JustAnna

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean’s stomach tightened painfully when Sam brought up Mika, while arguing that he was a little more attached to Lexi than he gave himself credit for. He was right that Mika would likely be bothered by his words, and by his inability to accept other humans giving him any sort of support or feelings. Mika was possessive and jealous, but she was very much the ‘everyone deserves to be happy type’ and would most likely beat his ass for denying his feelings for Lexi, no matter how new they were, and how short of a time he had known her.

He sighed, and looked down at the table, spinning his coffee mug in his hand. Sam was right. Dean was having some trouble being around Lexi without feeling tense, as if his heart was waiting to meet her, and let out some of his emotion, to make room for her. He needed to at least be willing to accept her attraction to him, at her pace.

“And what do I do? I mean, I don’t have any plans to just jump back into life, or anything. It’s not like she’s going to be around here forever. So, it’s a moot point.”, he muttered, shaking his head. He took a final drink of his coffee, and sat the mug down.

“But I’m not going to push her away, either. I just don’t want to give her the wrong idea. If you’re right and she likes me, or whatever, pretending that I have anything to give, after what happened would be cruel. So, I’ll just…figure it out as I go…”, he finished, just before Lexi came back into the room. Dean flinched at the sound of her voice, and he turned his eyes to her with a small smile, “Hopefully we got the most horrible food in the kitchen. I like junk food with my movies.”

He smirked and turned his eyes to Sam briefly, before sighing lightly and chewing at his lip as he turned back to Lexi, “What do you want to watch? I’ll compromise, since you’re the hurt one, this time.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean Winchester

Dean raised his eyebrows as he and Mika stepped out onto the sidewalk, and she shamelessly made her comment about testing the bed…again. He reached his hand back and scratched his neck, still contemplating just going back into the motel room, but then he dropped his hand to his side and flexed his hand, “I guess there is a definite incentive to finding this thing and stopping it quick, then. You know…we have science to do.”

He chuckled nervously, not having been able to enjoy this side of Mika for a while, even before going to Hell. Now, being topside, he was definitely taking advantage, considering how close they had come to destruction, the night before. He shuddered at those recent memories and walked with her to the Impala.

As he stepped up near the car, he unlocked the passenger side first, opening the door for her. He stepped back to let her get inside and bit down on his lip as she teased him with the way she sat down. He stayed motionless, until she pulled the door shut and then shook himself from his thoughts, forcing himself to step away, after slapping the window. She was making it extremely hard to leave.

As he opened the drivers door and sat down, he turned his gaze to her and raised his eyebrows, “Are you trying to get me to skip this whole mission? Because I’m about one second from skipping this whole mission.”

He kept his eyebrows raised, even though he was highly amused and excited by her sudden change of attitude, and brought the Impala roaring to life with the turn of his key. He put the car in drive and pulled it away from their parking space, adjusting awkwardly in the seat as he drove, and forced himself to keep his eyes pointed forward.

Annabeth

Annabeth gave a small wave to Mika and Dean as they stepped out of their room and over to Nat’s. She listened carefully to the rhythm that Sam knocked with, planting it into the back of her memory for future reference, as she was sure that if she and Nat kept on the friendly route, she would spend enough time in her room to need it. She nodded at Sam with a smile, “I think I got it.”

As Nat answered the door and instantly noticed Anna’s outfit, she couldn’t help but turn to the side a bit and lift her foot off the ground to show off her legs in the dress. She smiled brightly, and shook her head at Nat, “You look great. I feel naked.”

When Nat explained the situation at the school, Anna raised her eyebrows. Someone had drowned bobbing for apples? It was like this thing was trying to rack up a body count, but do so in the most extravagant and themed way possible. She looked up at Sam and nudged his arm, “So, I guess we’re not eating any Halloween candy today, yeah? Might be cursed. I can talk to some students. Considering my outfit, I have a feeling they won’t mind chatting.”

