of how attached she had gotten to her and because Cason told her to keep her safe. Esme was also pretty sure that Sarah wouldn’t disobey Cason’s orders. Then again, if something were to happen to her, which one of the group would contact Sassy? Bobby would most likely be the one to contact her. While she was thinking about her, Esme remembered that she hadn’t checked in with her in a while, which she would have to do soon. She was so lost in her fear of herself and her thoughts she didn’t hear the conversation about her going on between Bobby and Cason. She hardly even heard when Bobby came over to the couch. “That would be me, I guess.” she sighed, as she came out of her thoughts. She looked at him with an apologetic look for her outburst towards Cason.

[FuriePhoenix]

MIKA

The moment Duke finally looked at her and started crying, just letting out absolutely everything he was feeling she knew he was in a worse state than people in their group had realized. Not one moment did she judge him for it though, she wanted him to let out his feelings and emotions so he didn’t bottle it all up. She wanted him to let her in and feel like he could be open. As much as she wanted him to talk, she wasn’t going to rush him into talking, this was something he had to take his own time doing and she’d wait for however long he needed her to.

When he managed to say he loved her, she knew it was a start. It was agony seeing him sob like he was, feeling like she hadn’t witnessed this from him since he was a kid and he just came into her room, climbed onto her bed whilst she was watching tv and hugged her- the motion that told her she had to turn the tv off and hug him. Now she felt this was very similar to those nights with the way he shook his head in her hands. He needed her more than ever and she wasn’t going to leave him high and dry. Then he spoke again, asking her about her beliefs in Heaven and she didn’t honestly know how to answer it at first, so when he continued to talk, she let him.

She let every word just get drilled into her mind, listening and taking it all in so when it came to her actually replying back, she could with wisdom and care. She gave a delicate nod to his description of a dream someone wouldn’t want to wake up from- she knew those well. She still remembers the one she had as a young girl when she passed out on Bobby’s doorstep, barely still pieced together it felt like. She was just a teenager but in that dream she had in the days she was out cold in Bobby’s, it felt like she never got attacked- her parents didn’t die. She could still picture every single moment of when she saw her mother first, making her run over into the arms of her beloved mother. The mother who always had her back, defended and loved Dean like a son when her father couldn’t.

She dreamt of being reunited with them both, being happy she was with them. Spending time enjoying their company, laughing and joking. She dreamt of times when her mother would walk into her room and Dean was hiding under her bed, thinking he was well hid until her mother greeted him as she exited the room, causing both herself and Dean to start laughing out of embarrassment. She dreamt of the night Dean took her out on a date for her birthday and gave her her treasured necklace of protection, that she still wears today. She knew what Duke had gone through all too well and she wanted to believe it was Heaven, or a form of Heaven so badly, to know that when they die they didn’t just end up dust on the ground. But could she say for absolute certainty that she believed Heaven existed? No.
His words didn’t once scare her, but they did make her sad as she would always worry about him. He may have grown taller than her, but she still saw him at times as the little dorky brother. She didn’t take her eyes off of him as he kept talking, describing what he went through, how he scared the hell out of the nurse, even when he said he was convinced he was in Heaven. Taking it all in, she thought over her words carefully before finally speaking. “I don’t know if I believe in Heaven but I want to believe it’s real. I had a similar experience when I was just a teenager and I passed out on Bobby’s doorstep after the wendigo tried to kill me. I was there for what felt like months, but was actually days. I didn’t want to wake up and accept that my folks were truly gone. I didn’t want to say goodbye to them all over again. So if you had the same experience? And I believe you one hundred percent, then maybe there is a Heaven.” she replied softly.

“I haven’t told a single soul until right now that. You’re the only one who now knows.” she added, pulling him into her and hugging him. “So you can always know that I will understand what you’re feeling okay?” she said, kissing the side of his head protectively and if either Esme or Dean didn’t or gave him shit for what he experienced, she would call them both out and defend Duke until she had run out of breath to do so.

“As for those two in there? You can bet your ass I will have words with at least Dean. I’m not going to let him push you away from Esme. As much as I did understand why Dean took charge, you’re in no fit state to lift someone, but he went about that situation in there all wrong and I will tell him.” she told Duke and she wasn’t going to change her mind on the matter. She knew as well as anyone that if the roles were reversed, she would have been called out for it as well. “I can see as well as anyone how much you love that girl and need her. I will make Dean back off, I promise because I’m not having him hurt you anymore than he already has.” she told him, pulling him away just enough to make him look at her again, “ya hear me?” she asked.

NATALIA

When Natalia mumbled, she didn’t intend to make Cason frown. She was just so done with everything in this moment she couldn’t make sure her filter was fully switched on. She glanced over at Bobby when Cason asked him where everyone was sleeping to rest up and recuperate for a few hours. Hearing that Mika would probably take her old room was exactly shocking, that woman was very attached to her old room and bed. She just hoped it would be Dean that goes up with her and that Dean wouldn’t stay with Esme- if for no one else’s sake but Duke’s. It was clear Duke wouldn’t handle Dean being with Esme any longer than was strictly necessary and she didn’t think Mika would accept Dean choosing Esme over her either.
Nat nodded when Bobby told her to take his room whilst he was going to be up anyway. “Thanks Bobby” she replied, whilst Cason looked and sounded surprised Bobby was trusting him to be stay with Nat. The fact Bobby was being so civil made Nat have a sneaky suspicion that someone in their group asked him to be nice, and that suspicion was fully on Mika as she did catch Mika whispering to Bobby when they all made it into the house.

She then turned her attention back to Cason when he clearly aimed his next words to her. “Okay…” she said, slowly getting up, leaving her empty bottle on the table. Giving a nod of agreement to him leaving to grab her stuff, she gave Bobby a brief hug as thanks for being nice to Cason before walking into Bobby’s study via the living room, not even giving Dean or Esme a single glance even though she knew at the back of her mind that Dean wanted to talk with her at some point still. She couldn’t even gain the energy to make a sassy quip, opening the door and walking inside, closing it behind her and heading straight to the bed.

Sitting on the edge she sighed, feeling the soft mattress underneath her. She peeled herself out of Cason’s coat, realising now she was still in it. A small hiss escaped her but she continued to try and remove her shirt, hissing and wincing as she struggled to get her arms out of it, biting her bottom lip to stop herself from crying from the pain. It was then Cason reappeared in the room, just as she finally got it off, sporting now only her jeans, boots and sports bra.

SAM

Sam wasn’t expecting to hear anything from Anna, let alone any action toward him so when she did say she wanted him around, he exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was withholding. He let her grab his arm to scoot closer to him and rest her head on his shoulder. He remained close to her, reaching his free hand across and placed it comfortingly over her own hands. Letting her take the lead in how close they sat was proving to be the right course of action it seemed and he would continue with this idea of his.

He gently rested his own head upon hers whilst she pressed her ear firmly against his shoulder whilst she explained what she wanted to drown out and not hear anymore. He wished he could say he was shocked to hear she wanted to rip out Cason’s throat and no doubt drain him dry, but he sadly couldn’t. Before she came back to his life, he felt the same way about Ruby’s blood once. The come down was proving excruciating for Anna, but at least it wasn’t so bad that she had to be locked up in the basement….for the time being. “You’re not a monster baby girl… the world may be making you do monstrous things right now but you yourself are not a monster. The fact you’re terrified of being around the others, trying your hardest not to harm Cason shows that.” he replied to her.

“None of this is going to get easier but I won’t stop being by your side fighting for and with you.” he added, readjusting his head to place a firm but loving kiss on the top of her head, then placed his head back where it was. He wasn’t going to ever leave her side and he was most definitely going to strive in not making the past mistakes he had already made. She had made him proud despite everything that had gone down, he just needed to make her proud of him now.

[JustAnna]

Dean and Bobby

Dean shook his head at Esme’s words about Duke finding her. Duke had been lost, traveling the world. He may have seemed like he was better off, but Dean liked the word ‘lost’ to describe him. The amount of phone calls he had fielded to Bobby, to try and find help for Duke halfway across the world, when no one else could get to him, had piled up over the years. Duke wasn’t better off without his family, he was on the edge of a cliff and one bad decision would have killed the kid.

“You can’t think of it like that…” Dean spoke up, as Esme turned and he could get a good look at her eyes. Pausing when she looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes. He didn’t know the answers to all of this, but he knew that Esme was in control more than she gave herself credit for. She had been plenty upset at times around them, and other than Cason and the situation at the asylum, none of them had been harmed by her. “Well…you know what we do?”

