JustAnna

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean felt a warmth in his chest after he and Lexi finished part of their conversation enough to go and check out to keep Sam from killing them. It was almost as if something in the universe validated everything he was feeling, all at once, but he couldn’t place what that could be.

He glanced around, as if he would find the answer, until the time came to pay. Jumping in front of Lexi before she even had a chance to pull out her wallet, he quickly threw some cash to the cashier and gathered up the items to place them back in the cart with a cheeky smile toward Lexi.

“I got you. I might…MIGHT let you buy me a beer when I take you out next time.”, he teased, nearly flinching at the words ‘next time’, as it sounded so strange coming off his lips after all this time. But he honestly meant it. He wanted to take her out, on a real date, without his brother being nosey or asking him a million questions.

He turned the cart around and began pushing it out the door as the cashier held out the receipt to Lexi with a smile, as if she found them to be absolutely adorable. As soon as they stepped outside, Dean thought for a moment and then turned to Lexi, “You know what I just realized? Sam hasn’t texted me a single time. Normally he’s more hovery than an angry girlfriend, but he hasn’t…he hasn’t even checked in. Maybe he’s lost in a library somewhere or something.”

Anya

As soon as Sam saw the image, Anya knew he recognized the gun, but the disappointed look on his face echoed on her own before he even spoke up. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself for the let down she knew was coming, letting the breath out through her nose as he explained that he didn’t have the gun…but that he had heard of it. Great. Another goose chase.

She turned her face away from his gaze, and stared out the window of the coffee shop for a moment, pulling her cup up to take a drink of her coffee. She scanned the scene outside, as if reading it like a book, as she tried to decide how to proceed from here.

Should she lie to him, and just leave, like she hadn’t been looking for them to get her closer to the demon that she was now obsessed with? Or did she admit to him that she wasn’t only looking for them for the gun…but rather, to become a hunter herself. She had nothing to lose. She had no one. It’s not like she had anywhere to go.

Thinking for a few more moments, she straightened herself, the corners of her eyes full of tears from concentration…not sadness. She then pulled the notepad toward her, and wrote down, “Can I be honest with you?”

Without waiting for him to answer, she simply pulled it back, writing, “I had a feeling the gun was gone. I didn’t just come here for the gun. I would like to…”

She quickly scribbled the last part out, and simply wrote, “Sorry I bothered you with it.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Cason

Cason smirked as Nat pulled her face back to look at him after a few moments, brushing more of her hair behind her ear as her breath washed over his lips, “I just hope when you find that answer, you remember how safe you feel, right now…”, he whispered, trailing his fingers around her face to help her fall back to sleep.

“Get some rest. I’ll be right here.”

—-

The next morning, Cason glanced over toward the window, seeing the light peeking through the thin curtains. Nat was sleeping somewhat soundly, and he didn’t want to wake her. But he also knew it would only be a matter of time before Dean started his normal banging on doors to start their day. The last thing he wanted was to let her oversleep and put her at any new odds with Dean.

“Nat…”, he murmured, brushing a thumb down her cheek as he scanned her closed eyes. He winced at how deep her slumber seemed, feeling a bit guilty, but he still tried again, “Hey, it’s morning. You know as well as I do, your brother will be over here in the next ten minutes.”

He chuckled, and tugged at her ear gently.

Dean

As Dean and Mika returned to their room, Dean closed the door behind them and let out a stressed sigh. He ran both his hands through his hair, his eyes closing with stress, and then dropped them to his sides heavily.

“You can say that again…”, he retorted to Mika’s first statement. Luckily, it seemed like the ‘it can’t get worse and then it does’ part of the day was finally over and they could get some rest. At the same time, it never seemed to be that simple. There was always something worse around the corner. It made him not even want to sleep.

“I think she told us because she thought it would scare us off or something. That seems to be her thing. She’s too broken. She’s too mean. She’s too…something. What she doesn’t understand is that we’ve seen just about everything. How am I going to judge her when I have Sam for a brother?”, he chuckled at the end of his sentence, kicking off his own boots and unbuckling his belt as he watched Mika undress in passing. Any other time, he would have wrapped her up and had a little fun while they were finally alone, but tonight, they were both on the brink of collapse.

“I just don’t know much else to do with the Cason situation. It’s not like I can make her stay away from him, you know?”, he asked, pulling his shirt over his head and then dropping his pants to strip down for bed, “At the same time I want to tie her up…and make her listen. But. I can’t do that.”

He finished his sentence with a sad look toward the floor, but then noticed that Mika was gesturing for him to come to bed. With a small smirk, he crawled toward her on the bed, wrapping his arms around her before collapsing with her wrapped in his arms against his chest. He instantly closed his eyes, hearing her words with a frown.

“I know she will…she always does.”, he muttered, before drifting off to sleep, with a tight grip on Mika’s body.

———

The next morning, Dean’s alarm blared like a shotgun blast through the room. He groaned loudly, and reached for the bedside table, finally landing on his phone, and turning off his alarm, “Ugh. It’s morning. Mika…”, he groaned again, shaking Mika’s shoulders a bit. He finally slid his arm from underneath her, knowing that if he stayed in bed, he would likely fall asleep and sleep all day.

“I’m gonna go get some breakfast sandwiches or something, while we wait for the others to get their lazy asses out of bed.”, he grumbled, quickly grabbing a tshirt from his duffel and a pair of jeans. He slipped them on as quickly as he could and shoved his feet in his boots, before stepping out of the room.

At first, he didn’t even notice Sam pacing outside his room, as he walked sleepily across the parking lot, toward the Impala. Passing Duke’s truck, he noticed the cowboy hat sat on top of the toolbox, and his stomach plummeted for a second, thinking something had happened to Duke, until he got a bit closer.