She shrugged her shoulders, teasing Sam and playing on the way her legs looked in the dress as she carefully opened the door and stepped into the back seat. Pulling at the hem of her dress, she remembered to close her legs in the sexy little dress, and wrapped her arms around her knees, “And next time Nat can have the sexy outfit…”

Duke

Duke half shrugged as as Esme shifted against his chest, and accused him of being nervous. He knew he couldn’t hide how fast his heart was beating, considering she was touching his chest, and his heart beat was almost visible as it hammered behind his skin, “Could be the fact that I have to be in here with you, but being naked is like…a whole other ball game for us.”

He chuckled, glancing down at her hand against his chest, before raising his eyes back to hers. He took a deep breath, and softened his gaze as he stared down at her, his signature smile wanting to stay on his face, hovering in the corners of his eyes and his mouth, “Considerin’ you know how I feel about you, and you’re all beat up and stuff…it’s just a stressful situation.”

Duke smiled brightly, rolling his eyes at Esme not only telling him to breathe, but reminding him of his old favorite expression of concern to Dean about not popping blood vessels in his eyes, which he seemed to do so often, mostly when he was angry with Duke or Esme. His smile faded slightly as Esme’s projection started. He had never experienced such a quick chill pill, than the one he was experiencing right then. His heart rate instantly stuttered, before slowing, beat by beat, and the timid shakiness in his fingers began to calm.

He glanced down at her hand, and furrowed his brow, slowly tilting his head to look at her eyes, “Did you do that on purpose? Cause your fingers just hit me harder than a Xanax ever did, and it honestly made me wanna snuggle you even harder, instead of runnin’ back to my jeans.”

Duke laughed, not afraid of the sensation at all, but a little skeptical as his wide smile slowly faded, and he ran his free hand through his hair, wetting it down a bit in the process, “But seriously, I always knew you were different from…well, everyone. But how did you do that? I ain’t runnin’ nowhere. It’s just a question.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean didn’t like Sam’s dismissal but he was still glad that his brother felt well enough to be alone. He really had to learn, all over again, Sam’s pain thresholds again, and what injuries he needed to worry about versus which ones Sam just slept off. It had been a while since he had really noticed Sam’s scrapes and bruises, unless Sam needed him to stitch him up or fix an injury that required an extra set of hands. He smirked and muttered, “Well that’s your loss…”

As Sam answered his question about the grilling that Dean knew he wanted to do so badly, Dean narrowed his eyes, both glad that he could read his brother’s faces so well, but also nervous, because he and Sam hadn’t talked much in the past several months. So, there was no telling what he wanted to ask. Dean started to protest Sam’s wanting to wait until the next morning, when Lexi spoke up.

“You don’t have to step…”, Dean protested to Lexi instead, reaching his hand out to her as she stepped around the table toward the kitchen. He sighed, not honestly wanting to be alone with Sam, if he was getting ready to ask any sort of awkward question. As she left the room, he followed her footsteps silently with his ears, and turned his eyes back to Sam with a sigh, “So…”

As Sam’s eyes turned back to his, Dean sighed at his words, and he nodded, turning his coffee cup in a circle with his fingers, “She’s pretty fun to be around. Reminds me of…happier times, I guess. But smitten? I don’t get smitten. I don’t date. I just…exist. But I will say I don’t mind her company.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean raised an eyebrow at Lexi’s description of her typical dangerous brand of concussion. He would probably be even more paranoid if she looked that way, if he was honest. He wouldn’t even want her to touch anything soft, in case she passed out and didn’t wake up. He sighed, and shook his head with a small smile, “Well, let’s not go down that road. I said it was just a small concussion. So, a little beer and some RNR and you should be fine…but you’re a guest and I don’t want to take any chances, despite my brother being a good nurse.”