He started his best attempt to talk Esme down, feeling like the only person in the universe that could. But then she suggested that they lock her in the basement and Dean’s expression completely fell into heartbreak. There was no way they were locking anyone in the basement…unless Anna went off the rails, which Dean felt she probably wouldn’t, if she was avoiding conflict.

“No. See, that’s not happening. You’re not some monster to hunt, or to lock away, alright? You’ve been with us for a while. If you were going to hurt one of us, you would have. Cason doesn’t count.” Dean half scolded her, “How about this. I have a better idea. You may not be human, and that may be scary, sure. I’m scared to death about it. I won’t lie to you. But you’re human…enough. Do you hear me? We will figure this out. If it’s connected to demons…we figure it out. Of all places to be, while you figure it out, you’re home. You’re with Bobby.”

Dean paused as he heard Bobby’s footsteps, and he sighed, reaching out and pinching Esme’s chin gently, hoping the familiar gesture would at least make her listen to him, “I told you a long time ago that, no matter what, we’ll figure out what comes next when we make it to that mile marker. This is one of those times. You’re hurt. Let’s get you…not hurt, and then we dive into whatever this is…together. You don’t get to give up, now.”

As Bobby stepped up to the couch, Dean scooted back and slowly stood to his feet, giving Bobby room to step in. Bobby didn’t even acknowledge anything that had been said or happened in the kitchen. He was only concerned about the mess they needed to clean up.

“Well, sit up and let me take a look at that head.” Bobby smiled softly, walking over to his desk. He grabbed the old lunchbox he had laid out before they ever got back. Having a first aid kit on hand when his kids came home was something he was way too used to at this point. He returned and sat on the couch, in a position where he could get a good look at Esme’s head. “Dean you wanna grab me that glass of whiskey that’s sittin’ by the sink? She might need it.”

Dean nodded, stepping away as Bobby parted Esme’s hair carefully and winced at the gash in her head. As Dean stepped back into the living room, carrying a glass of whiskey that looked a little darker than usual, Bobby sat back and smirked, “Well. Good news and bad news. Good news, it’s not quite as bad as you probably thought. Bad news, you’re gonna have stains in your hair for a while.”

“Well that ain’t so bad, is it?” Dean quipped, handing the glass of whiskey to Esme. Bobby opened the tool box and pointed to the glass.

“Drink the whole thing in one drink. I need you numb before I start our little game of operation, here.” He explained, only pulling a penlight from the tool box. If he and Cason were right about their little hunch, he should be able to see her head healing…or at least get an idea of whether things would work or not.

Duke

Duke was surprised as Mika began explaining that she could relate to his potential heavenly experience, because she had been there too. His experience also felt like weeks or months of just reliving the happiest days of his life. Esme was there…a lot. He and Dean were on completely good terms. His mom was alive, and for the first time in years, he could actually remember his mom’s face. His favorite horse was there. He rode his horse around that old pasture for what felt like hours in his head. He saw Mika on his twelfth birthday, the day that Bobby had gifted him a brand new ‘grown up’ black cowboy hat to wear when they went out. He saw everything good that had ever happened to him. No pain. No suffering. No fighting. No loss.

And then when he woke up, it felt like all of those good memories were fake, or that he was mourning them…like the dead. Mika described his exact experience and the thought that she had gone through that same torment caused him to sniffle sadly. She had never told him anything about her family, other than a brief overview of how they died. It was just something most kid hunters didn’t bring up very often. Those were memories that were better left buried…they all knew that.

Duke sniffled and quickly wrapped his arms around Mika, his arms seeming to work for the first time since he woke up. He didn’t even realize until they were alone how much he just needed to talk to her. She and Esme were the only two people he felt he could open up to, and Mika knew him like the back of her hand. He hadn’t given her much of a choice, all those years ago. He followed her around like a puppy, and that transferred to Dean, until Duke found his independence through running away from home…over and over.

In a way, Duke was surprised, but also drawn back to deep emotion by Mika’s protective words toward him. He knew that Esme being back in the picture had to be hard on Mika, even if she had put a lot of it on herself back when they were teenagers. It didn’t suck any less to see someone you love right back in front of someone they gave their love to, when you made the decision not to ’know’ them anymore. As she pulled back, Duke nodded, calmed enough to turn his eyes down and sniffle, but the words ‘I’m not having him hurt you anymore than he already has’ swam around in his brain. Someone else was acknowledging that he wasn’t the bad guy, after all this time. Someone else was acknowledging that Dean Winchester, the saint, was wrong in the way he tended to shut off and wipe his hands of people, only to let them back in when HE felt like it.

“I hear ya.” Duke whispered, nodding. But another thought was plaguing his mind, and he frowned, stitching his eyebrows together as he tried not to start crying all over again, “It just…I just…It just feels like Dean might be disappointed that I didn’t die back there. You know? Like…this isn’t the first time that it felt like I barged back in on his life. It ain’t even the tenth time, really.”

He paused and took a deep breath, “And Esme too. I mean, I don’t know what’s goin’ on with her, but from the second I showed up, it’s been nothin’ but Hell. Things have been good. But things have also been tense. I see the way he looks at me…even before I died.”

Anna

Anna’s heart skipped a small beat as Sam called her by his pet name for her once again, proving that he truly wasn’t pushing her away. Far from it. He wasn’t afraid of her. He didn’t even seem that worried about the withdrawals she was having. She closed her eyes tight, letting a couple of tears fall against his shirt as she hugged his arm a little tighter. She did feel like a monster. In a way, she felt like Sam was a monster, but they were two halves of a whole…probably because of Hell’s will. Either way, they seemed safer together.

After he kissed her head, she sniffled, staring off into space for a moment, as she thought over everything, trying to rationalize staying away from Sam. It just wasn’t possible, anymore. If there was anyone she needed to forgive, and step closer to in this whole mess, it was Sam. She pulled one of her arms away from his, and wiped her cheeks and nose on her wrist, before pulling her head away from his shoulder and looking up at him.

“I don’t know why you’re all in…but I’m glad you are.” She admitted, scanning his eyes. She knew she looked like a mess. And in that moment, he didn’t care. He just wanted her to be okay, and that was more than a start. She leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, letting it linger for a moment as she took a deep breath through her nose, placing her free hand on his cheek to feel his heartbeat. After that moment, she brushed his nose with her own and sighed, “I love you.”

Cason

As Cason lifted his head to look over at Nat, he sighed in frustration, “You know that’s currently my job, right? I don’t know what all that angel fixed and you can’t wait ten seconds? You know I move fast.” Cason scolded her gently, approaching her with a frown on his face. “I will say…you look better than I expected.”

He sat down on the edge of the mattress, picking up his jacket and tossing it over by Nat’s bag. He turned to her, and brushed some of the hair from her face, before placing a finger under her chin and moving her face around. He didn’t say anything as he checked her face over, just pressing on a few spots that he couldn’t determine were bruises or dried blood.

He moved that hand down from her chin, over her chest, brushing the tips of his fingers over what was a very badly broken shoulder. The slight bruising there was faded to the point of almost non existence, and he sighed with relief, brushing his hand down and picking up her wrist. He moved her arm up and down, making sure her shoulder was working as gently as he could.

“Other than all the blood, I think you’ll survive…” He murmured, brushing his fingers over her stomach, before switching to her other arm. It seemed that most of the damage was going to be relegated to soreness. If he wasn’t so disgusted by the idea of angels using their grace on humans, he would thank Castiel. Nat was going to be okay, after all of the torture. “Let me look at your head.”

He gently shifted back on the bed, and turned Nat’s head to the side so that he could see the back of her head better. He let out a sigh of relief as he parted her hair, and there was no gash to be found, only dried blood. He dropped his shoulders and released her head turning her face to look at him, “As much as it weirds me out to say this…you’re fine, sweetheart.”

[Wolvena]

Esme

Before Bobby came over to the couch, Esme listened to Dean as he spoke to her. She knew he wouldn’t like the idea of putting her in the basement or that she called herself a monster. As he continued, more tears stuck in the corners of her eyes, and she slightly looked over at him. When he told her that her not being human scared him, she tensed up but didn’t relax when he said she was human enough. Esme nodded at the end of his speech when he paused, hearing Bobby’s footsteps approaching. He was right. Bobby’s was the best place she could be while she figured this out. Bobby’s home was her home, too, and he was also her family. When Dean pinched her chin, a light smile came to her lips at the familiar gesture. It would always make her smile and listen to what he had to say back in the day. She tilted her head toward him as he spoke, taking in every word that left his lips. “Together.” she said softly. As much as that made her feel better, she wondered how Duke would handle it after his reaction moments ago. Though she knew he would help her, too, once he was back to himself again.