“Well aren’t you guys disgusting…”, he chuckled, before slapping the side of the truck with his flat palm. Duke quickly turned over, toward the sound, as if Dean had fired a gun near his head.

“What the hell is your problem, man?”, he groaned, as Sarah huffed but simply stared at Dean.

“I mean, I would say this brings back old memories, but if this had happened when we were all together, I think I would have killed you…”, Dean laughed, and Duke simply flipped him off, curling back up on Esme, in case she woke up to the noise, “Get your ass up. I’m going to run for grub.”

“Don’t hurry back, dickhead…”, Jace teased, flipping him off one more time as Dean walked away. But before Dean could open the Impala door, he noticed Sam. And boy did Sam look worried. He tossed his keys back into his pocket, and strolled back across the parking lot, toward his worried looking brother.

“Sammy?”, he asked as he approached, lowering his head so he could gaze up at Sam’s eyes, trying to judge what kind of crisis this was, “You alright? What’s going on? And where’s Anna? She hasn’t left your side since you guys met…”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Cason

Cason kept his nose pressed to Nat’s, stroking her hair. His eyes fluttered closed and he attempted to calm her breath with is own, as if it was possible. With the jolt of her body, he pulled his face back, expecting a massive punch to the face. After a moment, the pain never came, as Nat processed what was happening, “Hey! Hey you’re good. You’re…you’re good.”, he whispered in the darkness.

His name falling off her lips caused a heavy and tired sigh to leave his chest, as he nodded gently, brushing more of her hair from her cheek. And the resolve in the second dropping of his name relaxed his shoulders even more, only for them to tense again immediately as Nat scrambled close to him. He froze for a moment, taking his time to realize that she was willingly touching him, holding him close.

After that beat to make sure he was assessing the situation properly, he wrapped an arm around her, burying his fingers in her hair as he pressed his lips to her forehead and held her close. Cason pressed a tiny kiss there, and then rested his chin on the top of her head as he allowed her to catch her breath and process her surroundings. Her question, however, hit at the heart that he didn’t even have, and he frowned, “I um…”

He paused for a moment, frowning deeper as he contemplated her question, himself. What was this pain in his chest, that seemed to radiate all the way to the back of his head? Was it confusion? Fear? Anguish? He wasn’t sure, but it felt oddly…human. He swallowed it down, mustering up enough of a voice to answer her, “I…I wish I knew the answer to that.”

Actually, he knew at least a partial answer to that question, but he didn’t even know where to begin explaining it to her. How could he explain that even though he was forced at times to hurt her with the others, he was also the only reason she survived in the asylum? How could he explain that even though he cut her straps, he didn’t bother carrying her out of the asylum himself…when he had plenty of opportunity? How could he explain how many times he wanted to…how many times he wanted to just run away with her from that place, before any of the trauma or the pain that he was now trying to clean up…one nightmare at a time?

Anna

Anna glanced up at Sam as he held his hand out to her. The air felt heavy. It felt as if they were being watched, and the atmosphere would collapse on them at any moment…out of nowhere. She frowned, glancing around them for a moment as she disassociated, but then reached out her hand and took his with a small but fake smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

Later that night, after she and Sam had fallen asleep…

Anna laid on her side, her arm stuffed under her cheek, and Sam’s arm slung over her waist protectively. Although they hadn’t crossed intimate boundaries since the night they locked themselves in the panic room, having each other close seemed to just…work. She stirred from her sleep, becoming instantly aware of Sam’s breath moving her hair as she laid there, staring into the darkness. It was oddly comforting, though the feeling in the pit of her stomach was not. She felt sick, and she felt watched. Slowly, she rolled from under Sam’s arm, hoping that his head would hit a pillow and he wouldn’t stir, in case it was nothing she was feeling. To her relief, his head barely moved as she slipped away, slightly pulling her hair from under his face in the process.

“Aren’t you two just the sweetest couple of love sick for each other but untouchable idiots I’ve ever laid my eyes on…”, an unfamiliar voice sounded in the darkness.

Anna froze, her heart leaping into her throat as fear gripped her and she slowly glanced back at Sam, “Don’t worry. He’s harder to wake up than you think, and it’s just…me and you, in here. Look closer.”

As Anna turned back a bit further, she realized that while she was standing next to the bed, she was still wrapped up in Sam’s arms, his face buried in her curly hair as he slept soundly. She was dreaming.



“Who are you and what do you want? Are you an angel? I’m honestly about tired of…”, she started, but the woman quickly laughed. The sound seemed loud enough to break the windows in the room and Anna flinched.

“An angel?! Oh honey, no. I’m the one you’ve been running from! Your whole life has been spent running from…the idea of me. Destiny. Bloodline stuff. Yada yada. The same song and dance Sam knows he’s running from, but with someone much much worse than me.”, she giggled, finally coming into view.

She was tall, thin and blonde. Her cheeky smile seemed to stretch from earlobe to earlobe, caked in bright red lipstick. She reached over the edge of the bed and pushed a strand of Sam’s hair from his face, tucking it behind his ear.

“So what do you want?”, Anna asked in a shaky voice, crossing her arms over her chest. She suddenly felt cold…and angry. But it was an angry fear that chilled her bones.

“What I want is simple. I think you already know the answer.”, the woman nearly whispered, breathing over Sam’s face before kissing his cheek gently, “You.”

“M-me? Why me?”



“Don’t you know, silly?! You’re mine. You were promised to me before you were even born. Your mother was pathetic…asking for a way out of her stupid life. Her stupid relationships and her…family. She all but fed you to me the second I offered. Poor thing. Pregnant and desperate, but didn’t give one tiny little shit about you.”

“Shut up…”, Anna growled, her eyes beginning to cloud with tears. She wasn’t even sure if she was surprised by the woman’s words. She knew she was meant for something. She knew there was a reason she had been hunted her entire life, and ended up in bed with a demon…and then…Sam.