He laughed a bit, and watched her face as she agreed to watch a movie with him. His laugh faded and he tapped his fingers on the table in front of him as Sam stepped back into the room, and Dean’s gaze only left Lexi’s face when Sam began passing out drinks. He picked up the coffee pot and poured himself his first cup of coffee, turning his eyes to Sam.

“So, I think we’re gonna be up a while. I’m gonna try and pick a movie that won’t bore Lexi to death faster than her concussion kills her. You gonna be okay? There’s only so much room in my bed.”, he explained to Sam with a cock of his eyebrow and a snigger as he took a drink of his coffee, “Unless you want a floor pallet. I’m sure we can work something out…”

He turned his eyes back to Lexi with a teasing smirk, and held his cup close to his mouth, before taking a drink, amused with himself. Now that they both seemed okay, he could relax, even if Mika was still haunting the back of his mind, after the situation before Sam and Lexi came back home. He shuddered, pushing the thought aside and sat back in his chair, relaxing for a moment while they all sat around.

“And why do I have a feeling you’re dying to talk to me about something?”, he asked, turning his eyes back to Sam’s face.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean Winchester

Dean smirked, his smirk turning into a wide smile at Mika’s words. He was flattered, and yet somehow the words still amused the hell out of him. He caught her lips as she pecked his, “Well, I’m glad we’re on the same page. But if you keep up all of this flirting I’m going to have to buy more of these suits. You know…for science.”

He laughed, and pecked her lips back again, pulling away from her reluctantly. He let a small groan leave his throat in agony with having to go on this hunt. As much as he wanted to keep the seal safe, and obviously keep the world from ending in a giant blaze, he still hated that they couldn’t catch up and just enjoy each other’s company, after everything they had all been through. Hopefully the angels would back off for a bit, just to let them breathe. They were angels. Surely they could handle it for a day or two.

“Yeah. Let’s go, before we get too distracted.”, he muttered, pulling her with him. He grabbed his keys off the table and opened the door, stepping back out onto the sidewalk to leave for the interrogation.

Annabeth

Anna sighed biting her lip as Sam’s fingers zipped her dress, her stomach erupting in butterflies at the action, matching his. His casual demeanor however made her feel even more comfortable in the dress, as she at least didn’t seem to distract him too much, from her point of view.

At his comment about her height, she raised her eyebrows and turned to face him with an amused but surprised smile, “Well I’m sorry we aren’t all Sasquatches, sir.”, she teased him, slapping the back of her hand against his chest playfully. She stepped back over to her bag as he went to fetch his jacket and pulled her own fake ID that Dean had given her as a gift. She opened it, staring at it with a smirk, before tucking it into the bra of her dress carefully.

“I got mine. Let’s go get Nat. And make sure you tell her how pretty she is.”, she said with a small giggle, stepping up to him. She stood tall on her heels, rocking them forward to stand more on her tiptoes than she already was, and she pressed a quick kiss to his lips, before lacing her fingers with his and pulling him toward the door.

Duke

Duke helped Esme into the bath, careful to hold onto her hands until she felt it safe to let go of him and she sank into the water. He took a deep breath, and knelt to his knees beside the tub, picking up a clean cloth that he had draped over the side. Her thanks didn’t go amiss, as a smile broke across his face at her nickname for him, “You know it’s not a problem. I’m just glad I was in the area. It wasn’t lookin’ good for either of you, honestly…”

He frowned at the thought of not getting to her fast enough, and sat a bit taller on his knees to try and reach her shoulder across the tub. After a few moments, he sighed in frustration and stood from the tub, “I’ll be right back.”

He stood and stepped closer to the bathroom door, toeing off both his boots and unbuckling his belt. After opening his jeans, he stripped them off along with his boxers and shook his shoulders out, as nerves bubbled up in his stomach. He didn’t want to scare her, or make her uncomfortable, as they had never been naked around each other, within reach. It had always been a joke, or an accident that ended very quickly with a quick cover up, and a laugh.