She sighed softly as she looked at Dean. “I’ll keep fighting.” she told him softly before Bobby stepped up to the couch. Esme watched Dean scoot back to give Bobby room just as Bobby told her to sit up. With some difficulty and a hiss, Esme was able to sit herself up on the couch, sitting in a position that would make it easy for Bobby to look at her head. When Bobby returned and sat on the couch, she tried to relax as much as possible. When Bobby asked Dean to get a glass of whiskey, and looked off in the distance. She wasn’t much of a whiskey drinker but figured she’d need it for this. As Bobby parted her hair, she winced at how tender her head was around the gash. Esme laughed a little as Bobby gave her the good and bad news, then looked up at Dean as he handed her the glass of whiskey. “Stained hair is the least of my worries.” she replied. She looked at the glass of whiskey in her hands, noticing how it looked a little darker than usual. She couldn’t help but silently question it as she looked at it.

“Game of operation. Good one, Bobby.” she lightly laughed. Esme lifted the glass to her lips and quickly downed it in one go, scrunching up her nose and giving a couple of coughs. “Woah, I think that bottle’s gone bad, Bobby.” she coughed. She may not have been much for the harder stuff, but she did drink it occasionally, so she knew what it should and shouldn’t taste like, which didn’t taste right. It tasted horrible. She started feeling off as she sat there waiting for the whiskey to work its magic. It started in her already queasy stomach, becoming a disturbing sick feeling, then slowly moved its way up to her throat. Esme rested a hand on her stomach as she sat there, fighting against the ill feeling creeping up on her. “I think I’m going to be sick.” she said, bringing her free hand to her mouth. No sooner than she got the words out of her mouth, she jumped up from the couch and bolted to Bobby’s office, just barely weaving around Dean. In Bobby’s office, she dropped to her knees at the trash can next to his desk, positioned her head over it, and got sick.

Esme lost everything in her stomach and then some. Just when she thought she was done and nothing more could come up, another round would start. She couldn’t ever remember getting this sick before, not even as a kid. She chalked up to her body being over-exerted. When she knew she wouldn’t get sick anymore, Esme pushed the trash can away, pulled a bandana from her pocket to wipe her mouth, and slumped against Bobby’s desk, feeling her eyelids becoming heavy. She felt even weaker and more tired than before now. Her stomach ached, her head was pounding, and her throat felt like it was on fire. She tried to get her body to move to get back to the couch, but it felt like jello. “Tapadh leibh uile.” she breathed. “Chan ann a-rithist.” Esme could feel her eyes closing on her the longer she sat there on the floor of Bobby’s office. She fought against it and forced herself to her feet, leaning against Bobby’s desk briefly. Then, she slowly started making her way back to the couch, using anything she could to steady herself.

[FuriePhoenix]

MIKA

For Mika, it was incredibly hard to talk about what she experienced when out cold for days way back when. Even into adulthood, she didn't know how she survived something that she never should have. Just like how Duke felt, she took felt she should be dead and have stayed dead. It took her years to accept she was alive but by being alive, something in her changed. She never wanted Duke to go through that closed off, fearful stage now he took, had experienced being dead temporarily. She wouldn't wish that on her worst enemy truth be told. It was the worst feeling to be alive and feel like you didn't deserve the second chance, or that what you experienced inside your head was either not real or it was and you were taken from that moment of bliss and tranquility. She hated that because of it, she spent so long hiding from the one person she loved, doing all she could to make him never find her, only to find she constantly kept running to him. She hated that eventually, her antics and running away from being happy with Dean drove him into the arms of another for a good year. It was still so soul destroying and she refused to let Duke go through any of that.

He was too good a soul deep down for any of that to become his life and she would do all she could to make sure he got through this moment without going down that rabbit hole. Seeing him sniffle at hearing more of her story, brought some kind of different sadness to her. She couldn't explain what the exact emotion was, but she didn't want him feeling sorry for her. She just wanted him to know he was not alone. Mika found herself briefly widening her eyes when she suddenly felt him hug her of his own free will before she held him all the more securely. She felt like he was just that kid hugging her all over again, needing the kind of comfort that only she could give. Mika knew instantly that him barrelling back into their lives was the best thing that could have happened, and she only truly realized it now. She really had missed him a great deal.

After she pulled away for a moment, she ran her fingers through his hair, letting him speak some more but what next came out of his mouth absolutely destroyed her. For all of Dean's faults, he would have never wished Duke stayed dead. She saw for herself how distraught Dean was when they thought they lost him for good, Dean wouldn't have come back from Duke's death for a long time. “now you listen to me mister” she began scolding, making him look at her, “don't you EVER say that again. Ya hear me? Dean may say some hurtful shit to you or me or anyone, but he would NEVER be disappointed you survived. When he thought you were gone for good, he was absolutely broken up. I don't think even I could have brought him back to reality. He could barely get the words out to me.

He doesn't want to ever lose you Duke. Dean loves you, he's just really crap at showing it. And if he did express otherwise you can bet your ass I would kill him myself for thinking such a thing. Or I'd kick his butt to Timbuktu and tell him to re-evaluate his life” she told Duke sternly but lovingly, meaning every word she said even if the last bit was an amusing thought. She removed a hand from Duke to wipe her eyes as she felt tears wanting to fall down her cheek, then pulled him into her once more. “no one wishes you stayed dead..not him, not me, no one. We are beyond glad you're back with us. I know he doesn't always make you or anyone feel like it, but he is. So as difficult as it is right now, I need you to not think he wishes you were dead, trust me I know that's really hard right now. I thought the same years ago for a while but it's not true. In no way or universe is it true” She explained.

She let her words sink into his mind for a moment before stroking his cheeks with her thumbs, “so…how about I see to these ripped stitches and check the rest of you over before Bobby comes in and fusses you like a child?” She gave him her reassuring smile in the hopes it'll help him, “but remember I'm here if you ever need to chat or need advice. Right now, we got even more in common than you know and if telling you secrets of how I dealt with this will help? I'll tell you everything”.

NATALIA

Cason's voice broke through to her, making her look up at him. “Sorry…old habits die hard I guess” she replied, knowing that the biggest reason for getting ahead of herself was purely out of habit. She was used to having to deal with these moments on her own more times than not and she just started undressing slightly as if she was on autopilot. So she took the scolding from Cason without any snarky comeback.

She let him come over and sit in front of her before she felt his hand brush some of her hair out of her face and down onto her chin to move her head side to side. She remained pretty silent as he looked her over thoroughly, the only time she winced slightly was when he hit a bruise and not dried blood on her cheek. She let him run his fingertips over her shoulder that had been badly broken, watching his face as he focused so intently on her. His sigh of relief bringing a tiny brief smile to her lips before he continued down her body and eventually to the back of her head.

When he turned her head to face him, making her look at him once more, she gave a nod. “It weirds me out too…” she admitted, deciding that was better than saying ‘told you so’. It took her a few seconds to clock he called her sweetheart again, and when she did she just wanted to wrap her arms around him, but she refrained from doing so. She tried to remain well behaved even though she felt like being clingy on him. “I know I've said it before, but I'm so grateful you came for me. I really didn't think I'd ever see you again, or any of those chaotic lot out there. I was ready to just give up fighting until you pulled me out” she finally admitted. She knew it wouldn't be easy to hear, but she couldn't pretend she was only almost ready to give up when she had gone so far passed that point in the pool.

Sighing, she looked down, ready to just lay down on the bed, even if she was covered in dried blood and dirt and fall asleep. “I know you don't sleep…but I really need to…” she commented, shifting her body to start laying down as she just wanted to sleep and not see any more water.

SAM

Sam let her cry on his shoulder, knowing she needed to just let it out. If he wasn't out of tests, he would have cried with her as he hated seeing her go through all this and no doubt feeling like she was being pulled from every direction. He knew he could tell her she wasn't a monster until he was blue in the face but that wouldn't just magically wipe away how she felt inside. All he could do was keep telling her and hope that even if it made her less monstrous for a little while, then it could be enough. He wanted to make her feel as much joy or hope as he could, even if it felt like it was harder to do with each passing day.