“I only asked her for access to your bedroom. She said yes. I said okay. And then your stupid idiotic stepfather got in the way.”, the woman continued, “And so he died. Your house burned down. Oh…oh no. You didn’t even know, did you? Azazel got to you, but then your mother tried to run. The idiot.”

“Why I was hunted…”, Anna realized suddenly, zoning out on the wall near the woman’s head. Her world spun for a moment as she realized that the problems started while she was still in the womb. She was marked, hunted, put up for slaughter from day one, “And um…and the demon blood?”



“That was my idea. You were a…failed experiment of sorts. I didn’t necessarily agree with torturing you, if Hell didn’t have a plan, but Azazel made me a promise. I could have you, when you came of age and just…look at you.”

Anna’s stomach lurched in disgust at the way the woman sized her up. She tightend her arms around herself a bit tighter, snarling her nose, “And that would make you…”

“Lilith.”, the woman explained simply, tugging at Sam’s ear with her fingers, playfully. Anna’s blood ran cold. Lilith. That was a name she had heard before, but the idea of her standing in the room sent chills down Anna’s spine. A few tears escaped her eyes as she stared blankly at her, her body beginning to visibly shake, “And here’s what I want you to do for me…for him.”

Lilith ran a finger down Sam’s jaw, causing Anna to reach a hand out, her jaw clenched and her fearful expression turning to one of rage.

“Oh my. You really are struck with him, aren’t you? That’s depressing and cute, all at the same time.”, Lilith chuckled, brushing her fingers over Sam’s lips, “I need you to just be ready. Stay strong. Be willing to kill anyone, and I mean anyone when the time comes. I need you…to be a good little soldier. If that means getting away from your cute little family, then you do it.”

“And if I don’t?”



“Don’t leave them? Well, if they become a distraction, or they become need for collateral damage, I’ll kill them. One…tiny…pressure, and Sam’s neck will snap, right here. Right now.”, Lilith murmured, her lips close to Sam’s chin as she wrapped her hand around his throat, gently.

Anna stood, shivering as she watched Lilith slowly tighten her fingers around Sam’s throat, until she couldn’t stand still any longer and took a step forward, “Stop…”

“There she is.”, Lilith cooed at her, releasing Sam’s throat and taking a step back from the bed. She placed both her hands on her hips expectantly.

“Fine. I’ll leave.”, Anna choked out, more tears streaming down her cheek. She hadn’t expected this to happen, tonight. Although she didn’t know where she stood with Sam, she didn’t want to leave him, friend or more, without saying goodbye, “Can I at least say goodbye?”

“No. No, because then, you might be tempted to send some sort of message to my little boy next door, and I’ll have to rip his throat out, while I kill your entire family right before your eyes. I would hate that. That would ruin my day.”, Lilith explained, as if it was a minor inconvenience such as forgetting your keys at home.

“Then leave. You can watch from afar and I’ll leave a note. I’ll at least let them know I’m alive, and not to look for me…and I’ll go.”

“Perfect. See to it that you’re gone before he wakes up or…”, Lilith explained simply, pulling her thumb across her throat to signal she would kill Sam, “Higher ups won’t be happy with me, but that’s not really my concern. I’m out for me. You understand.”



And with that, Anna awoke with a start once again, stilling herself almost immediately as a sharp sob rocked her body under Sam’s arm. She slowly removed his arm from her waist, again, pulling her own hair…like some sort of twisted deja vu.

She stepped out of the bed, and over to table, where she pulled the hotel notepad and began writing the note to say at least a small goodbye. She didn’t know how she would get back to California, but she would figure that out when she forced her body to pick up her backpack and leave Sam behind. As much as she wasn’t sure of their relationship, she was sure that beside him was the warmest bed she had ever known, and that counted for something.

Duke



Duke said his goodnights, almost silently as Nat’s situation weighed on him heavily. But he didn’t let on too much about it. He knew Dean would shut him down at any turn. So, instead, as the others dispersed, he turned and headed in the direction he had left Esme.

He glanced at his truck, and pretty instantly figured out where she was, walking toward it. As soon as he approached, his theory was proven correct as he caught a glimpse of her blanket over the side. He smiled softly, and placed his hands on his hips, wondering how the hell he was going to either get her inside, or convince a damn hellhound to let him get in with them.

“I can’t see you, you know.”, he said softly, glancing all around the truck bed to try and catch Sarah’s eyes somewhere along the way. Sarah simply huffed, growling softly to let him know where she was, “Alright. I hear you.”

He chuckled, approaching slowly as Sarah calmed back down. He noticed that Esme’s face didn’t seem to be unpleasant or as if she was having a bad dream, but rather a happy one. His face softened once again, and he sat down on the tailgate of the truck, scooting himself back until he bumped into Sarah, who once again huffed.

“Calm down. I can’t see you, remember?”, he growled back at Sarah in a whisper, lowering himself to lie in front of Esme, “Darlin’? Hey…you wanna go in and get some sleep?”

He scanned her face for a moment, brushing his fingers along her jaw, in hopes that it would stir her, but it didn’t. Sighing, he glanced up in the general direction of Sarah’s breathing, and then down at his own torso and legs, “Because I don’t wanna give you the pleasure of seein’ me run around naked out here…I guess we’ll just hang out here. You gonna bite me in my sleep?”

Sarah let out a huff that almost sounded like laughter, but eventually, Duke felt her shift in the truck bed, as if she was getting more comfortable, while her hip stayed under his head, a peace offering. He relaxed his body, and pulled his hat from his head, laying it on the truck bed beside him. Then, he wrapped his arms around Esme, pulling her close to his chest, and eventually dozed off with her, much needed sleep coming fast.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean’s heart hammered away in his chest as Lexi tried to find a way to answer him. He honestly wanted to lift a hand and wave her off to tell her that it was no big deal, and that he didn’t really want to talk about it. The conversation made his stomach hurt, if he was honest. But as she spoke up again, he couldn’t move. He was honestly too afraid of what she was getting ready to say.