Huffing, and bringing himself back to the fact that Esme needed his help, he stepped closer to the bathtub, and placed a hand on her upper back, “Lean up, babydoll. I’ll help you wash your back.”

Leaning her forward, he carefully stepped into the giant bathtub behind her, and lowered himself into the water, placing a leg on either side of her to help her be more comfortable, even if it was less intimate to keep his legs curled up against her back. He sighed, and pulled her back against his chest, reaching his hand out to grab the cloth again, “That’s better. Just relax.”

He gathered water in the cloth, and squeezed it out over her hair, pulling her head back against his shoulder, as his heart hammered against her back with his nervousness, “You know, under better circumstances, the old me would be a little too excited about this.”, he chuckled with a wide smile, pulling her wet hair back and reaching for a bottle of shampoo. He poured a bit of the shampoo onto the top of her head, and leaned her forward, just enough to massage the shampoo into her scalp. He kept his smile as he massaged her scalp, and chuckled again, “But all things considered, I’m a calm and respectful gentleman now.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean kept his gaze, smiling a bit wider when Lexi met his smile, after asking about Sam’s wellbeing. It was hard not to notice that they seemed on the same page, or maybe it was her concussion. Either way, her eyes were warm and she seemed to appreciate his efforts to make sure she was okay. He didn’t even notice Sam looking at him, mulling over the way he looked at Lexi.

He tore his eyes away from her for a moment, to look at Sam, “I want you to keep an eye on your own head, stubborn ass. You need anything, you don’t hesitate to come get me. I’m not doing anything, anyway.”

As Sam stood up, and asked if they wanted anything from the kitchen, Dean sighed and crossed his arms, glancing between Sam and Lexi. Maybe he was rusty, but he felt like they both needed to be watched over. He hadn’t seen injuries come into the bunker in a while. Then again, he hadn’t been out of his room enough to check Sam over in a while. He turned his head toward Sam as he stepped toward the kitchen, “Yeah. I’ll take a cup of coffee. Or rather a pot of coffee. I’m gonna be up a while.”

He gave his brother a look, confirming that he was going to stay awake to listen for Lexi, just in case her head was worse off than he thought. He planned to just hang out at his desk and watch some bad tv after she turned in, or maybe he would go and sort through the vault down from his room, so he could be closer to her room, and could hear her better.

“You sure you’re good?”, he asked Lexi, turning his eyes back to stare at her with a serious look. He tapped his fingers on the table, and raised his eyebrows, his gaze a bit intense as he scanned her face, “I don’t know your tolerance to this sort of thing, but if you want, you’re welcome to come watch a movie or something, until you ride out this six hours.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean Winchester

Dean narrowed his eyes and he shook his head as Mika teased him about the way he treated her when she was wearing her suit. It was his thing. It was a weakness. He pulled on his dress pants, and buttoned them, raising his chin to look down at her with his eyebrows raised. He pulled his t-shirt over his head, tucking it into his pants before picking up his crisp white dress shirt and slipping his arms into it, “It IS your fault that you move your hips more when you’re in that suit. It’s criminal.”

He shook his head again, buttoning his shirt as he watched her slip her heels on, “Criminal…”

A smile creeped up on Dean’s face as he stepped back from the bed to grab his jacket and tie from the top of the dresser. He pulled his arms through his sleeves, and began tying his tie as she looked at her phone. He shrugged his shoulders, “Since you’re so good at being sweet to people who are down and out, and I won’t have Sam’s puppy eyes, I’ll leave you to the wife. I can rummage through the house and see what I can find.”

He awkwardly tied his tie, and tightened it around his neck with a grimace, folding his collar down and stepping up to her. He placed both hands on her hips and pulled himself close to her face, already having trouble concentrating, “Criminal, I’m tellin’ ya.”, he chuckled, kissing the tip of her nose.

Annabeth

Anna blushed as Sam paid her a compliment, still getting used to just having him so close at all times. She had thought she would never see him again, and suddenly, he was with her pretty much all the time, and being so sweet. She smirked, shaking herself from her thoughts as she finished undressing.