He glanced down without moving his head as she let go of his arm with one arm and wiped her face before clinging onto him again. He let the tiniest smile appear as he just saw the Anna he had always known in that one little action. For the briefest of moments, he saw the Anna he met when they were kids and when she was upset, she'd do the exact same action to try and pretend she wasn't crying. She was still in there deep down and he wasn't going to give up on trying to make her feel her old self between the hard times.

When she said she didn't know why he was all in but was glad he was, he looked her right in the eyes back and smiled softly at her. “I'm all in with you because I know what you're going through and I've lost you once…I'm not losing you again. I should have never let you go all those years ago, so I wanna make up for that” he told her honestly, returning the kiss when she placed her lips on his. He reached one hand up to under her chin and held it between his index finger and thumb. He didn't want to pull away but when she did, he did too, opening his eyes as she placed her hand on his cheek to feel his heartbeat and center herself. “I love you too, always will” he replied.

[JustAnna]

Dean and Bobby

Dean’s shoulders relaxed a little thinking about Esme’s words of ‘I’ll keep fighting’. It was all he could ask for in that moment, when all he wanted her to do was try. If not for him, he wanted her to try for Duke. He matched a lot of her expressions, as he knew that some of the injuries she had must have been painful, even for a hunter. That head gash alone was one of the worst he had seen, for her to still be walking around. It was a miracle she was on her feet at all.

He turned his eyes up from Esme’s face to Bobby’s as Esme began to drink the concoction Bobby had made. Dean was silently asking Bobby what was in the glass, to which Bobby just tilted his head, silently explaining that it wasn’t something Dean was going to like, or agree to, but it wasn’t just whiskey. Dean glared at Bobby briefly, before turning his eyes back down to Esme as she downed the entire glass.

Dean matched Esme’s scrunched face, as she reacted to the taste of the whiskey, wondering what Bobby had poured in the glass to make it taste like crap. The only thing he could think of was possibly African Dream Root, but there was no reason for Bobby to want to knock her out, ESPECIALLY after the trauma she had just gone through.

“Yeah. I might wanna grab another bottle when I go to town later on. You know how quick it can go off when you drink straight from the bottle…” Bobby quipped, and Dean glared at him once again, only for Bobby to shake his head at Dean. Dean’s attention came right back to Esme when she placed a hand over her stomach. He echoed her, hovering his hand over hers as he watched her face. Out of nowhere, she stood from the couch and ran to Bobby’s trash can, puking to the point that Dean had to assume it was her body rejecting something.

“What did you give her?” Dean asked Bobby, who was just watching Esme with both frustration and worry. “Bobby! What did you give her?”

“A hunch. We were goin’ off a hunch. If she’s connected to demons, maybe demon blood…”

“You gave her demon blood?! Great. Wonderful. Just what we need…” Dean sighed, reaching up and rubbing his eyebrow with frustration. Esme seemed to get everything out of her system, and Dean heard Bobby’s desk scoot as she leaned against it, and he glanced over to her, sighing again. He couldn’t hear what she was mumbling, but he could tell she wasn’t going anywhere on her own any time soon. When she stood, he jumped up, quickly running over to her. “Hey! I got you. I got you. Let’s get you…”

As soon as his arm wrapped around Esme’s waist, she fainted, causing Dean to groan as he barely caught her, quickly reaching for her legs and hoisting her off the ground, “Dammit…”

He carried her back to the couch, not wanting to put her back down, in case worse things were to come. He had seen Anna on demon blood and they knew what Anna was. He chose to sit on the edge of the couch, turning Esme so that Bobby could access the back of her head.

“Patch her up. And no…more hunches.” Dean scolded Bobby, causing Bobby to straighten up, as if he was going to tear Dean down, only to sigh and rummage through his tool box for what he needed to fix up Esme’s head and shoulder.

Duke

Duke was a little surprised, when Mika began to scold him for his words. She had never really spoken to him like this, and for a moment, it felt like he was sitting in front of a mother. He watched her eyes, his own eyes filling up with tears again. He didn’t expect Dean to mourn him, really. It was obvious that Dean would. They were practically brothers, but at the same time, it felt like Dean should have felt relief, not having to worry about Duke anymore or protect him…or save him.

He rolled all of it over in his mind, trying to decide whether he believed her, or whether she was telling him what he wanted to hear, in that moment. But Mika never said anything that the others simply ‘wanted to hear’. She was the most blunt and brutally honest person he had ever met, more so than Dean. So, he didn’t have much of a choice but to nod, as the soft touch to his cheeks calmed the tears that were now flooding over her hands.

“Alright.” He nodded, agreeing to let her look at his stitches. She was right. He needed to sleep on all of this. He needed to get patched up and maybe tomorrow, he would feel better, or at least he would feel safe…and home. Duke carefully sat back, shrugging his flannel off his shoulders and he tossed it to the side. Mika was one of only four people who had ever seen the scars on his body. So, he didn’t feel self conscious about her seeing them again.

“After I sleep on all this, I will take any advice short of screwin’ my liver with whiskey…and even that’s not off the table.” Duke murmured, attempting to stretch, but he only raised his arms a tiny bit, before the stitches in his stomach caught and weeped a bit, causing him to hiss. “Where do you want me?”

Cason

Cason watched Nat’s face as she seemed to be struggling with something. Her words of being grateful he came made him smirk and shake his head. There wasn’t a universe where he wouldn’t have fought his way out to get to her. He couldn’t exactly explain why, but something in the back of his head burned like acid when she looked at him like this. Even with that pain, he relished in it, and he just didn’t quite know which human emotion was trying to kill him, but it felt oddly familiar.

Her next words caused him to wince, scanning her entire face for a way to explain to her that giving up was never an option. He wouldn’t have allowed her to give up. He would have kept her alive against her will, if he had to do so. He would have wrangled some strange human off the road, and forced them to sell their soul for her, if that’s what it came to. He could be very persuasive…

When he didn’t say anything in return, a bit worried about how harsh his words would sound, he noticed that Nat looked down and seemed ready to go to sleep. Sighing, Cason shook his head, “No. You need to shower. Trust me. If you could see yourself, you would agree with me.”

Then it hit him. The last thing that Nat would want to get anywhere near after what had happened, was water. So, he tried another angle, glancing briefly toward the small connected bathroom, “I have an idea. That tub in there is a clawfoot, which means it has plenty of room in it. Lucky for you, neither of us are particularly large.”

He chuckled, in an attempt to make Nat smile…just a little.

“So, if I go run some warm water, and I am there…the whole time, like a magnet, will you let me clean you up?” He asked sweetly, pulling her back toward him so she couldn’t just lay down and pass out. He leaned in, trying to sweeten the deal, and pressed an oddly gentle kiss to her upper lip. “I’ll be there, the whole time.”

Anna

Anna almost shook her head at Sam’s words. She didn’t want him to make up for anything that happened when they were kids. She was on the run. He was stuck with his family. She would have been hunted, because even though John knew about the demon blood in Sam’s veins, no one knew what the special children were. All anyone knew was that they were ‘different’ and different to the Winchesters meant dead.

Her heart fluttered, hearing Sam echo her words. This was right. Sam in front of her, under her touch, his heart beating steady beneath her fingers…was right. Anna honestly didn’t even hold any anger toward him, anymore. Was she scared that he would choose Dean’s judgement over her, when push came to shove? Of course. But was she angry that he had done what he felt was right, and that it had lead to Cason…not dying? Not anymore.

“I don’t know where we’re going to sleep, but I’m tired. I don’t know if I can sleep, though.” Anna admitted, glancing down at Sam’s lips before glancing toward the deck beside them. She sighed, and closed her eyes, a sign that she was about to suggest something that made her uncomfortable. “If there’s no room, I’ll go to the basement…if you’ll go with me. I don’t want to be alone while I dry out. It doesn’t feel as dangerous this time, but I can feel that it’s going to be a bit of a mess.”

She trailed her hand down Sam’s cheek, and brushed them over his lips with a soft smile, “Rest with me? And then we figure out what…next looks like for us. I can’t think about it anymore, with Cason’s stupid heart buzzing in my ears.”

[FuriePhoenix]

MIKA

She didn't want to come across as a mother to him, he was a grown man after all, but she never wanted to hear him say such words to her. It was heartbreaking that he basically implied he wasn't good enough to survive and come back like Dean was. He was such an amazing person to Mika, that she never wanted him to feel he was inadequate in comparison. If she had known just how much Dean and somehow made Duke feel like this and for so long, she would have said something to Dean years ago because she wouldn't have been able to help herself. Mika let him think about her words before he also agreed to let her check him over. Sighing with relief, she let him take his shirt off, throwing it to the side. His scars never phased her, she had her own after all and he was one of few people who had also seen hers, as she was always uncomfortable with people seeing them. It was one reason she had them tattooed over when she was saying Ethan for a while years ago. It was her way of being able to pretend they didn't exist even though they showed through the art of her back.