As she stepped in front of him, he couldn’t help but scan her eyes, looking for some sign of hope or at least a sign that he hadn’t just completely wrecked whatever it was that they had. But instead, he saw a mixture of peace and nervousness, just as he felt in his own mind.

Her words pulled an honest smirk from the corners of his mouth, and he let out a sigh he didn’t even know he was holding, echoing her chuckle, “Not as bad as you think. Liking me better than Sam is a good start…”

He linked his fingers with hers quickly, and ran his thumb over the tops of her fingers, “I like seeing where things go. I’m just glad you’re better at saying what’s on your mind than I am…I’m a mess. We are a mess…”

He chuckled again, and brought her hand up to his lips, kissing the backs of her knuckles, “We should probably check out and go check on Sam. I would hate to see the bitch fit he throws if we’re not back when he’s ready to go…”

Anya

Anya waited for Sam to finish reading her words, not lifting her gaze until she heard his voice ring out, and she quickly raised her eyes to meet his. She was in the right place. She found them. And she found Sam.

But as he asked about the deal she was offered, she furrowed her brow, a bit confused. If he wasn’t a hunter, why would he care about her deal? She was told to give that information directly to the Winchesters…not some cute stranger in a coffee shop.

But before she could pull the pad back, her fingers stopped close to his, holding the pen as he clarified why he wanted to know. A wave of relief washed over her and she outwardly sighed with a small smile teasing her lips. He was a Winchester. Sam Winchester. Biting her bottom lip, she fought the urge to get up and dance, as it seemed like this stupid goose chase had taken years off her life, only for her to accidentally stumble across a random computer nerd that happened to be an elite hunter. What were the odds?

She quickly pulled the pad back toward her and began writing:
“This man offered me my voice. He said I could speak for the first time in my life, and I could be basically normal, and all I had to do was give him something after ten years. Obviously I know this is a demon. I’m not stupid.”

She paused, glancing to the side to decide how to word the next bit of her sentence. Finally, she decided to just be blunt, “When I called him out on the whole thing, he said he would give it back to me for something else. Something my dad had.”

She turned the pad back to Sam, for him to read but reached into her pocket for a piece of folded paper. She unfolded the paper and laid it flat in front of Sam, showing an image of the Colt.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean was pretty happy with the small smile he saw on Lexi’s face as she took in his joke. But her own joke caused him to flinch, though he knew she was joking. He feigned heartbreak, holding his hand over his chest as if she had shot him in the heart with a gun.

“A little perfume and I lose her hand forever…”, he joked, his eyes closed. He chuckled loudly, and grabbed the side of the cart, following her as she weaved through the isles.

“So since you’re staying…”, he muttered, bringing up the most awkward thing he could think, at the most awkward moment he could bring it in, “How exactly do we balance…the us thing. I mean, not that I think Sam would care, considering he roots for any woman that comes within a mile of me to be in my face and all that. But…I was just you know…wondering.”

He cringed at how awkward the spiel sounded, and cleared his throat, “I guess what I’m trying to say is…do we make this a thing thing? Or just…a thing.”

And again he cringed, closing his eyes and dropping his hand in defeat. Hopefully she would catch onto his line of thought, but he highly doubted it. Mika was always the only one who could decipher his manic moments.

——-

Anya

Anya watched Sam’s face after she turned the pad around, a bit surprised at the opening and closing of his mouth. He was frazzled. Something she had said had frazzled him. But after a moment, he spoke and Anya sighed with relief, but quickly gasped when he asked if she was a hunter. Her brow twitched as she gave quick thought to her next words, but didn’t want to show enough emotion or thought to give herself away, too much.

She pulled the pad back, turning the page so she could write a pretty long explanation, wishing at that moment that she had her laptop or phone nearby, just to make things a bit easier to get out to him.

“It’s complicated. I know of the hunters. I know hunters. And when I asked a hunter I was following about a deal I was offered, and all that…they pointed me to the Winchesters. It took me forever to try and find them, but if you say you know them, I think I’m in the right place. It doesn’t hurt that I like your company.”, she finished writing the last sentence, holding the pen against the paper for a moment as she reread things, and with a small cringe on her lips, she slowly turned the paper toward Sam, not looking up to make eye contact.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Cason

Cason smirked as Nat began to speak about how corny his words were, scrunching his nose up again, ready for a retort. However, before her thought could even began, she dozed off and Cason sighed sadly. He simply stared off into space for a while, as she slept, not sure whether he should actually stay or if he should sneak out and hope she slept well enough to not need support. Eventually, he made his decision, sliding a hand carefully behind her back to force her body down the bed, until she was lying. He protected her head with his other hand, carefully laying her head against the pillow.

He brushed her hair from her forehead, as her hand fell onto the bed, near his leg. Sighing again, he pulled the covers up around her shoulders and lowered himself back into a seated position against the headboard, his hand falling to rest against her palm.

At some point during the night, while he stared off into space, he felt her stir. Her hand moved from under his, balling into a fist as she whimpered in her sleep. He loosely caught the words, as she relived what he could only imagine was the worst days of her life.

“Nat…”, he murmured, falslely assuming that she would wake up just at the sound of her name, but she continued to dream, and it only seemed to get worse. Not sure what else to do, he scooted himself down the bed until he was positioned with his face not far from her own, “Nat. Hey…you’re dreaming sweetheart. I’m right here. You’re safe. Shh. You’re safe…”

He whispered the words as close to her ear as he could, brushing her hair with his fingers as he spoke. He wished at that moment that he could do some sort of telepathy, and move through her memories to just let her get some rest, but he couldn’t decide in his mind why he cared so much.

