JustAnna

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anya

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cason and Duke

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

At the hospital

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

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

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

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

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

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

Cason

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

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

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

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

Anya

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

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

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

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

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

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

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

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

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

Cason

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

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

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

Anya - A bit later as they pulled into the hospital

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

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

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

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna and Dean

Dean cried quietly into Sam’s shoulder as everyone seemed to be preparing to get him cleaned up, around him. He barely even heard them as they spoke, through the roaring in his head as a lot of hard truths sunk in. Dean unwrapped his arms from Sam as he felt him begin to walk after a few moments, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as he tried to help his brother with his own weight. Dean was exhausted, and he was emotionally spent. He honestly felt like he was going to pass out from a mixture of lack of sleep, the fight, and finally getting his emotions out of his system. But he took each step slowly.

Anna stepped back into the bathroom, when she heard Nat and Sam bringing Dean up the stairs. She took an extra towel out of the small linen closet, and quickly wetted it under the bathroom faucet, before stepping back out into the room, just as they walked through the door. As she expected, the second that Sam lowered Dean onto the bed, Dean basically passed out, and Anna sighed sadly, dropping her shoulders.

“Poor guy.” She sighed, turning to look up at Sam as Nat picked up Dean’s hand and Sam asked if she wanted them to stay. Anna shrugged her shoulders, walking to the small dressing chair Bobby kept in the corner of the room, by the window. She picked it up, and turned it where Sam could straddle the back the way that he preferred. She sat it down on the floor and patted the seat, “Then why don’t we all stay for him. Until Duke comes home, I think we should focus on keeping Dean sane and resting…”

Anna didn’t like taking control of situations, especially after what had happened with Dean, but she couldn’t just let him bleed and suffer because she was angry with him. Whether he saw her as family or not, she was his family. Anna unfolded the towel in her hand and she stepped up to the bed, sitting on the edge near Dean’s head. She reached across and began cleaning the blood from his nose, forehead and cheeks. As she wiped the damp towel across his busted eyebrow, he opened his eyes and frowned, “Anna?”

“Shh. Be still. I’m gonna clean you up.” Anna stopped him, shaking her head. Dean scanned her face and his own melted into sadness all over again, but Anna shook her head once again. “Don’t even think about apologizing while you look like this. I want you in your right mind before you bother with groveling.”

Anna smirked softly, brushing the wet rag over the last of the blood near Dean’s ear. She gave his earlobe a slight tug, and shrugged her shoulders, watching as he seemed to almost smile before closing his eyes. Anna brushed the wet towel over his neck, cleaning up the drips of blood that had trickled down, and then reached across, handing the towel to Natalia.

“If you want to clean up his hands, I’m about to start working on his face. He doesn’t need stitches. A few butterflies and an ice pack and he should be alright. But he’s gonna sleep like a rock and be sore tomorrow. I would ask if we should undress him, but he looks like dead weight right now.” Anna explained. She reached her hands down and lifted Dean’s t-shirt up, brushing her fingers over his stomach gently, trying not to wake him as she checked for any sign of bruises or pain. Other than some bruising on his elbows, knuckles and probably his knees, he seemed pretty unharmed. “I think he’ll be alright until he can shower tomorrow.”

Anna opened the first aid kit, and she pulled a hand full of butterfly bandages and some ointment. She then started to work on Dean’s eyebrow, which seemed to be the worst wound.

Cason and Duke

Cason sighed and gritted his teeth so hard he thought they would shatter out of his mouth when Esme instantly uttered the words he was hoping she wouldn’t. Of course she wasn’t going to do anything he was asking of her. It was the way of practically every human he had come in contact with in this dysfunctional little self sacrificing mess of a family. He almost reached his hand up to choke her, but remembered that it wasn’t the way he handled his problems anymore. So, instead, he closed his eyes and let an angry sigh leave his nose as he contemplated his next words to convince her not to run the clock out on Duke, by arguing with Cason.

“Fine. Fine you can…” Cason paused, looking around as he tore his eyes away from Esme’s and attempted to find some way that she could go in with him safely. But the longer he scanned the building, he couldn’t find a single way to guarantee her safety. Her next words took him off guard, and he turned his eyes down to look at her once again, furrowing his brow at the mental image of Nat even getting herself into a situation like the one Duke was in. He didn’t even want to fathom the things he would do to get her out alive, and unfortunately, Esme had found his weak spot, “I would kill every single one of them in five seconds…and I would bring her home.”