“At this rate you'll have more battle scars than I do and that's an impressive feat” she smiled as she stood up and went to the mini cupboard that always held his first aid kit. Walking back to him, she knew his bed was the best place for him to be. “just lay back on there, may as well as get sort of comfortable if it's even possible.” she told him, helping him get comfortable and then perching on the edge, placing the kit down in front of her before unzipping it.

When he was ready, she grabbed some gauze and cotton wool to tend to his weeping stitches, making sure to be as gentle as she possibly could. “As for your other remark? I feel ya on that one. I feel like all I've done is try to keep it together for everyone else. I've gone from spending my days locked in my room drinking my waking hours away to grieve Dean, to having to keep everyone together whilst trying to accept Esme and Dean's closeness. I feel like I've not really had a moment to just enjoy having him back you know? Feels like I'm losing him all over again and I'm just expected to accept his ex being looked after by him.” She sighed as she focused on his wound. She then half scoffed, shaking her head, realising it probably wasn't fair dumping all this on Duke.

“Sorry, shouldn't be bringing you into this…” she apologized, drying up the surrounding area and redoing the pulled stitches before she covered it for him to keep it clean. With a sigh, she looked up at him and gave him a small smile. “You're all good. Want me to bring you in anything? Another drink? More blankets?” She asked.

NATALIA

Seeing Cason wince at her words confirmed her suspicions that it wasn't an easy thing to hear. She didn't like hearing those words out of her own mouth, but what was the point in lying to herself? The physical scars and trauma was one thing to endure, but it was the mental ones that she really struggled with. Just as she thought she was making progress with the original altrauma, now she had a whole load of new trauma dumped on top of it. What she wasn't letting on was that that torture brought up new memories she thought she forgot and now part of her head was trying to filter through what was past and what was present trauma in her head.

All she wanted was to go to sleep and try and not dream about what she endured again. Yet it seemed just her actions of trying to lay down wasn't acceptable enough for Cason, as he pulled her back upright and told her she was to go shower. She did trust him, and she probably did look a state, but she just couldn't care. The very idea of water rushing over her face terrified her, and judging by Cason’s change of idea, it seemed her face showed how much she didn't want it. The suggestion they shared a bath instead so she wasn't alone did make her smile lightly as it felt like such a ‘cason’ way of suggesting such a thing. She thought about what he was saying, promising to never leave her side and as he held her, placed a gentle kiss on her and promised he'd be there the whole time she eventually nodded.

“Okay…okay I'll take a bath” she finally agreed, caving to his pleas and negotiating. She hated being such a grump around him as it was becoming clear to her that she was worrying him to an extent and she didn't want to do that. “Guess that bath better get filled up then” she said to him with a small smile.

SAM

Sam had to admit, he didn't know where they were going to sleep either. The place was a full house right now and the thought of possibly going into a house still filled with tension wasn't the most inviting thing to think about. The moment she closed her eyes as she sighed, he had to wonder what was that uncomfortable thought that she was now thinking, before he suddenly got his answer. Of all things he could have imagined her saying, saying she’d go in the basement was not one of those things. Especially when she had such an adverse reaction to the door that led to the basement when they arrived.

“i'm surprised to hear you say that but I'm proud of you for even thinking it. I wouldn't leave you alone down there. If you go there, then so do I.” He told her honestly. “So how about we go back inside and find out where everyone else is crashing and we'll go from there?” He suggested, knowing that the only one he could think of confidently was Mika's choice of sleeping place. Though, with how protective she was being over Duke, it also wouldn't surprise him if she changed up her plans.

He stood up from the step and held out his hand to her to help her up. “I do wanna check that injury of yours though. Get that tidied up and recovered.” he added. Now that they were even discussing sleeping arrangements, it was all he could honestly think about other than recovering her stitches to keep them clean. He never acknowledged just how tired he actually was until now.

[Wolvena]

Esme

As Esme made her way out of Bobby’s office, she struggled to stay on her feet, even by grabbing anything she could to keep her somewhat upright. She didn’t even hear the words exchanged between Dean and Bobby while she was in the office. When Esme saw Dean running over, she stopped and sighed in relief for his help getting back to the couch. She smiled weakly at his words, but everything went dark as soon as his arm went around her waist. Exhaustion and her injuries finally won out, knocking her out cold. Esme didn’t feel Dean hoist her off the floor and carry her over to the couch, sit on the edge of it, and move her so Bobby could look at her head. She didn’t even hear the scolding Dean gave Bobby. Esme was plunged into memories of times when it was just her, Dean, and Duke, The Three Musketeers. They started with the first time she met Duke and how she pushed him into his chair from her rage from her lousy day and Dean's state. Then, it faded to the next day when she and Duke went out to the range to shoot. They talked about how they had lost their parents and hugged to comfort each other, only to have Dean come out a little huffy about it.

Esme's dreams then became a reel of all their greatest moments together, with every case ending with them finding the monster, dealing with it, and saving an innocent person who had been tangled up in a bad situation. They may have come out of it worse for wear, but they came out alive. Most of the time, they came back to Bobby’s, and he would help them patch each other up, sit back, and listen to everything they went through over drinks. A few of their worst moments they had slipped through the cracks, where one or two of them came out by the skin of their teeth. Dean and Duke, being the main two, feeling they had to step in and protect Esme at all costs in those situations, even if she was capable of fighting off the monster or ghost on her own, leaving her to drag them back to the car and drive them to a motel or Bobby’s to get patched up. Tears escaped her closed eyes as Esme slept, dreaming about the past.

Esme’s dreams shifted back in the other direction, showing her a memory she remembered well and cherished deeply. She found herself in the bar just down the road from Bobby’s, but she was watching from the sidelines instead of reliving it through her own eyes. They had just finished a case and had gotten through it with only a few scratches and minor bruises. The three of them had walked in, Esme in the middle, with her arms linked with Dean and Dukes. After putting in their drink orders, they sat at a table near the karaoke stage. As they waited for their drinks, they joked, laughed, and threw playful jabs at each other. When the beers made it to the table and thanked the waitress, Esme took a long drink before standing up and getting looks from Dean and Duke that said, ‘Where are you going?’ She gave a look back that said, ‘You’ll see.” with a grin on her face. “Don’t touch my beer.” she joked warmly. Without another word, she walked away from the table to the karaoke stage and spoke to the DJ. After receiving a nod, Esme walked up to the microphone and looked at the boys. “This one’s for you two.” she smiled warmly as the music began to play.

We will call his place our home
The dirt in which or roots may grow
Though the storms will push and pull
We will call this place our home

We’ll tell our stories on these walls
Every year, measure how tall
And just like a work of art
We’ll tell our stores on these walls

Let the years we’re here be kind, be kind
Let our hearts, like doors, open wide, open wide
Settle our bones like wood over time, over time
Give us bread, give us salt, give us wine

A little broken, a little new
We are the impact and the glue
Capable more than we know
To call this fixer upper home

With each year, our color fades
Slowly our paint chips away
But we will find the strength
And the nerve it takes
To repaint and repaint and repaint every day

Let the years we’re here be kind, be kind
Let our hearts, like doors, open wide, open wide
Settle our bones like wood over time, over time

Give us bread, give us salt, give us wine
Let the year we’re here be kind, be kind
Let our hearts, like doors, open wide, open wide
Settle our bones like wood over time, over time

Give us bread, give us salt, give us wine
Give us bread, give us salt, give us wine

Smaller than dust on this map
Lies the greatest thing we have
The dirt in which our roots may grow
And the right to call it home

As the dream played out, Esme mumbled some of the song's lyrics in her sleep, and a couple more tears escaped her closed eyes. The dream faded as she bowed to the crowd and made her way off the stage and back to the table with Dean and Duke. Then, she fell into a more profound and slightly more peaceful sleep.

[JustAnna]

Duke

Duke scooted back on the bed, as Mika stepped away to go retrieve the first aid kit. He kicked his boots off, and kicked the over by the table, before listening to Mika’s request for him to lay back. The soreness of his body was beginning to set in, and he was pretty sure he had stitches in his back, as well, but they didn’t hurt nearly as bad as the ones in the front. They also seemed to be bandaged, which told him that it was the first set that they had done, before he died.