“You’re safe with me…”, he whispered one more time, pulling his face back from her ear to settle his nose against hers, hoping the touch would calm her.

Duke

Dukes face changed from a variation of shocked to angry to confused and back to surprise as the group explained what was happening. He knew about Cason. Hell, he had helped save Cason, along with Esme. From what he could tell, the demon cared a great deal about her, considering the pet hellhound.

Then again, the idea of Nat being left with demons, considering the loose history he knew about her time with them made his skin crawl. He cracked his neck, his nostrils flaring as he tried to decide how to react to the news, but as soon as he glanced up at Dean, his face softened a bit.

“We’re gonna keep an ear out…”, Dean explained simply, communicating with his other little brother through his eyes. Duke stared hard for a few seconds, finally coming to a resolve. He sighed, and nodded his head gently as he finished his silent conversation with Dean.

“If you’re sure…I’m sure.”, Duke said simply, nodding his head again.

“Good. Now, we should probably get some rest before whatever happens tomorrow comes. Like Anna said, this isn’t the end of it. It never is.”, Dean said simply, glancing to Anna and then Sam, before wrapping an arm around Mika’s waist, “Everything okay with you and Esme?”

“Yeah. She’s a little banged up. Nothin’ a little rest and whiskey can’t fix.”, Duke chuckled, and glanced back at Esme, “I just gotta convince her to either go to bed or at least be still. She’s…not having the best go at it mentally.”

“Anything I can do?”, Dean asked.

“Nah. I can handle her. You know that. Just gotta get her used to me being around.”, Dean nodded once again, but narrowed his eyes.

“And how long you planning to stay around?”

“I honestly don’t know yet. But I don’t need to go worryin’ her about it tonight. It’s been a day, man.”, Duke deflected, shaking his head. Dean simply sighed, tightening his grip on Mika’s waist.

“Take care of her. Get some rest. We’ll all reconvene in the morning…Sound good?”, he asked, looking around the group.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean was awkwardly silent as he and Lexi walked through the store. She didn’t seem to want to talk much, but at the same time, the silence between them was heavy, as if she had something to say. But he let the silence lie for a while, just enjoying the simplicity of grocery shopping for a bit.

However, when she zoned out while near the deodorant, Dean recognized that look all too well. He watched her, before grabbing something for himself, and spritzing it in the air with a smirk, “What do you think about this one? I mean, if you’re gonna be riding around in the car with me, I might as well smell good, right? Unless you’re more of a flowers and…powder? Type?”, he teased, picking up another brand that had more of a soft powder scent. He held it up with his eyebrows raised.

—————-

Anya watched Sam’s face as he began to explain himself to her. She stared between his hazel eyes, knowing that usually she would have instantly pegged him as a man with way too much baggage. But, as he kept talking, she felt the weight of empathy hit her chest and she chewed on her bottom lip a bit.

She could relate heavily to being dragged all over the country for some arduous task of her father, or nothing at all other than him running from his problems. Then, only to find herself continuing that stupid path when she was out on her own. She narrowed her eyes for a moment, wondering if Sam was a hunter. But she quieted her mind and tilted her head to the side at his question.

Pulling her pad, she wrote down her answer, “I can relate. I’m here on a ghost hunt of sorts. I guess.”

She turned the pad to him and sighed, before pulling the pad around to her again, trying to think of how to ask him the next question she had. If she didn’t play her cards right, he might think she was some crazy stalker, or possibly a murderer trying to track down people he knew…or didn’t know.

“Do you know anyone by the last name Winchester?”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Cason

Cason continued to watch Nat carefully, crossing his arms across his chest. He didn’t want to sit down, in case he needed to grab her for some reason, but at the same time, he was tempted to lower himself to her level…even them out. As she spoke about her reasons for asking him to stay, he furrowed his brow, a little more than confused. But when she mentioned his actions being familiar, he took a long and deep breath, tightening his arms around his chest.

In truth, there was plenty of reasoning for his actions feeling familiar. Hell, it all felt too familiar to him, as much as he had tried to keep her at arms length, just in case. He thought back to how thin she was when he walked into the room to release her straps, just in case her brothers showed up…which luckily, they did. He vividly remembered the look on her face. The fear, but apparently, she didn’t remember it was well as he did.

He didn’t know what to say, but as she stood from the chair, he stepped back, watching her closely as she crawled onto the bed. His name rang out in the room like a gunshot, and he turned his eyes up to her face…only to find that she wasn’t looking at him. She was simply staring down at the bed, wrapped up on herself like a little girl. The sight brought back even more flashbacks and he took another deep breath, releasing it in an aggressive sigh.

“I’m not um…going to explain much tonight. Judging by how droopy those eyes are, I doubt you care. But we need to have a talk, when you’re more at yourself, in private.”, he explained carefully, dropping his arms to his side. He fidgeted with his fingers for a moment, weighing his options, before kicking off his boots, one by one with a sigh. He shrugged his arms out of his jacket, and tossed it onto the table, before cracking his neck and stepping toward the bed.

Walking toward the bed felt like he was disarming a landmine, tentatively placing one knee onto the mattress, and watching it dip. He stopped, watching Nat for one split second, before dropping his weight onto the bed beside her, his back leaning against the headboard.

“Um. I don’t…really know how to do the whole ‘there there…life doesn’t suck’ bit. It’s not in my nature to lie without there being gain, and all that…”, he started awkwardly. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders before reaching a hand over, brushing a piece of Nat’s hair from her face with the back of his fingers, “But I meant what I said. No one will ever hurt you while I’m here. I’ve killed bef-…I won’t let it happen. You can punch me in the face. You can tell me how horrible I am. You can run away from me, and I’ll still be there if you call…”

Pulling his hand back, Cason made a grossed out face, and then chuckled, “And if that ever leaves this room, I’ll ruin your life.”