He sighed, and glanced around the warehouse once again, pointing to the demons that hadn’t seen or heard them yet, perched around one of the entrances, “I’ll need you to fight your way in. I won’t be able to save you, if I’m trying to pull him out. So, don’t get overwhelmed or knocked down. Take out as many as you can, and meet me inside the door, quietly, in the dark, until I can take care of the rest. Mess this up and you die. I don’t know any other way to explain it to you…”

Without saying another word, Cason disappeared, and he reappeared in the warehouse, directly in front of the head demon. Cason stepped out of the shadows and Duke’s eyes instantly flashed with fear as he recognized him, and began to glance around for Esme. Cason snapped his fingers at Duke, causing his eyes to turn back to his, and Cason simply shook his head, telling Duke that he wasn’t stupid enough to have brought Esme with him…at least inside.

“Cason. I never thought I’d see you with my own two eyes again. Wow.” The demon in front of Duke called to Cason as he stepped into the light with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah. Lilith wants my head on a pike. We can skip the chit chat. I’m here for the Cowboy.” Cason quipped across the room, his voice echoing off the walls, almost as clearly as the laugh that followed.

“See, he came for us. I figure he’s fair game. The Winchesters would understand…and wait a second.” The demon released Duke, stepping forward while pointing the long silver blade in his hand at Cason. Cason didn’t flinch or move, still smirking, “Why would the Winchesters send a demon to pick up their strays? Which one of the hot little pieces are you rolling with, hmm? The blonde one? No. The tall drink of water? See last I saw, she was…”

Duke growled, and the demon chuckled as Cason’s eyes darted to Duke’s teary eyes and Cason shook his head.

“The sister? Oh…oh this is good. This is real good. Two Winchesters bedding down with demons. Won’t Hell just be tickled…” 

“You know. You always did talk too much, Sal. So, why don’t we get this overwith. You and me. I win, Cowboy comes with me. You win? Well, the Winchesters have a couple more bodies to burn.” Cason offered, holding his hands out to his sides. The demon spun the blade around his hand, causing Cason to watch every move of the bright silver. “What do you say old buddy?”

“Deal.” Sal growled, and rushed forward, swinging and missing Cason’s face by centimeters. Without missing a beat, Cason caught his hand, turned the blade with a crack of Sal’s wrist and shoved it through his sternum with a bright light and a scream from Sal’s burning body. Cason’s eyes widened, and he stared at the blade for a few seconds. Another weapon that could kill demons?

Footsteps alerted him that demons were moving in. So, he dropped Sal’s body and turned, slicing two demons throats before they could fully approach him. From across the room, he could hear Duke fighting his own battles, demons being killed. So, he decided to turn and back his way toward Duke. The mission was to get Duke out of here, not to kill every demon in the building. As soon as he and Duke touched, their shoulders bumping together, the demons stopped coming, realizing that they had no weapons to use against Cason and Duke both…who had weapons that could fully kill demons.

“Don’t you smoke out now…C’mon!” Cason screamed at them, but the remaining six demons began tilting their heads back, smoking out of their bodies with a chorus of screams. With a growl, Cason stepped forward, chopping one of their heads off. And then it was quiet as the bodies dropped to the ground around Cason and Duke. 

Cason turned to Duke, expecting him to just come with him, “Let’s go.”

“No!” Duke screamed out of nowhere, turning his exhausted teary eyes up to Cason’s face as he pulled the knife out in front of his body, pointing at Cason’s chest.

“Duke…I promised them I would bring you home, and I will bring you home, one way or another. I don’t want to hurt you.” Cason explained slowly, and Duke simply chuckled. Cason held the blade out in front of himself, and dropped it to the sandy floor at his feet, holding his empty hands up. “I don’t…want to hurt you.”
“Well that’s the mistake right there, ain’t it. I’m DONE losing people. I’m DONE runnin’. And I’m real sick and tired of bein’ saved…” Duke choked out, his voice rising as he spoke and distraught tears falling down his cheeks, over his nose and off the tip of his chin. Cason nodded and kept his hand out toward Duke.