She picked up the dress and stepped carefully into it, wiggling her hips to pull it onto her body fully, and then reached back for the zipper, “I might actually need help with this, when you’re finished with your pants. I don’t know of I can zip it myself.”

She laughed and turned partially toward him, trying to keep her eyes on his face as he dressed himself. She held the dress around her chest to walk over to her bag and pull a pair of tall black heels that she was sure would make her long legs look infinite, which she had to admit was a plus to this whole thing. Dropping the heels on the floor, she carefully stepped into them, raising her height by several inches.

Backing up toward the bed, she stood in front of Sam, patiently waiting for him to finish getting dressed so he could help her with her zipper, and action that she knew would make them both blush, as they continued getting comfortable around each other, despite the moment they had in the vault.

“These heels are tall tall. I might actually stand at your shoulders, now.”, she teased, glancing down at her feet at the sexy black heels.

Duke

Duke ran water in a large tub in the bathroom after stitching Esme up, and as he bent over the tub to check the temperature of the water, he heard her voice from the room and his ears perked up to listen to what she was saying. He smirked, hearing her mention Salado. Even though there were definitely drugs involved, and the night could have gone way far south, he found her the most adorable when she was left with him alone, and had to fight her hands.

“I definitely remember you being messed up on somethin’, and Dean left you with me so he could go get more waters. You were a mess. You were fightin’ and angry, and then you got lovey dovey and called me by the wrong name. It took every bit of effort to peel you off me like an octopus. I’m convinced someone slipped you somethin’. You were strong!”, he teased back through the door, before stepping into the room. He was still shirtless, and his newer muscles rippled as he shook his arms out, before walking to stand in front of her.

He carefully reached our and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to stand tight against his chest as he stared down at her, “And I remember giving you a bath, and Dean showin’ up all confused but once he saw you asleep in the tub, he forgave me for that.”

Duke laughed, walking backward slowly and pulling her with him by her waist. As they stepped over the threshold of the bathroom, he lowered his hands carefully to her hips, as if he was afraid he was crossing a boundary. Nervously hooking his fingers in the sides of her underwear, he pulled them down her legs, until they dropped onto the floor and he held onto her again, letting her step out of them.

“Sorry, love. I know this is personal. Just tryin’ to keep you from bashin’ your skull on any porcelain.”, he apologized, reaching a hand up to flick her bra open with his fingers. He lifted the straps to keep them from brushing her stitches on her shoulder, and tossed it on the floor with a nervous smile, “Now. Bath time. Your face already looks better, just from a little swelling gel. You still heal just as fast as you used to.”

He released her waist, and brushed his fingertips over her swollen, but much less angry cheek, actually able to see her eye relatively clearly now. He then shook himself from his stare, and he took both her hands, “C’mon. I’ll help. Just get in and relax.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean Winchester

Dean nodded his head as Mika explained what was likely an obvious answer to their little mission. They needed to speak to the wife, but they needed to see what they could find in the house. Maybe the guy was just hit up by some sort of demon, trying to get their grips on the town and protect the seal. Even if that was the case, the wife might have seen or smelled something.

He shook himself from his thoughts as Mika mentioned getting dressed, and made a comment about the bed. He smirked and hilted his head to the side, “Meh. We deserved it after all the crap we’ve dealt with, and I just got back from Hell. I think I earned it.”

Dean chuckled, standing with a wide stretch of his arms above his head. He shook his arms, shaking off the rest of the stress in his shoulders. Esme would be fine with Duke, and they had work to do. He couldn’t let his need to save everyone and keep everyone around him safe get the best of him, and cause him to screw up the hunt, with Mika.

As she squeezed his shoulder and went to get dressed, he stepped over to his own bag, pulling his new dress shirt and the pieces of his suit out to toss them on the bed next to Mika, “You’re going to kill me today, with that suit, aren’t you.? Of course you are.”, he laughed and shoved his jeans down to start getting dressed.