Mika’s comments brought a small smile on his face, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he couldn’t help but joke back with her, “I guess it makes me look more…rugged. I’m too pretty, otherwise. Too sweet. These blue eyes were what go you on my good side all those years ago.”

He lifted his head, letting Mika adjust things so he was completely comfortable in his own bed, and then he turned his eyes up toward the ceiling as Mika went to work on the stab wound beneath his ribs. He hissed, and the smile fell from his face when she mentioned that she felt like she was losing Dean. It was definitely an echo of his own feelings, with Esme. But it was insane for her to believe that Dean would rehash old flames, when he had full access to Mika. Duke knew that things with Dean would never be the same…at least for their little trio, when Mika showed back up, fully there and willing to talk. Duke knew it was over…right then. Dean would always choose her over almost anyone.

“That’s ridiculous, you know.” Duke chimed in, that mischievous light behind his eyes, to let her know he was talking to her as her little brother, completely confidential. “I mean, I think he’ll always have…somethin’ there for her. He didn’t do a lot to hold onto her way back then. He has regrets. He hovered. He was worried. He treated her like this breakable thing that would fly out of his hands at any moment if he didn’t cling to her. But then you showed up, and like a light switch, he slipped through her fingers and she ran off. I don’t know the full story, there…but I think I might have a good idea. She was just as scared back then as you were.”

As she scoffed, Duke shook his head, “Shut your mouth. If anyone gets the situation, it’s me, right? You…don’t let him allow you to slip through his fingers. Judgin’ by the way your talkin’, you already are. Nobody can stop that, but you…”

Duke glanced down at Mika’s handiwork as she finished, brushing his fingers over the covering with a soft sigh. He then turned his eyes up toward the ceiling, as his own words to Mika settled into his brain. All this cloud of feelings surrounding Esme and Dean was just old baggage. If push came to shove, Duke felt like Esme would choose him, now…even if Dean ran into her arms like some sort of savior. But did he? He understood how Mika felt, but he needed to take his own advice.

Mika’s voice broke him from this thoughts again, and he turned to look at her with a soft smile, “Nah. I’m good. I think I’m just gonna pass out, honestly. I don’t think I could walk back into the house right now and I don’t exactly see Esme walkin’ out here, tonight. If anyone needs any more room, or you wanna crash, I got the couch.”

He sighed, and pulled one of the many blankets on his little bed over himself reaching a hand out to grab Mika’s, running his thumb over her knuckles, “Thank you, Meeko.”

Dean

As Dean held onto Esme, Bobby quickly worked on her head, stitching a bit on the inside, before starting in on the outside. Dean and Bobby sat in silence as he did so and Dean glanced around the room. The house was silent, now. Sam and Anna were still on the porch, Cason was presumably watching Nat sleep, like a creep and Mika was…

“Mika outside with Duke?” Dean asked Bobby, who tied off a stitch, clipped it, and nodded. Bobby didn’t elaborate and Dean sighed, realizing he had likely hurt Duke’s feelings…again. Not to mention Mika was probably pissed beyond measure at him. This was just great. He brought himself back to the present as Bobby finished up on Esme’s head, and waved for Dean to turn her so that he could get a better look at her shoulder. “You think we’re gonna be okay?”

“No. But what choice do we have? The world’s crumblin’ around us. We can either sit around in a circle and cry about what’s ailin’ us, or we can suck it up and work together. When everyone gets some sleep, we’ll hash it all out.” Bobby muttered as he cleaned the stab wound on Esme’s shoulder. Before pulling another needle he had threaded, “It’ll work itself out with some hard…truths.”

“Hard truths?” Dean asked, tilting his head.

“Figure it out. Tilt her head that way for me…” Bobby grumbled, as Dean tilted Esme’s head to lay closer to his cheek, just as she began to mumble something that sounded oddly familiar. He reached a hand up, brushing her hair from the side of her face, around behind her ear as he closed his eyes, taking some deep breaths.

Cason

Cason watched Nat’s face, until she finally agreed to take a bath. As if a load was taken off his shoulders, Cason sighed and relaxed a bit, glad that he could sweetly convince Nat to just take care of herself, even if it meant working with her fears and her completely justified fear of water, after what had happened to her. He nodded his head, and smirked. “Thank you.”

When she made the comment about running the bath, he glanced toward the bathroom, studying the clawfoot tub until he was confident he knew every pipe and fixture in the tub. Keeping his promise to not leave her alone, Cason turned his head back to her with a slightly larger smile.

“Wanna see a magic trick?” He asked, the mischievous smirk that he knew she couldn’t resist creeping onto his face. He snapped his fingers beside his head, keeping his smile, and the water taps began to turn. The bathtub plugged itself and the water settled to a comfortable temperature. “Now. Let’s get you out of those clothes. I got your bag. I’m pretty sure I can get the blood out of your hair…for the most part and then I will happily stand guard while you sleep.”

Cason stood from the bed, pulling Nat with him as gently as he could. He wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her into the bathroom. He didn’t figure anyone would be barging in. So, he didn’t bother to close the bathroom door, walking Nat over to stand next to the tub. “Not that you’ve been…shy around me…but if you need me to turn around or something, I can. I don’t know how modest humans are, from person to person.”

He chuckled softly, and lifted his arm, grabbing the back of his shirt and whipping it off over his head. As he did, he groaned with the lowering of his arms, trying to keep his voice low as the pain from his stomach caught him off guard. Glancing down at it, he sighed, seeing that the hole was not completely closed off, even hours later. Shrugging It off the best he could, he unbuckled his belt and pulled it from his jeans, before unbuttoning his pants and glancing up at Nat, the iron burns around his collar bones glaring in the brighter light of the bathroom, “Before you ask…I’m fine. Iron sucks. I’ll be back to normal in a couple of days…maybe less.”

Anna

Anna relaxed a bit as Sam agreed that if she went to the basement, he was coming with her. The thought of not being alone while she dealt with whatever the detox was going to bring, if Cason didn’t give her any of his blood, was at least a relief. She nodded. There was, at that moment, no reason to believe that Sam would just abandon her the second that Bobby closed the door to the panic room.

When he brought up that they should go see if it’s even a possibility, Anna nodded once again and sighed, “Yeah. Okay. Hopefully they are at least done talking about the inevitability of…me for the time being. I just don’t think I can take any more earth shattering revelations, in the next few hours.”

She took Sam’s hand, standing up from the step, and at first she gave him a confused look when he brought up her shoulder. She hadn’t even thought about the bite, while sitting out in the numbing cool air. There was a bit more on her mind than some stupid Hellhound making her it’s chew toy. From what she could tell, the wound wasn’t even bleeding anymore…or it was just scabbed over and gross. She couldn’t tell.

“I forgot it was there, to be honest. The pain in my head kinda drowned it out.” She scoffed, stepping toward the door but staying close to Sam. With Dean in the living room, there was no way she was walking through the door first. She tightened her grip on Sam’s hand and crossed her other arm over her stomach protectively, preparing to do her best to avoid eye contact.

[FuriePhoenix]

MIKA

Duke's remark about the scars making him look more rugged and about his blue eyes getting her on his good side years ago did make her chuckle. She couldn't deny it, there was a reason she considered him her puppy of a brother. He just gave her those big puppy eyes and she did finally cave and got on his good side. “alright puppy” she smirked, her own way of telling him he did have a point.

When she spoke to him, getting stuff off her chest, she didn't intend for Duke to suddenly almost lecture her in the sense of calling her out on how stupid the idea of losing Dean was. She looked at him and saw the mischievous look and knew whatever she did say in this rv, it was safe with Duke. She never realised how much she needed his opinion on things until he spoke and said some pretty profound words. It got her thinking about everything that led up to now. Then he told her to shut her mouth for dumping emotions on him and she couldn't help but smirk ever so slightly as suddenly it felt the roles were reversed.

He may not fully know it, but he definitely gave her something to think about and started to get through to her. With his reply about not needing anything else, she gave a nod and picked up the first aid kit, ready to put it away when he grabbed her hand and thanked her. A soft smile appeared on her face as she gave him a nod, “You’re welcome Duke. We'll always have each other's backs, remember that” she told him, pulling her hand out of his, walked to where she took the kit out and put it back then exited the RV. The cool morning air hit her face, making her wrap her arms round herself as she went back inside. ‘Duke you really have grown up a lot over the years… really given me something to think about’ she thought to herself. She had to make an effort to not let herself slip and Dean slip through her fingers.