“I know. As a demon, you’re not gonna believe me, but I know. I know that right now, this feels hopeless. You just lost the one person who believed in you, no matter what. She was the one person who never pointed out your faults, she never picked you last, even when it came to Dean. I know…” Cason attempted to explain, stepping forward slowly. He placed that outstretched hand on Duke’s shoulder, and Duke reacted immediately, stabbing the knife into Cason’s stomach with a sob. Duke quickly removed the blade as Cason sparked a few times and stepped back with a gasp, holding the open and sparking wound.

“NO! You don’t get to talk about her!” Duke screamed, rushing Cason. He tackled Cason to the ground and pointed the knife down at Cason’s face, trying to force the tip into his eye socket. Cason grabbed both his hands, resisting as they both growled loudly, Duke’s growls a sob of mixed emotions. Cason almost managed to flip Duke, but in the process, Duke buried the knife deep into Cason’s shoulder, causing Cason to scream, echoing through the warehouse as he sparked, his skeleton showing behind the brilliant gold. Duke removed the blade and held it in his hand, so tight that his knuckles were white.
Duke leaned back, beating at his forehead a couple of times as he growled out a regretful sob and Cason took the opportunity, throwing a heavy punch that landed against Duke’s temple, knocking him almost completely out. Duke slumped over onto the dusty floor, the knife still clutched in his fist as Cason gasped for air, growling between ragged breaths. This felt nice and familiar…

Duke groaned, rolling onto his back as Cason rolled over onto his stomach, standing from the ground as quickly as he could. Now on his feet, Cason stepped away from Duke, trying to put some distance between himself and Ruby’s knife while his wounds began to slowly heal.

“I’m…I’m taking…” He inhaled a breath, barely able to fully breathe in, and then spit some blood onto the floor. “I’m t-taking you home.”

“No…” Duke groaned, slowly rising to his knees and then his feet. He stumbled, but stood on confident feet as he squared up. “Kill me. Let’s go.”

“I’m not going to kill you and I don’t want to hurt you, kid. There’s a girl who is likely about to walk through that door and she would…well…she wouldn’t survive that. I’m done losing people too....”

Duke punched Cason across the face, breaking his nose instantly, which Cason reacted to by punching Duke in the stomach, doubling him up before connecting an uppercut to his chin, knocking him completely back like a tree falling in the forest. But as soon as Duke hit the ground, he rolled onto his stomach, coughed, and began to rise again, causing Cason to sigh and roll his eyes.

“Stay down. I’m not going to kill you, idiot.” Cason groaned, standing over Duke. Duke swiped the knife from the ground as he stood to his shaky legs and turned to swipe it at Cason’s throat. Cason tilted his head back and the blade barely missed but somehow ended up lodged in his thigh, straight to the bone. With a growl, Cason started to reach for the blade, trying to take control, but Duke grabbed it first, twisting and pulling it from Cason’s thigh. Cason reached out, catching Duke’s wrist and snapping it with one flick of his own. Duke cried out, the knife slipping from his hand. Cason caught the knife, and quickly pulled Duke to his chest, jamming the tip of Ruby’s knife into Duke’s chin, small drops of blood pouring down the sides.

“The next round? I’ll break both your legs. You’re human. That arm’s gonna take long enough.” Cason growled in Duke’s ear, his eyes black and his head holding Duke’s still on the tip of the blade. Duke whimpered, trying to pull away, but Cason’s other hand reached around, caging Duke to his body, while putting pressure on his broken wrist. “Stop it!”

“Just k-kill me!” Duke cried out, nudging his own chin against the tip of the blade, but Cason turned the blade, pressing the sharp edge against his throat instead. Cason nudged himself a little closer to Duke’s ear, and softened his voice.