Annabeth

Annabeth kept her smirked and she nodded as Sam reacted to her teasing, but she stood and walked around in front of him, ruffling the hair on the top of his head after he spoke about getting dressed, and what Nat’s reaction would likely be. She laughed, “Well, we shouldn’t have left her alone!”, she laughed.

She continued ruffling his hair as he told the story about Nat’s first time in a suit with the boys, and she laughed again, shaking her head. Her own dress was a lot less business oriented and made her look like a young newbie to the force, which was probably for the best. But the thought of Nat in a suit amused her, “That does sound like Nat. She’s going to be big mad when she sees my dress. I might have to buy her desert.”

Stepping away from Sam, she walked over to her bag and unzipped it, pulling a sleek black dress, not too long and not too short from her bag by the hanger, holding it up in front of her with a tiny wiggle of her hips, “Someone needs to be the sexy agent, I guess.”

Anna blushed at the insinuation that she was sexy, as she had never pictured herself that way, but she dropped the dress on the bed and began undressing, ready to try something new.

Duke

Duke furrowed his brow as Esme admitted that she had already known how he felt about her, back then. Even though he had been very careful about the way he looked at her around Dean, and the way that he executed the tiny touches and glances that showed everything. She had probably started to notice, before his death confession. He glanced down at their hands as she continued.

He turned his hand over, keeping his free hand pressed against the t-shirt to help it calm the bleeding before he could stitch her up. He wrapped his fingers around hers and then scanned her face as she spoke, his eyebrows raising when she admitted she had been afraid. She had been afraid to lose him.

“I was giving up. I mean, something about feeling the warmth fade out of your fingers while laying on a dusty floor will do that to you.”, he smirked gently, but then leaned forward, pressing his forehead gently against hers, “Thats-that’s all in the past. Somehow, I managed to get out of there in one piece, and I have been reliving that every day since I remembered it. I put you on the spot, and I know now why you were a little different around me after that…before things went to shit between all of us. But I’m here, now.”

Not wanting to get distracted from the task at hand, or to cross boundaries his mind wanted him to cross in such a tense moment, Duke tilted his head to press a careful kiss against the tip of her nose, “Let’s get you stitched up, and then we can catch up. I wanna know what you’ve been up to.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean opened his eyes and kept his arm around Lexi for a few moments as she relaxed in his arms. He carefully relaxed his arm from around her, but kept his hand on her shoulder as he lowered her back down to the chair, and held her steady for a moment.

“You’re gonna want to stay awake for a bit, with that concussion.”, Dean muttered as he walked over to the nearest empty chair and pulled it to him, before sitting and turning his eyes back to Lexi, “I’m not far down the hall from you. So, you can knock if you’re feeling weird.”

He turned his eyes to Sam, and stared at his brother for a second, double checking that Sam seemed fine. Other than the sore head, he looked normal, and even his demeanor toward his head didn’t seem as if he was injured too badly. Dean took a deep and relieved breath, “Well, we’re all alive! It’s a good day.”

A smile came to his lips, and Dean turned his gaze back to Lexi, giving her a warm smile. He would have his ears open, all night, and chances were, he wouldn’t be sleeping. For some reason, he was incredibly paranoid about Lexi’s concussion. Maybe it was how much she reminded him of Mika, when he and Mika would go out on hunts and he would have to patch them both up when they returned. Maybe it was because she was fiercely independent and untouchable, and yet he felt the need to touch her at ever second he was near her.

Whatever it was, he needed caffeine. It was going to be a long night.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean

Dean nodded at Mika, taking in her words, and Esme’s look of dismissal. He turned and stepped away from Duke and Esme’s door and back over to Mika, “I know. I just haven’t seen her that beat up in a long long time. But, then again, he was always the one to patch things up when I lost my mind over injuries.”