They had come so far since they got back together, matured a great deal and she didn't want to be the cause of making that all go back ten steps. Hovering outside the back door, she took a couple of deep breaths before walking inside, closing the door behind her. She noticed everyone had scattered from the kitchen and only Dean, Bobby and Esme were left in the living room. Unaware of everything that went down with Esme, she stepped up to the threshold frame that linked the kitchen to the living room and leaned against the frame. “Duke is fine now, I've touched up his pulled stitches, covered them properly and he's now gonna crash for a bit in the RV.” She spoke up, more for Bobby's benefit than Dean's but figured Dean would appreciate the update as well. She saw Esme out cold on the couch, her mouth moving but from where she wasz she couldn't actually hear anything being muttered.

She then looked across to Dean, “I'm heading up to bed, coming?” She asked, not sure if he was wanting to stay with Esme or actually be with her. But either way she had to crash, and crash hard. It was then she heard the front door open again and she knew that meant Sam and Anna were coming back inside as well. Leaning back to look down the hallway, she saw Sam enter first, Anna following close behind. “Duke said there's his couch on the RV if it's any good for you guys” she called down.

NATALIA

Seeing Cason sigh with relief when she agreed to take a bath, she saw just how worried he was about her…had been about her. Natalia found herself raising an eyebrow at his question, wondering what on earth he was getting at, until she followed his gaze to the bathroom and looked back at him. His smile making it really difficult not to do the same facial expression, even though it did hurt her face to do so. She watched as he got the bath filled up and without even getting to the bathroom and she had to finally smirk when he was done. “Show off” she quipped, before letting him gently pull her off the bed to stand up, “the only thing you got wrong there is that I'd rather after the bath, you laid with me. I know you don't sleep…but I don't wanna lay alone” she told him as he guided her to the bathroom.

His words about letting her decide whether she wanted him to turn around was sweet. If only the others could see this human side of him that she saw. She knew he wasn't human, he would never be human again, but there was a sense of humanity still in him and she wished people like Dean would acknowledge that. “Cason, we have slept together, it's fine” she told him as she began to kick her boots off and carefully getting her jeans off. She had to admit to herself that the closer she got to getting into the bath and letting the warm water soothe her aching muscles, the slightly more relaxed she felt but there was still that sense of fear of sliding underwater and not coming back out. It was such a conflict in her head, but she kept telling herself with Cason by her side, she could do this. She overcame her fears once a couple of years ago, she could do it again.

When Cason lifted his shirt over his head and was just standing there in his undone pants, she finally saw the state he was in. Sadness and concern overcame her face as she lifted her hand up and gently glided her fingertips around the area. “What happened? Why didn't you say anything?” She asked him, staring at the wound iron caused. She trusted his prediction on when he'd be healed but that didn't stop her worrying about him. He saved her when he was wounded himself and she felt even more grateful to him. She just wanted to fix him even though she didn't know the first thing about healing a demon, her fingers running up his chest slowly, her eyes following suit before she looked up at him in the eyes. She couldn't even say anything, just looked him in the eyes to see if whatever he told her was indeed the truth.

It took a moment or two before she had to force herself to look away, properly strip down and slowly get in the bath, making sure there was room for him. She initially kept ahold of the sides of the bath, convinced that if she did that she wouldn't slip underwater before Cason was in behind her and being her support.

When he was in, she felt a lot more secure and safer, making herself let go of the sides and place her hands in the water and wrap her arms round her legs.

SAM

Sam felt the same way as Anna, he was done hearing intense and massive announcements from everyone. He was also done seeing a brewing fight looming between others, and hoped that a fight wouldn't break out between Dean and Duke or even Mika and Dean. So when she stated his thoughts, he couldn't help but give a sad smile and nod, “was thinking the same thing just now” he replied to her, keeping ahold of her hand as she stood up and remembered about her shoulder having the hellhound bite in it. Despite the nurses clearly having done a reasonably good good, he was still concerned about it because unlike the nurses, he knew what did it.

“Well I'm gonna look at it anyway, it has bled a bit and I'd feel better if I saw to it myself” he told her calmly, seeing her pause at the front door. Lifting his free hand forward, he opened the door and stepped inside in front of Anna as she followed him in. It was then he looked up and saw Mika leaning back to see them come back inside. “thanks, but I think we might crash downstairs. I can sort the bed out for Anna and I'll just sleep on some blankets” he replied to her. He gave Mika the look to say ‘we both decided on it to play safe’. Mika gave him a nod of understanding and stood up straight again as Sam walked towards the basement door, cranking it open and leading Anna down the steps.

“It's just for a few hours this time, that's all we need to remember” he told her, giving her hand a squeeze of reassurance, leading her into the panic room before he let go of her hand to go sort the bed out for her. He had no plans on cuffing her to it this time, just focusing on making sure she had a pillow and blankets, whilst hoping that being down here It would drown out the sound of Cason's heart just enough to make her relax a bit. It took him a few minutes to do so, but when he was done, he patted the mattress, “alright, let's check that shoulder of yours then you can sleep” he told her as he himself perched on the end of the makeshift bed waiting for her.

[JustAnna]

Dean

Dean shifted as Bobby finished up his last stitch on the outside of the knife wound in Esme’s shoulder. He didn’t figure there was any way he was going to be able to carry Esme anywhere that she would rather sleep than the couch, and with Bobby up for the day…he didn’t need it. Dean turned and carefully laid Esme down, as Bobby stood from the couch and gathered everything to return it to his desk.

“I think she’ll live. She’s just gonna be sore if she doesn’t heal up super fast.” Bobby grumbled, walking over and grabbing his trash can, before walking toward the kitchen. Dean heard him stop in the kitchen and he heard Mika’s voice, not turning at first. Dean sighed, looking down at Esme with concern etched in his eyebrows as she continued to mumble in her sleep. He then turned and looked toward Mika, nodding his head simply at her offer to head to bed. He was beat, and it seemed like they had done everything they could for the time being.

He stood from the couch, just as Anna and Sam stepped through the front door, his eyes going straight to Anna for a fleeting second. He quickly turned his eyes toward the floor, as Anna did the same and simply walked past him with Sam. Dean ruffled his hair and walked over to Mika, instantly reaching out for any sort of skin contact. He brushed the backs of his fingers down the side of her face with a tired but warm smile, “Let’s go to bed. Just me and you, alright?”

Dean dropped his hand to pick Mika’s up, and he tugged, pulling her toward the stairs. He walked up the stairs with her, his footsteps heavy as the tiredness in his muscles began to officially set in, and as he pushed open the familiar door to her room, he pulled her inside and quickly turned to her. Placing both hands on her cheeks, Dean kissed her desperately, as usual pouring all of the stress, anguish, anger, and desperation of the day into the kiss.

Cason

Cason froze as Nat reached her hand up, and began gently brushing her fingers over the wounds on his chest. He didn’t even realize that he had closed his eyes, until she spoke and he took a deep breath, shaking his head. “I had more pressing issues, sweetheart. It’s not that easy to kill a demon.” But that’s not what she was asking. She wanted to know how it happened, or at least what happened. He wasn’t even sure how to start answering the question.

‘Oh! Alastair happened…then your brother.’ Was the first thing that popped into his head, but there was no way he was saying that to her, not here. So, he took his eyes off her for a moment, and stared at the wall behind her head, and then turned his eyes down to pick up her smaller hand in his.

“The short story, I wasn’t going to let them hurt Anna. Not that the demons made it easy for me to defend anyone. They shackled me by the neck…to a wall and then skewered me…” Cason explained simply, shrugging his shoulders. But as she looked in his eyes, he was tempted to explain further. There was that familiar acid burn in the back of his mind, as he scanned her eyes and sighed through his nose, “And I fed Anna…a lot of blood. I was getting out of there one way or another. Things just got really really complicated. But hey…I’m alright. I’m right here.”

He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to Nat’s forehead, before gesturing toward the bath. As she turned to get in the bath, the took the opportunity to finish removing his clothes and boots, walking over and stepping into the bath behind her. He brought his knees up to frame her body, making sure she knew that there was no way she was going under the water, as long as he was with her. She was completely safe.

He frowned as she balled up, wrapping her arms around her legs, but he quickly cupped his hands, gathering some water and began to work on the bloody mess on the back of her head. He said nothing as he worked on things, somewhat glad that the blood seemed to come out easier than he expected. He had to assume it was because the hair had already been wet, just a bit earlier.