“I’m not going to do that. You have people who love you…still. There are people at that house who are depending on me to bring you home. I know this hurts. I know that everything in your body is screaming at you to run away, to do something stupid. But would your sister want you to tear yourself apart and get yourself killed because she died? We…will kill Lilith.” Cason almost cooed in Duke’s ear, feeling the poor guy nearly melting in his arms from grief. As he felt him relax, he kept the knife in place, but loosened his grip on Duke’s broken arm, “I will stand there with you…side by side if that’s what you want. I will hold her, while you drive this blade through her heart. But I will NOT let you die…here. I will not kill you and I will not let you continue down this path, because they need you. Esme…needs you. As much as you’re angry with your brother, he just lost the love of his life.”

“They don’t need me. They got each other.” Duke whimpered, now nearly limp against Cason’s chest. 

“And they don’t need another loss. None of them. Dean barely made it out of that room by the skin of his teeth. Your sister…she died. Sam fried half his brain killing Alastair and may be hanging on by a thread. Anna is trying to take care of everyone and hold them together. You’re the only one…the ONLY one that managed to come out of this situation fully…human and whole with someone on your side. I’m bringing you back as close to that as I can. I have to, man.” Cason whispered to Duke, and for the first time, Cason heard an emotion come out of Duke that wasn’t just rage screams and growls. He whimpered, and then a sob broke from his chest, deflating him as Cason loosened the hold on his neck. Cason shifted his arm, wrapping his arm around Duke’s neck to hug him to his body, “There you go. Esme?! A little help?!”

“I don’t know what to do…” Duke sobbed, and Cason nodded against the side of his head.

“I know. And that’s where the others come in. Let them…let them help you. Come back with me, and let them help. I got you…” Cason cooed to him, and even though Duke wasn’t entirely sure why, he tilted his head back on Cason’s shoulder and just cried, no more fighting. Cason sighed with relief, and just let him for a few moments before shifting his body to drape one of Duke’s arms over his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist. The poor guy was almost limp with exhaustion and grief. But at least he was going home, and Esme wouldn’t have to burn his body along side of Mika’s…

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

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

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

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

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

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

Cason

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

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

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

Dean

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

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

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

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

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

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

All Roads Lead To You

Duke

Duke frowned playfully as Esme explained that of all people she had managed to get wrapped up in, the man was the owner of the place. He simply settled, noticing how relaxed Esme seemed to feel in his arms, safe and sound, like nothing in the world could harm her as long as he was around. If that’s what she was feeling, she was absolutely right. Unfortunately, or fortunately, he would kill every man in the room if she asked him to…without thinking.

As she thanked him for the offer, Duke shrugged, but he raised his eyebrows behind his mask as Esme kissed his cheek. He was about to quip about ‘impulses and protectiveness’. But his words were a bit lost in the haze of affection that she seemed to be showing, all the tension between them erased, finally. Duke watched her smirk carefully, as he could almost taste the mischief behind it, just as he tightened his grip around her waist, pulling her tight against his chest.

It was then that he confirmed what he thought he had felt earlier in the night. Either she was wearing some very intense shape wear, or Esme…had sticky fingers, like him. Maybe they were more alike than Duke had given her credit. He came out of his thoughts when Esme offered him the opportunity to beat up a couple of random guys that had obviously played the same game as the owner.

“Now see…this is why Dean sendin’ me out to dance with you is dangerous. I would love…nothing more…than to break all of their hands into tiny little pieces. But unfortunately, I’m supposed to be a good boy until Dean is finished upstairs. He said to give him thirty minutes, and then I can show my ass.” Duke chuckled, leaning in close to Esme’s face boldly. He brushed her nose with his, drawing even more glances from the rich folks around them, “And judgin’ by the metal that I can tell is just diggin’ into that pretty little chest of yours, I know why my sticky fingers didn’t bother you a bit. You’re a bandit…like me.”

Duke smiled brightly, tilting Esme back as he took a step forward and dipped her dramatically in the center of the dance floor. He whipped her up just as dramatically, pulling her back to his chest tightly as he turned them both in a circle and a few women began to hover. Duke politely pulled his hand away from Esme’s back, holding it up to turn the women down before they ever asked, “And something about you goin’ around with a bunch of rich folks, stealin’ their goods, drinkin’ up all their liquor? Well, it hits different when we’re both dressed like this.”

