JustAnna

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean

Dean watched the way Nat handled Cason and even tilted his head to the side in amusement at the way that Cason simply nodded, almost like a puppy in Dean’s eyes, and pushed past both her and Dean.

“Isn’t that cute?”, Dean muttered without even realizing it. He quickly looked down at Nat’s face, and shot her a cheeky smile, before wiping it from his face completely. She would kill him before she would give him the satisfaction of insulting Cason, at the moment.

“So, he seems to listen to you. That’s nice. My question would be, why?”, he asked, scanning Nat’s face. He knew she was probably going to blow up on him. She would probably find every reason in the world to defend Cason, and honestly? He was tempted to give the guy benefit of the doubt, if his story was true.

Cason

Cason met Sam halfway, after leaving Nat, albeit reluctantly. As soon as the taller man stepped in front of him, he held the paper out in front of him and nodded, “Yeah. She was exactly where I figured she would be. She’s a creature of habit, which is good for you, bad for her, I guess.”

Cason let Sam take the piece of paper and sighed, scratching his neck awkwardly to decide how to even talk to Sam as anything other than some random human, or at the least, the awkward new boyfriend of his ex. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t noticed Sam hovering here and there in the background, at Stanford. Or like Sam didn’t pop up and come across Anna in coffee shops, where Cason would have to distract her to keep her from getting too close to him…for reasons.

“I have to warn you. She’s not alone.”, he started, before holding his hands up to let Sam know he would explain, “I don’t know if you remember Max. Short little guy with a bit of a droopy lip, dreamy blue eyes…had a bit of a crush on Anna before I met her. Well, she’s staying at his place. He’s a good kid. I don’t recommend, if your plan is to bring her home, that you hurt him. Just trust me on that.”

Cason stepped over to the railing of the motel sidewalk, and leaned against it, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter, before lighting up. Now that Nat was all but demanding he stick around, even looking at the others was awkward.

Duke

Duke was relieved as the smile appeared from nowhere on Esme’s lips, and when she pulled her other hand down, he dropped his shoulders with relief, a bright and familiar smile flooding over his face. But that smile faded after a moment, as she started to apologize. He gripped her hands a bit tighter and started to argue with her, but he knew that arguing, while trying to get his own apology in was probably not the best move.

What surprised him was her explanation for her apology. Not only had she lost it on him but apparently she had all but bullied Cason into leaving, which was successful, so he didn’t see harm. But he also knew Esme well enough to know that she was very VERY sensitive to manipulation.

“So, you stop with that…first off.”, he corrected her about him being there with her, “And as far as the blow up at me? You’ve blown up at me before. At least this time, I was being dumb…”

His accent shined as he reached out and tilted her chin with one of his fingers, a smile spreading over his face again, “It takes a hell of a lot more than snappin’ my head off, over bounty hunter drama for me to just run off. You know that. At least you didn’t hit me, this time. No stitches…no foul.”

Duke pinched her chin gently, brushing his thumb over her bottom lip, while watching the contact intently, “I just assumed you were hungry. You always did turn into some other not so human kind of creature when you were hungry. Hangry…”, he teased, before flashing his pearly white smile again.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean and Anya

Dean watched the way Sam acted around Anya. So warm, which was his nature, but he could tell that Sam had either stepped in it and was trying to make up for something he had said, or he was a bit fascinated by Anya. Both ideas made him smirk a bit as they stepped away.

Anya however, couldn’t help but return his smile. She wasn’t sure she was his biggest fan after the way he wrote her off, especially when Dean pretty much jumped on helping her immediately. But as he agreed to settle her in, she nodded with a smile, stepping in close to him in case the dangerous stuff Dean had talked about was somehow attached to the walls.

“Um yeah. We should probably get ahold of some people from wherever she’s from…see what we can find out about the people her dad hung out with. That might be the best place to start.”, he agreed, walking around the war room table to clear some books. As he stacked them, he noticed that Sam took up for Anya as if they were somehow asking too much of her, and he narrowed his eyes, “Sam we just…”

Holding his hands up in surrender, he continued stacking books with a sigh, but Anya shook her head with a frown, glancing up at Sam before walking back over toward the table, as if to say ‘it’s no problem at all’. She pulled the paper she had shown Sam from her pocket, and unfolded it with one hand. Turning it over, she tapped her finger against it, showing that she had been down this road before. Her dad’s name was written on the paper, along with his date of birth, the last person he was seen with, and the day he died. Taped to the paper was a photo of him, from a few months before he died.

She looked up at Lexi’s eyes, and smiled softly, doing her best to sign with her one hand, “A place to start at least.”, before backing toward Sam to follow him to her room.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean and Anya

Dean sighed, and gave his brother a look as Anya turned to him and apparently had been expecting him to say ‘yes’. He shrugged his shoulders, “Then let’s go. You guys head out and I’m gonna get Lexi some coffee, like I promised.”

He gave Lexi a mixture of an apologetic and a hopeful smile, and guided her to the counter as Anya, stepped up to Sam. She didn’t even bother saying anything to him, but led he way outside.

Back at the Bunker

“Don’t touch anything that’s isn’t clearly labeled. If I can’t hear you scream, I don’t know you’re hurt.”, Dean ordered to Anya as they decended the stairs. Dean had circled the Impala around to her hotel room, to grab her things, which were now slung over both shoulders.

She looked around the expanse of the room, as everything came into view, and stopped at the bottom of the stairs, turning in a circle.