Anna and Dean

Dean reluctantly listened to what Mika and Sam had to say, letting out an annoyed sigh at the sense they were making. At the least Cason wouldn’t allow her to leave. And if he tried anything, Nat would definitely kill him or at the very least make him wish he was dead. But he couldn’t shake the feeling of Cason manipulating her out of his mind.

He turned his eyes down to Mika, taking in the fact that Cason was honestly pretty gentle with Nat. And she seemed to trust him. Glancing over at Anna, he scanned her eyes for confirmation, and Anna simply shrugged, signalling that it wasn’t the worst idea.

“I um…Alright. I’ll agree to the idea that Cason seems to be less demon-like when he’s around Nat. I don’t trust that this isn’t just another one of his tricks to get close to the women in this group. He sees you guys as weak and you know that…”, he spoke up, and Anna frowned, raising a hand to speak which Dean waved away, “But we’re not far away, right? Right?”

“Right.”, Anna spoke up, rolling her eyes.

“And we have more than enough manpower to take him if we need to, right.”

“Dean…”, Anna argued but Dean held a hand up again.

“Let’s…get through the night. Mika usually…she usually has the sight when it comes to crap like this. I can’t believe you’re trusting him, considering. But, if you do…I’ll…allow it.”

“Allow it, huh?”, Anna murmured with a scoff, causing Dean to shoot her an annoyed look. Anna simply rolled her eyes and glanced up at Sam, “Dad says we’re trusting him. I think we should all get some rest. What happened tonight isn’t the end of it. I never is.”

Duke

Duke also jumped as Esme flinched at his touch. He wasn’t sure what made her react so strongly to touch. He was learning about her all over again, at this point. But he pulled his hand back to his own leg, and simply watched her face, trying to judge what she needed from him. But it seemed she just needed to get some things off her chest. He didn’t say anyting. He simply listened, his eyes diverting every now and then to whatever area seemed to move with Sarah’s weight. His stomach lurched every time he remembered she was there, but he knew Esme needed her.

When she mentioned Toledo, Duke’s nose scrunched and his eyes became a bit misty as he drew in a deep breath. He remembered that day a bit more clearly than he wished he did. He was dying. He knew he was dying and the only thing he could do was prepare her for his death, and let her know how he felt about here. Neither of those things seemed to matter at the time, and yet they had ramifications that obviously were still being felt today.

He tried to decide what to do with his hands as she explained everything, a single tear falling down one of his cheeks as she finally broke and covered her face from him, offically making him feel powerless, “Don’t hide…”, he whispered, unsure if she could even hear him.

But after a few moments, she turned, and his eyes left the far off place they were staring at, and fell on her face again, “I’m not going anywhere…”, he reminded. He didn’t know what else to say in that moment. He couldn’t promise her that she would be okay, this time. He couldn’t promise her that he would stay forever. Who knew how Dean would feel about all of this.

And like that, as he zoned out, she validated his existence. He did help her. He was what she needed. But in the same moment, she mentioned stepping outside. Duke instantly stood up straight, placing a hand on his hip to argue with her, but she offered him a place outside with her.

“I think um…I think a little air might be good for everybody.”, he drawled out, exhaustion lingering in every word. He picked up his hat, despite still wearing only a towel, and slipped his feet in his boots, before following Esme slowly out the door. As soon as he gently sat the door back against the trash can, he glanced to the side, seeing everyone in their meeting. He was tempted to check on them, but wasn’t sure if he should leave Esme alone.

“Darlin’. I’ll be right back.”, he muttered, stepping up to Esme. He gently reached a hand out, brushing his thumb across her cheek, before placing an all too gentle kiss against the tip of her nose, “Don’t…Don’t go anywhere. Pretty please.”

He then stepped away from her, jogging over to the group with a firm grasp on the towel around his waist. As he approached, he tipped his hat back on his head to see everyone clearly, “And just what the hell is goin’ on out here, y’all? Seems like there’s some tension and…stuff. Where’s Nat?”
Dean groaned at Duke’s appearance, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, and waved a hand at Mika for her to explain, “I’m not even going to ask…”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean Winchester

Dean flinched once again, the second that Nat began to speak. He hadn’t expected the venom that was leaving her lips, and yet, he also found it familiar and almost comforting. If she was angry, she was at least…okay. But when she mentioned Hell, he froze. His entire body tensed, and the color left his face. Some of the memories from his time in the pit flooded back, and he zoned out, until Nat suddenly raised her voice, kicking them out of the room.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she yelled again, and it almost felt as if Bobby himself was yelling at him. She seemed ready to fight them all out onto the pavement if they didn’t leave, and reluctantly, he turned his eyes to Mika, and then Sam, giving an understanding nod.

“Just…don’t go anywhere. We’ll um…we’ll talk about this when you’re sober.”, he muttered, her comments about Hell having him feeling a little less than polite toward his sister at that moment, but she was still his sister.

Sighing, he watched Anna quickly follow Sam outside, her face defeated, but also relieved that they could reconvene and figure out how to handle the situation. Once she was out the door, she quickly placed a hand on Sam’s arm, and glanced back in at Dean and Mika.

Dean wrapped his hand around Mika’s upper arm, turning her toward the door and shoving them both through, without closing it. After getting out of ear shot of the door, he turned to her, “What the hell are we supposed to do with her, now? Now that the cats out of the bag, she could run off. She could snap and go off on some sort of suicide mission or…she could sleep. Do we trust her to?”