Duke chuckled, surprised at his own confidence, without any alcohol. Maybe it was the fact that he could get the entire party in their feelings with the smell of old money oozing off him, and Esme’s mingling. He could almost feel the jealous tension, as the men and women partnered up, the men trying to show him up, and the women glaring at Esme, like she was personally offending them by existing. Honestly, Duke didn’t care about any of them. He had about fifteen minutes to show Esme a good time, before Dean inevitably came back, whisked her away for the night, and Duke became third wheel again.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean and Anya

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

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

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

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

Cason and Anya

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“No!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke walked quickly to his truck. As he patted his jeans pocket, he realized that his keys weren’t in his pocket and thinking about it, he wasn’t honestly sure where they were. He didn’t have time to go searching Esme’s things trying to find them. He had to go. He had to go right then or he risked hurting even more people in the house. He wasn’t safe to be around. The only thing he could think about was revenge…and hate…and pain.

To his relief, when he reached the truck, the door was unlocked. He pulled the door open, and quickly reached below the steering wheel, pulling the panel open. He reached into his pocket, pulling his pocket knife, and stripped the wires to the starter, touching them together. They sparked, and Duke reached in with his hand, pressing down on the gas pedal to bring the truck to life. He carefully let off the gas, and he used the knife to press the metal of the wires against the steering column, crimping them together so the truck would stay running. After that, he tossed Ruby’s knife across the seat and climbed into the truck, putting it in gear as quick as he could, before peeling out of the parking spot.

Unfortunately, he heard Esme screaming at him, as he drove off, but he didn’t slow down. Even if she wanted him around, out of habit, she would never forgive him for hitting her, for hurting Dean or for showing that level of rage. It wasn’t him, and he knew it, but there was no way he could explain that to Esme…not now. He passed through the ‘Singer Salvage’ sign and out onto the road, not entirely sure where he was planning to go.

Duke reached across as he drove, and he pulled one of his cellphones from the glove box, flipping it open and speed dialing a number. The person on the other line picked up relatively quick, as Duke glanced up at himself in the rearview mirror and sniffled, “Hey Raina. That thing you said Chase couldn’t handle a few days ago with the demons…”

The person on the other line spoke for a second and Duke nodded his head at no one, tightening his grip on the steering wheel as he tightened his jaw.

“Yeah. I know I said I had bigger issues. But some time just opened up and I need that address for tonight. Call it a sudden urge to work.” Duke explained and the woman continued asking him questions, which was making his blood boil the more he had to explain himself. “No. No the Winchesters won’t be with me. I got this though. Text me the address.”

Duke hung up the phone, not willing to answer anymore questions. After a few moments, his phone chimed, and he read the message, knowing the exact location. He wasn’t sure he was in the shape to fight anyone, with his injuries and how tired he was, but he was sure going to try. Blaze of glory or not, he had to kill something…

————

A bit later in a warehouse just south of Sioux Falls

Duke slit the throat of a female demon, dropping her to the ground with disregard before turning in a squat toward a male that was patiently circling him, stalling for backup. Duke knew what they were doing. He had already killed five of them. There was no telling how many were coming from there. His eyes were dilated, his face a constant bloody snarl and his hand held Ruby’s knife as if it was his life blood as he stared down the demon.

“I’m finishin’ this…right here. I want Lilith.” Duke growled and the demon laughed, his head fully thrown back in a cackle, before turning to a giggling pout.

“You’re so adorable. What you want is Alastair. I can smell it. But unfortunately for you, the blood junkie with the mutton chops finished him off before you could get to him. Shame about your sister, really…she was…special.” The demon sneered at Duke, as Duke gripped the knife tighter, his blood boiling at the fact that a demon would even dare to bring Mika up, after what they did to her. 

“Shut your mouth and tell me how to get to Lilith.”

“One hot piece of ass dies, and suddenly, the Winchesters send their little…blonde…ticking time bomb to kill Lilith? And while he’s half broken. Wow. Escalation. What good is it going to do your sweet little soul to kill her? She’s not…”

“She’ll do!” Duke screamed suddenly, holding the knife out in front of him as the demon took a step forward. 

“And you’ll feel nothing. Just like right now. You have gallons…GALLONS of demon blood all over your hands, washed in it like holy water, and you feel…nothing. But you’re about to feel a lot…of pain.” 