“You won’t have to cut your hair…” He murmured, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to Nat’s shoulder as he pulled her wet hair over her other shoulder. As he peppered sweet little kisses along her shoulder, up the side of her neck and finally to the base of her skull, the acid burn in the back of his head grew, and he nearly had to sit back and let it dissipate, due to the pain. “Just relax. You’re safe with me. As long as I’m alive, you’re safe.”

That word was rumbling around amongst the burning sensation in the back of his mind. It was the dirty word that Anna wouldn’t let him say in the barn. It was honestly an emotion he wasn’t sure existed for demons. Their souls had been so twisted and broken that all that existed was a plume of smoke that could possess human bodies. Even this body wasn’t his…not really. He hadn’t had his own body in 200 years. But the word felt like acid in his throat, just as much as the burn hurt the back of his head. He closed his eyes tightly, and pressed his forehead against the back of Natalia’s head and sighed, “I love you…”

Anna

Anna’s lips pulled, as if trying to smile when Sam spoke about the wound to her shoulder so protectively. She should have expected it, but it was still a pleasant surprise to hear such a protective tone from him. He was changing with all of this, and honestly, the change was a bit intoxicating in itself. He looked stronger. He spoke as if he felt stronger. For a fleeting moment, she felt like they might come out of all of this okay…and that Sam really could take down Lilith, if for no other reason than to protect Anna.

She stood back, allowing Sam to take the lead as he stepped into the house and she instantly made eye contact with Dean. They both turned their eyes to the ground, silent submission from them both, which she was grateful for. If she wasn’t avoiding him, she would have thanked him for not trying to reach out for her. She stayed quiet as Sam explained their plan to Mika, and took a deep breath, watching Sam’s hand open that dreaded door to head down to the basement.

Each thump of the stairs made Anna’s face flinch, until they reached the bottom and Sam’s hand squeezed hers a little tighter. She nodded at his words, her feet refusing to move as he first stepped over the threshold of the panic room. The last time she had been in this room, they had shared their first moment together…but she had also gone through the worst pain of her life, chained to the floor like an animal, covered in demon blood, “Right…”

Anna took a tentative step over the threshold, the room suddenly falling into silence. The buzzing stopped, as the iron drowned out all of the noise from upstairs. Anna reached back and flinched heavily as she closed the door behind her, just to be safe. While the iron was quieting the sound of Cason’s heart, it was also causing the demon blood in her veins to almost bubble, tickling beneath her skin. Her skin erupted in goosebumps and she crossed her arms in front of her. She stared at the handcuffs that were attached to the bed. Bobby had told her that he hadn’t sorted anything out in the basement, but that wasn’t completely true. Someone had tipped him off about the demon blood, and he had prepared for her to be locked up…at least that’s how it seemed.

Anna zoned out, the sound of Cason’s screams filling her brain as she began to replay the events of the night before, over and over. Even a few of the thoughts she had created in her mind about Sam’s death, and the state of the rest of the group seeped in. Sam’s voice brought her back to reality and she flinched, nodding her head, and stepping over to the bed. She sat down as if the bed was going to electrocute her, her hands shaking violently until she was finally sitting and let out a sigh.

“You’re not going to leave me here, right?” She asked, without even realizing she was speaking at first. She turned to look up at his eyes, and reached for the hem of her shirt. She couldn’t stand the stickiness of the blood anymore. It was all over the front of her shirt and felt like glue, sticking to her skin. She carefully reached down and lifted her shirt, groaning as the stitches in her shoulder pulled, but she managed to peel it from her skin and toss it aside, glad that she had thought to wear a sports bra for this hunt. Even covered in blood, it made her feel less exposed in this giant room.

“Alright. I guess I’m ready…” She grumbled, turning to give Sam a better look at her shoulder.

[Wolvena]

Esme

After Dean brushed the hair from Esme’s face and tucked it behind her ear, she nuzzled her head against him with a small sigh. Then, the next round of dreams began. First came a memory of when she, Duke, and Dean took on a nest of Vampires. It was only supposed to be four, but it turned out to be more like ten, plus the three people they were keeping as their own personal blood bags. They made a game out of it to keep themselves on their toes and engaged. Whoever killed the least out of the three would have to buy the other two a couple of beers. That night, Duke had the privilege of buying the drinks after the hunt. He wasn’t too happy about it either and accused them both of cheating and working together, which was far from the truth. The next memory was when they got tangled up with a couple of Shifters. After finally tracking them down, the Shifters separated the group. When they met back up, the Shifters had taken the forms of Dean and Duke and tried to confuse her on which were the real ones. After screaming at them to shut up, it wasn’t hard for her to know which were the real Dean and Duke.

She put a bullet in each of the Shifter's heads and let the boys take care of the rest. That day messed with her head for a while. Even though she knew it wasn’t them that she shot, the moment haunted her dreams. She also hoped she would never have to go through something like that again. Esme then found herself in her childhood home, sitting at the dinner table with her parents. She was nine, almost ten. They were talking and laughing, discussing plans for her upcoming birthday. That was until her mother began to act strangely. Her father was concerned, but Esme was scared of how her mother was acting. Her father stood from his chair, rushed to her mother's side, and took her face into his hands. “Evvy? What's wrong?” he asked her, concerned. “I don't know, but something isn't right.” she cried. Her parents began to whisper, causing Esme to become more scared. “Daddy? Is Mama okay?” Esme asked. Her father turned and gave a small smile. “Don’t worry, My Little Wolf. She'll be fine.” her father replied. Esme watched her father look back at her mother, knowing he was lying, but was too young to understand why.

A little later, Esme saw her mother jump and look to the door with terror-filled eyes. “Mama? What’s wrong.” Esme asked in a fearful tone and tear-filled eyes. Her mother said nothing. She continued to stare at the front door, and then suddenly, there was a bang against it, followed by the sound of scratching and growling. Esme jumped out of her chair and ran over to her parents, hugging her father. He wrapped a protective arm around her, staring at the front door. “What is it, Daddy?” she asked, clinging to him. Before he could answer, her mother spoke up. “Wesley, take Esme and run.” she cried. “No! I’m not leaving you with that thing!” he told her. “You have to! She needs you, Wesley. Take her and run! Now!” “Mama, no! You have to come with us!” Esme cried. Evelyn smiled warmly at Esme, tears in her eyes, and rested a hand on her cheek. “It’ll be okay, Esme. Go with your father…. I love you.” she told Esme. I’ll hold it off for as long as I can so you can get out.” Evelyn said, looking at Wesley. “Love you too, Mama.” Esme told her mother as she let go of her father and hugged her tightly.

Wesley pulled Esme away from Evelyn and turned her to face him. “Run to our safe place. I’ll be right behind you. Okay?” he told her. Esme nodded and did as she was told. She ran to her father’s office. Before she crossed the threshold, she heard the door break, followed by deep growls and barking. Then a man's voice asks, ‘Where’s the girl? I want her too.’ Esme could hear her parents telling the man they’d never have her. When Esme reached the secret space in her father’s office, she could hear the fight, her mother screaming, and her father yelling for her mother. Tears streamed down Esme’s cheeks. Instead of doing as she was told, she found one of her father’s guns and ran back to the fight. She pointed the gun at the man standing over her father and shot the man in the back. “Esme! Run!” Wesley yelled at her. But it was too late. The Hellhound knocked her down, causing her to drop the gun, and then bit her just above the ankle, snapping the bone. Esme screamed in pain and looked down at her leg. The Hellhound came into view, as did her mother’s shredded body, causing Esme to scream in terror. Her father had never told her about them.

“Good. You know where to take her.” The man told the Hellhound. Esme was then dragged from the house, calling to her father for help. As she was dragged from the house, she could hear gunshots and screams over her screaming as she was dragged into the woods next to her home. The more she screamed and tried to get away, the more the Hellhound would thrash her about, drag her through something, or run her into things. Esme had been dragged three miles from her home before the Hellhound had had enough of her screaming and struggling. It stopped and turned on her, ready to silence her, even though she was barely conscious and only crying. It was then her father finally caught up with them in his car. Seeing her father's car, Eame tried to pull her battered body away from the Hellhound, but when she heard her father yell over the engine of the car not to move, she stopped. Wesley punched the gas and ran over the Hellhound. Knowing where it was by its breath in the cold night air. Her memory faded with Wesley getting out of the car, finishing off the Hellhound, rushing to her side, holding her close, and whispering that he was there, he had her, and it was over.