As he spoke, he quickly looked up at Sam, the corner of his eye waiting for Cason to leave the room. When the door closed, and locked, he frowned, “And now he’s staying behind?!”

Cason

Cason internally groaned as Nat admitted that she didn’t trust him. Hopefully she was just lashing out, because of how the situation seemed to the others. Hopefully, she trusted him enough to not shove him away, right as he had begun to make amends for the one thing in his long life he regretted…felt responsible for. He sighed and crossed his arms as she sparred with Dean, but raised his eyes back to scan her face, as she started to kick everyone out of the room. He was tempted to just disappear and go find another bar to drown himself in. The last thing he wanted was to give Dean any other reason to kill him, tonight. But as he turned and prepared himself to disappear, he felt a hand on his arm, and he quickly looked down at Nat’s fingers.

Her voice hit a place in his chest that he didn’t even recognize. It hurt, but in a way that almost felt human. He couldn’t say ‘no’, not now. Glancing toward the door, he took a long and deep breath, pulling his arm from her hand, letting her fingers trail down until he could catch them in his own hand.

“This is a bad idea…”, he muttered, releasing her hand and stepping over to the door. As quietly as he could, he closed the door and turned the lock. He then turned back around, walking over to the table as carefully and slowly as he could, “Do I even want to ask why you’re asking me to stay, after what happened? I mean…I kinda started this whole mess, tonight. And you look exhausted.”
He watched her face intently, his bright blue eyes trying to reach every feature, scanning for signs of her motives in every tear stained inch. Then, those blue eyes settled on her eyes, “What do you need me to do?”

Duke

Duke slept soundly for the most part, his travels and the nights events having his already tired muscles in full shut down mode. In fact, he barely dreamed of anything, other than a few glimpses of rivers, or riding horses. But suddenly, he felt a gasp from beside him, which he quickly realized wasn’t a part of his dream.

Somehow, he had managed to sleep through the majority of Esme’s dream, but now, he was covered in sweat from sleeping so closely to her. As he came to his senses, he quickly threw the covers off, patting the bed beside him until he saw Esme scrambling toward the door, “What’s goin’ on?!”

He looked around the room, quickly pulling the covers completely off himself and standing from the bed. He snatched his gun from the table nearby, shoving his hat to the side, before Sarah forced Esme to settle, and the presence of the Hellhound calmed his fears. Relaxing his shoulders a bit, he placed the safety back and sat the gun aside, tightening the towel around his waist, “Shit…”

Sarah didn’t even growl, as Duke slowly stepped up to the chair and lowered himself into a squat in front of Esme, carefully placing a hand on her thigh, “Hey…hey tell me what’s goin on, sweetheart. Look at me. You know I ain’t never been scared of a nightmare, which I have to assume is what this is about. Hey…I’m right here. You’re safe. Look at me…”

As he cooed to her, he carefully broke his eyes away from her face to look for any signs that she was bleeding, or had hurt herself. Most of that exam would have to wait until she unwrapped herself and calmed down, but Duke was paranoid. More than paranoid.

“You’re safe here…with me.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

AnnaBeth and Dean

Anna leaned up at a point during the trip back to the motel, scanning Sam’s face as he drove to try and gauge what sort of situation they were running into when the returned. But nothing she could find on his face gave any answers. It was obvious he was struggling with his emotions, and he didn’t even know half of what happened, outside of the girls obviously being too distracted to complete the mission without nearly dying.

As they arrived back to the motel, she sighed, glancing down at her lap as Nat jumped out of the car, starting what was definitely going to be a long and rough night of possible fighting betweeen everyone. She watched her close the door, hearing the familiar rumble of the Impala engine in the background as Mika and Sam discussed what had happened, their voices muffled in Anna’s busy mind.

Sam’s raised voice at Mika admitting that Nat had kissed Cason caused Anna to flinch. She quickly came back to earth and snapped her head to read Sam’s face, but he was already out of the car, “Sam, wait!”

She quickly scrambled out of the car, as the Impala rumble grew louder. She followed Sam into the motel room, scooting to the side for Mika to get through, just as the fight seemed to be revving up.

“Can we just calm down?”, she asked, a little quieter than she originally intended, feeling quite small. As Mika attempted to diffuse things, and Nat stormed off to the bathroom, Dean casually burst through the front door.

“Oh Jesus Christ…Hell would be better than this…”, she groaned as Dean dropped his bag heavily on the floor and his eyes instantly fell on Sam, knocking on the door to try and get Nat to open up.

“What’s going on with her?”, he asked, turning in almost a circle to ask the girls with his eyes what the hell was going on. Anna, being the innocent spectator saw no reason to delay the inevitable, and she took a deep breath, quickly glancing at Mika.

“Nat and Cason kissed…”, she blurted out. Dean completely froze, his brain physically shaking to try and change the words that had left her mouth. No matter what gymnastics he tried to do in his mind, the words didn’t change.

He turned, walking to the door of the bathroom, where he tried the handle, as if she wouldn’t have locked the door, “Open the door. Now!”

“Dean…i don’t know if that’s…”

“Shut up. Nat! Open the damn door or I swear I’ll kick it in and drag you out myself!”, he screamed over any protest.

Cason

Cason cradled his tenth glass of whiskey in his hand, staring into the mirror behind the bar, as if looking into his own eyes would tell him what to do about this whole scenario. Undoubtedly the Winchesters would never allow this to lie, even if he just wanted to befriend Nat. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t already stuck his hand into the pool with every girl they knew…except her. It wasn’t as if his relationship with the girls didn’t already seem a little sketchy on the surface.

It wasn’t as if he wasn’t already the nuclear option. The reluctant ally. The one they could kill at any moment, and just find another…likely Ruby, if Dean would allow it. Hell, of course Dean would allow it.