As the demon finished his words, the panels that covered the roof of the warehouse began to flutter in the wind, the lights flickering and buzzing above their heads. Then, the doors on all sides burst open, and demons poured in. There were close to a dozen of them, if Duke was counting right. He was screwed…

“Alright. Well come on! I know which direction I’m goin’…so I’m gonna send as many of you black eyed sons of bitches to Hell as I can on my way upstairs.” Duke called out to them. They didn’t move, just standing there, which caused Duke to tilt his head to the side, confused. 

“Who are you to the Winchesters?” A male demon asked, stepping forward through a small crowd of demons, his head tilted as he pointed a knife Duke had never seen before at him. It was long and silver, almost like a bright little sword. “Oh, you’re wondering about this? Angel squabble. They’re being picked off…apparently by their own. And when they drop? So do these little guys. Can kill almost anything. I’ll ask again, who are you to the Winchesters?”

“Dead weight. A liability. Thorn in the side. I ain’t nothin’ to them they can’t lose.” Duke shrugged, his voice hoarse and tired as he stared the demon down casually. 

“You came here…hurt. Your face is busted, your hands are bruised and if I can hear that right, you have a cracked rib. This is a suicide mission for you.”

“There are worse ways to go out, I guess. At least I know where I’m goin’…Already been there. Already done that. Look, if you think takin’ me or killin’ me is gonna drive you right into the arms of the Winchesters, I got bad news for you. If you haven’t noticed…they ain’t here. They didn’t come after me.” Duke slurred, his eyes fixed on the silver blade that was twirling around in the man’s hand.

“It almost grosses me out to have to kill you.” The demon spoke up, his nose snarled at Duke’s lack of care for his own wellbeing. “Wait a second…I recognize that accent. You’re…Dean Winchester’s little blonde friend. What’s the name again? Hatfield.”

“Let me guess…just spitballin’. You a McCoy? Is that what the beef is here? It’s been like 200 years. Get over it already.” Duke smirked and the demon chuckled lightly, taking a step forward. Duke took one step back, stepping into the chest of a much larger demon, who wrapped his arms around Duke’s body, stomping his foot against the back of Duke’s left knee and dropping him hard onto his knees on the floor.

Cason

Cason felt Sam at his side as Sam began to pull Dean away from Duke, before Duke ever left. Cason took a step back, holding a hand out to try and stop Esme from running after Duke. There was no way she could stop him if she tried, and even if Cason could pop into the truck and do his best to stop him from running off, Duke was upset and he had a knife that could kill Cason with one good swing. After a few moments, Cason did turn around to look at Nat, his head tilting with sympathy at how terrified she seemed.

He didn’t have much of a chance to run over to her, or to check on her, when Esme came back. His head snapped to her as she called his name, scanning her face and his own face flooding with sympathy as she explained that though they didn’t have the most sound history, she was asking him for a favor. He had already decided to go after Duke before Esme ever asked him. He nodded his head and held up a hand, telling her to stop with her offers, as she said she owed him.

As Nat agreed with Esme from behind him, Cason took a deep breath, “I’ll bring him back, and then we’ll decide who owes who, alright? What I need from you, is permission to bring him back by any means necessary. He doesn’t like me. I can’t guarantee he’s going to come willingly.”

He turned, as he waited for the go ahead from Esme, walking over to Nat with a sad look on his face, “And I’ll be back. Alright? I’m gonna come back for Esme. She can come to back me up with him. I’ll be back.”

Cason leaned in and kissed Nat deeply, wiping her tears with his thumbs, before pulling back and pressing his forehead to hers, scanning her eyes with a look that he knew she would read as ‘I’ll take care of you’. Then he stepped back and he disappeared, reappearing outside of a train yard at first. He listened, his head buzzing with sounds from his contacts as he placed the order out for them to ask around, or drop into a few places. Within seconds, several of them said the same place, described Duke and used the name ‘Hatfield’.

“There you are…” Cason smiled, before disappearing and reappearing just outside the warehouse where Duke was losing his hand, and it felt as if he was going to lose it rapidly, and bloody…and willingly. Cason sighed, before disappearing once again and reappearing in Bobby’s living room, wrapping his arm around Esme without a word. They both landed in the parking lot of the warehouse, and Cason quickly pulled Esme into a shadow, pressing her back against the side of the building.