He shrugged, and gave a small smirk before walking into his room with Mika. He walked over to the table, and sat down across from Mika with a huff, running his fingers through his hair, before dropping his hand on the table and shaking his shoulders of the sudden stress.

“So, we’re headed to talk to this woman. Do we have any idea what to say to her about why we’re there? I mean, from what I gathered, dude opened a fresh bucket of candy and ended up with a throat full of razors. Kind of hard to explain to a grieving widow.”, Dean explained, trying to take his mind off what had just happened. He was more than excited to see Duke, after all this time, and he had a million questions. However, the circumstances of Duke showing up were less than ideal, and he wanted to help, against his better judgement.

But they had work to do.

Annabeth

Annabeth watched Sam check the parking lot suddenly, as if he saw someone he knew, or a welcome addition to their little group. She couldn’t help but smile, when he turned and warned her about the new guy being super flirty. She shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t mind a little flirting once in a while. Might be refreshing.”

She smirked playfully, teasing him with the idea of someone else flirting with her, but her smirk fell when he mentioned Cason and Esme. Of course Esme had ended up worse off than Cason. He had a strong self preservation gene in him somewhere, and somehow always ended up just fine, while the humans around him ended up hurt, or dead, it seemed.

“Well, I hope she’s okay. After what she did back at the house, and to help me through the angel attack, I would hate for anything to happen to her before I could return the favor, you know?”, she said softly, playing with the hem of her shorts nervously, “But we really do have to let them handle it. I’m sure Nat will be waiting for us, and while I would love to stay in this room with you, and enjoy the peace and quiet of a boring night, that’s not going to happen until we take care of this.”

Duke

Duke smiled softly at Esme’s permission, and he gave one quick nod, scanning her eyes, as her hand came to rest against his arm. It was then that he began to realize he could have lost her, back at the warehouse and he wouldn’t have even known. It was his fault, for not contacting her sooner, just to check in, or to stay close. He quickly pulled his lips back into a smile, “Well, the only difference between this and old times is that you’re locked up in here with me…alone, bout to be naked.”

He laughed, a bright smile spreading across his face as his eyes shined toward hers. He brushed his thumb across her cheek gently and then stood, removing his hat and tossing it on the dresser behind him. He turned back to her, and bent back down, “Raise that good arm for me. I’ll try to be gentle.”

Duke gently raised her good arm and pulled the sleeve of her shirt off of it, pulling it loose and snaking it over her head, before peeling it slowly away from the stab wound on her shoulder. When it finally came loose, he was gritting his teeth, feeling her pain for her almost as he pulled the shirt from her wrist and sighed, “Not too bad. Worst part’s comin’ though.”

He lowered his hands to the bandana around her leg, picking at the knot gently, “So, you remember that Vampire nest back in Toledo? I was all out of it and busted up, and we got trapped in that storm cellar. I figured I was gonna die, and I was out of my mind, and no one really knew where we were…”

The bandana finally came free and he winced, but quickly sighed with relief and tossed it on the floor, moving his hands to the blood t-shirt that actually covered her wound, “I remember what I said back there and um…I just wanted you to know. It wasn’t my place, and if I hadn’t been so banged up, I never would have gone down that road.”

He pulled the t-shirt free, and quickly placed it back against the wound with his hand as it began bleeding again. He honestly didn’t know why he was admitting to her that he remembered his death confession after all this time, but with her being so banged up, he just felt the need. But the words played over in his head.

2003

“In case I don’t make it out of here, there’s somethin’ you need to know. Just…shut up and let me say it, alright?”, he winced and pressed his hand tighter against the stab would on his abdomen, scrambling to sit higher on the wall.

He licked a bit of the blood from his lip and sighed, “I want you to be happy, and all that. Like, don’t push Dean away. He’s trying. But, since I’m not gonna get out of here any time soon, just know that I have loved you since the day you showed up, all pissed off and ready to fight. You’re gonna be alright…”