But he felt something, in the pit of his stomach, that felt like guilt. He had acted on impulse, something demons were already known for. He had put all of them in danger, including his own body. He took a deep breath, raising his glass for a refill, but the bartender shook his head.

“Son, I have to cut you off. I don’t know where you get the stamina, but I’m half worried you’re gonna take out every table in this bar when you finally get off that stool. Go home. Deal with…whatever this is. No use in killin’ yourself over it.”, the old man explained with sympathy. He took the glass from Cason’s very sober hand, and wiped the bar in front of him, before walking off. With a low growl, Cason stood from the stool, shrugging his jacket back onto his shoulders.

Without thinking about the possibility that the others were already back at the motel, he disappeared and reappeared next to Nat’s bed, beside Anna, who flinched with a small yelp.

“What the HELL Cason?!”, she cried out, causing Dean to spin around with fire in his eyes, “Oh no. NO NO NO!”

But before Anna could block him, or even get Sam to step in, Dean already had a hand wrapped around Cason’s throat. He slammed his head back against the nearest wall, growling loudly as he came nose to nose with him, “I should kill you for even THINKING about touching her, after what you’ve done. Why are you here, huh? Did you think she was the weakest one? The one with the least to lose? The one that would take the most risks? What is it?! You’re gonna use her against us, like you tried to do with Mika?”

“Choking me is a bit antithetical to the whole…answering you thing…”, Cason wheezed with a wide smile, sneering down at Dean. He could tell Dean was too angry to even attempt to reason with, as the grip on his throat tightened, and he smiled bigger, “M-Mika made her decisions…and with magic. Angels…whatever. I’m n-not…here to…break up your gang…”

“Sure you’re not. Of course you’re not. You just want to protect them, right? But you won’t tell anyone why. Well, tell me. Tell me why, or I’ll slit your throat.”, Dean sneered, pressing himself against Cason even harder.

“STOP THIS!”, Anna called out to them both, grabbing Dean’s wrist. Her eyes faded to a pale white as she tightened her tiny hand around his arm. Dean didn’t budge at first, but with the growl that left Anna’s throat, both Cason and Dean glanced down at her face, “Dean Winchester, step back or I’ll snap your wrist. Step back…”

Dean frowned at Anna, glancing back at Cason in disbelief that she would still take his side after everything. He turned his eyes back to her face, and gritted his teeth, “You still want to protect this DOG?”

“No. I don’t want your sister to come out of that bathroom to find out that you’ve killed him. She’s fragile…and you’re just going to make everything worse if you kill him, no matter how she feels about him. And you’re worthless to all of us with a snapped wrist…”, Anna explained simply, tightening her grip to a point that made Dean wince, “Let him go, and focus on your sister…”

Dean winced with a small groan and finally released Cason, taking a step back. Cason chuckled, and rubbed at the fading bruise around his throat, the sound causing Dean to turn on his heel, punching Cason in the nose with a loud crunch. The punch caught Cason of guard enough to pull a loud groan from his throat, and he leaned over, holding his bleeding nose as the blood pooled on the floor.

“He deserved that…”, Anna said simply, her eyes fading back to normal, as the bathroom door opened. Cason sat down on the floor, in the corner behind the bed, wiggling his nose around to attempt to heal it, as Nat walked over to the table.

Dean crossed his arms, expecting a thousand excuses for Nat’s bad behavior, like they had heard a million times before, with no explanation. Just excuses. But instead, she actually began to open up. As she spoke, Dean’s expression began to soften, his eyebrows stitching together in worry for his sister, but also a new form of rage.

As she spoke about the demons’ manipulation, he turned slowly to glare at Cason, who was beginning to click the pieces of his nose back together, completely withdrawn, but seemingly bothered by Nat’s story. Of course, Cason already knew most of her story. He was in the same group that had captured her. He was part of the same group meant to take down the Winchesters…until he rebelled.

As the final pieces of his nose clicked back together, he stood slowly from the floor and Dean hardened himself, just as Nat began to finish. There were tears in Deans eyes, processing what his sister had been through, in a wave of emotion. He wanted to tear every demon apart, but also wanted answers. On a separate hand he felt ashamed, and guilty.
As Cason stepped forward, Dean reached an arm out to block him from getting any closer to Nat, his eyes threatening, wide and devastated, but Cason shrugged him off, sitting quietly down on the bed next to Nat’s chair.

He didn’t reach for her. He only sat there, while Anna sat heavily at the foot of the bed, taking a deep and shaky breath to keep herself from bursting out in tears. They all sat in silence for a few moments, before Dean finally spoke up, “If you had told us sooner …a lot of this would have made more sense. I mean… I still wouldn’t understand trusting the most sketchy member of our crew, but…Nat, you know you could have told us, right? It didn’t have to come to this.”

As Dean spoke, Cason gently reached a hand out and slipped a strand of hair behind her ear, careful not to touch her too much, but wanting to wave a white flag. The action caused both Anna and Dean to flinch, wanting to stop him, but he quickly dropped his hand after the simple gesture and turned his eyes down to the floor. Anna narrowed her eyes, because she knew that look. He had something on his mind…a secret or feeling that he needed to say, but he wouldn’t…

Duke

Duke smirked as Esme asked him to keep his hands to himself, as if that was truly possible now that she was snuggling up to his arm. He snuggled down against the pillow, allowing her to wrap around him as much as she needed to in order to be comfortable. And as she mentioned Sarah, he glanced down toward where she was curled up, taking a deep breath, “I’ll just…let her keep guard for a while. No biting at my feet though.”

He chuckled, and reached his other hand up, stroking it through her hair as she nuzzled into him.

“Get some sleep. You’re safe now…”, he whispered softly, feeling her breathing even out as she fell asleep. And as soon as he was positive she would rest, he also closed his eyes, leaning his face down close to her hair and fell into a deep sleep.