“No matter what you hear…not matter what you’re feeling, you stay here. I will call your name when it’s safe. But right now? I have to go and kill my way in. I’m gonna have to try and convince him to come with me. I might need help with that. But there are a dozen demons around him, right now. You can’t go with me.” Cason explained calmly, but his eyes were serious and worried. “He found himself a nest and he’s going to lose unless I go get him.”

Dean

Dean groaned as Sam’s arms wrapped around his body, realizing that it was over, but also, Sam was there. He had issues besting Sam on his best day, but in the shape he was in, he had to just submit to being pulled across the floor by his baby brother. Being pulled to his feet made his entire body feel like lead, as he stumbled against Sam and took a deep breath, rocking on his feet. He grabbed Sam’s shirt tightly in his fist, using his brother’s larger frame to hold him up.

But Sam just echoed Duke’s words. Sam was right, and in some small part of Dean’s brain, he wanted to argue with him, and tell him not to talk about Mika as if she had a choice. But that would likely start another fight that he couldn’t win. He turned his eyes up to look at Sam’s, seeing how large and teary they were. His own swollen eyes softened, and the tears bubbled up, as he couldn’t really say anything.

Unfortunately, Sam and Duke were right…

Dean leaned in, exhausted and emotionally devastated and he nodded, before leaning his face on Sam’s shoulder, all of the emotion from the past few days crashing down around him in what felt like his first tears since Mika died. She was gone. There was nothing he could do to bring her back. He was holding onto her too tight, and it wasn’t right. This whole thing wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair, but he was being selfish. Dean broke, his quiet sobs shaking his shoulders as he wrapped an arm around Sam and he clutched the back of his shirt for dear life, finally allowing himself to mourn.

“Should I um…should I get a bed ready for him?” Anna asked, her own voice quivering with sadness as she watched Dean just release all of his emotions on Sam, now that they were touching. Anna whisked a tear away from her cheek, and she didn’t wait for Sam to answer her, simply turning to walk up the stairs, “When he calms down, bring him up. I’ll patch him up. Bring an ice pack.”

Once in Mika’s room, Anna looked around, trying to avoid reminders of Mika. She removed a few of Mika’s things from view, placing them in the closet so that Dean wouldn’t have to simply stare at them. She then walked to the bathroom, and rummaged around until she found a large first aid kit. She grabbed it, and a couple of towels, tossing them on the bed.

All Roads Lead To You

Dean and Duke

Dean gave another apologetic look to Esme as she turned her eyes back to him. He didn’t want to even bother with the job at this point, and with her in that dress, but he didn’t have a choice. They couldn’t come out of the party empty handed, or Bobby would kill them for damaging his reputation. Dean nodded, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

He then turned and jogged up the stairs, trying to catch up with Duke. Duke met him at the top, scanning the hallway for the door the ex-wife had instructed him to find. His eyes fell on the double doors at the end of the hallway and he smiled brightly, turning to Dean.

“It’s that one.” He beamed, pointing to it.

“And how do you know that they’ll just…let us in?” Dean asked, genuinely curious. Duke looked around them in the hallway, and he shrugged his shoulders. Other than a few people mingling around them, most of the rooms seemed pretty unguarded. It was as if the owners didn’t figure anyone would be stupid enough to mess with anything inside, alarmed and ready to scream to the masses.

“I don’t see nobody tryin’ to stop us, do you? Look like you own the place. We don’t have faces.” Duke tapped his finger on Dean’s mask, before stepping away from him. He dug in his pocket and pulled his lock picking kit, quickly assembling his pick as he approached the door. It didn’t take long for him to figure out what needed to be done, and with a small press and a click, Duke was in. Dean scanned the hallway, blocking anyone’s view from Duke breaking in, and as Duke pushed the door open a bit, Dean slipped in and Duke followed quickly behind him. Duke closed the door quietly behind them, and he turned, smiling brightly with his tongue between his teeth at the sight of the giant leather couch in the center of the room, “She wasn’t lyin’ about the couch!”

Dean rolled his eyes, as he scanned the room for the necklace case, “Can you focus for ten seconds. Ten seconds is all I need your brain for.”

“Hey! Don’t you go innocent on me just because you have a girlfriend. Back in the day, you would have been just as excited about that couch, and a hot billionaire ready to use and abuse you on it!” Duke defended himself, stepping away from the door. He walked straight to the shelf that held what looked like the most expensive artifacts in the room. Just as he suspected, there was a pedestal to its right, and inside the glass case on top? The necklace.

Dean tilted his head with his lips pressed together at Duke’s teasing. Duke wasn’t…completely wrong. The thought of being settled down honestly felt weird to Dean but he had to shake himself from any dirty thoughts and they had work to do. Duke was already working, scanning up the sides of the pedestal as Dean walked over to him.

“So, do we have what we need to break it open?” Dean asked, as Duke carefully pulled one of his other tools from the inner pocket of his jacket. Duke didn’t say anything at first, as he found the edge of the alarm system door. He popped it open with his multitool, and studied the wires inside for a moment. He glanced up at the glass and then back at the wires, following them with his eyes like he was studying an invisible manual. Then he looked up at Dean and nodded.

“You remember how to track wires?” Duke asked, and Dean rolled his eyes with a huff, “I’m just makin’ sure before I hand you tools. I don’t need this thing screamin’ out like a fire alarm. I’ll do it myself, if you can’t.”

Dean mocked Duke comically as he reached down and snatched the tool from his hand and waved him off, “I can cut the right wire. What you need to do is to get downstairs and make sure that Esme’s not been whisked away by some billionaire playboy.”

“Is someone worried?” Duke teased him, although Duke could feel the unease rumbling up in his own stomach at the idea of some billionaire ‘untouchable’ type groping and dragging Esme around the room. Dean growled and rolled his eyes again, causing Duke to raise his hands, cutting him off before he could rant. “Fine. I’ll go down there. I’ll get her a drink and I’ll mingle. But don’t take all night, alright? Make it less than twenty.”

“Thirty.” Dean grumbled as he he lifted one of the wires to get started.

“Fine, thirty.” Duke conceded, before turning and walking to the door. He turned the handle, turning the lock on his way out, and then closed the door behind him as he casually walked down the hall and back down the stairs. He straightened his mask beneath his hat and began weaving himself through the crowd, looking for Esme’s unique dress color amongst all the black and maroon dresses.

His eyes landed on her after a moment, and he searched for her eyes, cringing a bit at the way the man’s hands were traveling over her body. When he finally found her eyes, he locked his gaze onto her and did his best to project something along the lines of ‘hold on, I’m coming’ back at her desperate gaze. He quickly shoved and pushed his way through the crowded room, keeping his eyes on Esme the entire time. The man seemed to be dragging her all over the place, and after a moment, her back was to Duke, which only caused him to speed up his walk. As he reached them, he leaned in close, and wrapped his arm around Esme’s waist, placing his hand on her stomach with a soft smile, “There you are…C’mon. I don’t think this guy would mind if I cut in. I’ve been watchin’ you all night.”

He tugged and pulled her against his chest, stepping back from the man with a tip of his hat. The man seemed to want to protest, but Duke simply turned Esme, wrapping his other arm around her to pull her chest to chest. He shaded her face with his hat and walked her toward the center of the room, as far away from the jackass that was groping her as he possibly could.

“You alright?” He asked sweetly, glancing up at the guy with a look that said that he was having a hard time not defending Esme with more than just a rescue mission. “You need me to break him? Like…one or more bones? I’d be happy to.”

As he asked the question, he pushed her out, stretching his arm all the way, before spinning her back into his chest, her back pressed against him for a moment as he leaned his head down and whispered in her ear, “I can make it real discreet. Real quiet. Everyone will think he just had too much to drink.”

He could tell that eyes were on them from the moment he pulled her to his chest. A few of the women were whispering to one another, and even though he didn’t let his eyes wander, much, he did catch a glimpse of the woman he was supposed to be taking home. She glared and huffed with a whine, slapping her bodyguard on the chest as she told him she wanted to leave. Duke didn’t honestly care, because for the first time, he had Esme in his arms. They were in a place where he could show her the attraction he felt, openly, and it could be disguised behind ‘just dancing’.