“And we’re gonna have to get one of the white boards for you or something, some way for you to talk. I don’t know any other way for this to work.”

Anya frowned, snapping her fingers at Dean, before patting her bag, to let him know she already had it covered. She then pulled her fingers across her throat to tell him to stop giving her orders. She would be fine.

“Fine. Sam…keep an eye on her.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Cason and Anna

Cason dropped in the middle of an empty hallway, in the old apartment building that he had lived in…when he met Anna. He knew where she was. She always ran to one person when they would fight, or when she had a bad test day and needed someone who could relate. In fact, it’s where she was living when they met in this very hallway.

He smiled fondly of the memories that flooded his mind of the parties, and the late nights helping guys back to their apartments after a bender. Glancing around at the numbers on the doors, he oriented himself and walked down the hallway. Only a few doors down, he came to the apartment he was looking for, and straightened his jacket, before knocking.

He could hear voices behind the door, both of which were familiar, and surprisingly happy. He could even hear Anna giggle as Max stalked over to the door and swung it open.

“Cason!”, he beamed, a bright smile gracing his face as soon as he saw Cason’s face. Anna’s head popped up in the background as she stood to her feet, looking almost faint.

“Hey Max. Hello, Anna.”, Cason answered back, as Max stepped aside, letting Cason into the apartment. Cason glanced at the ceiling, and scanned his eyes down to his feet, just in case Anna had already planned for him to come after her, but from what he gathered, she had no idea he was coming.

“What are you doing here?”, Anna asked with a shaky voice, causing Max to frown in confusion. She might have forgotten to mention that they were long broken up, and not…exactly on the best terms. She sighed, and Cason shrugged his shoulders.

“You kinda ran off without saying anything. I was worried.”

“Max…could you excuse us for a moment?”, she asked, hesitantly taking her eyes off Cason long enough to turn to Max.

“Of-Of course. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me, alright?”, he responded, glancing between her and Cason with suspicion. She simply nodded, crossing her arms as he left her alone with him.

“What the hell are you doing here?! I hope you’re not here to bring me back. I’m not going. I will scream.”, she started immediately, but Cason raised his hands to stop her.

“First. I know you will. Second. I’m not here to bring you back. Your boyfriend was losing his mind, and I’m just here to make sure you’re alive and well. You are. I have what I need and I don’t plan to make any more drama for you than necessary.”, Cason explained, shrugging his shoulders. Anna narrowed her eyes in suspicion, scanning his face for any sign that he was lying, but she could find nothing.

“How is he?”, she asked finally.

“A mess. He’s confused. He’s a bit zoned out and upset, if I’m honest. He doesn’t understand why you left. Why did you leave?”

“It’s what I do, I guess.”, she answered, shrugging her shoulders. She turned her eyes awkwardly to the ground and kicked her boots against the floor, causing Cason to narrow his eyes.

“Right…”, he said, but his voice held suspicion. He knew that there was more to her story, and that something had caused her to leave. But instead of pushing it, he reached out, cradling her face in his hands. He pulled her forward and pressed a tight kiss to her forehead, “You know you can call me if you need me…even now.”

“I know.”, she whispered, her eyes closed, “But can you leave?”

“Of course. I need to let them know you’re alive. Keep him safe, alright? Don’t open the door, and put a trap under that door mat, just in case whoever made you leave shows up.”, Cason explained casually, stepping back from her. He disappeared before she could even correct him, and she dropped her arms in exasperation, tears threatening the corners of her eyes.

Dean

As soon as Cason disappeared, Dean stayed silent for a moment, until Nat turned to him, and accused him of having something to say. At first, he feigned innocence, shaking his head, “I don’t know what you want me to say…”

He crossed his arms but then held a hand up, shifting to one leg, “He suddenly decides to protect you, after all this time. What is it? He has been taking care of you from afar and suddenly he feels the need to be close enough to sleep in your bed? I’m just confused, Nat. This is Cason. You know…Cason? The guy who slept with my girlfriend. The guy who essentially lied to Anna for God knows how long about what he was. And suddenly he’s a saint. Saint demon…”

He took a deep breath, and shook his head, “I didn’t mean it like that. I just need to know…how do you…feel about him? Is it an ‘I owe him’ kind of attachment or is it a ‘he’s dangerous, let me jump in bed with him’ kind of thing?”

Before he could even get an answer from her, Cason appeared behind her, much faster than he had anticipated. He rolled his eyes, and gave Nat a look that said ‘I expect that answer when you’re finished with him’. Luckily for Dean, Cason stood still and quiet, holding a piece of paper in his hands as he waited for the stress to leave the area around Nat.

Duke

Duke listened carefully for Esme’s voice in the room, breathing deep through his nose. Finally, he heard her voice and a wide relieved smile spread across his face. He gently pressed on the door, pushing it open, before removing the trashcan from the gap, and closing the door behind him. He didn’t immediately go to touch her, deciding instead to get some clothes on, just in case she decided to continue screaming at him. At least he wouldn’t end up back outside, naked.

He kicked off his boots and threw his hat on the dresser, before grabbing a pair of boxers and a tshirt, throwing them both over his body. He stood still at the foot of the bed, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, and then crawled onto the mattress. He carefully crawled all the way up until he was leaning on his hands and knees beside Esme, and reached a gentle hand over to wrap his fingers around one of her wrists.

“Hey. Darlin, look at me.”, he whispered, bringing her hand up to his lips, where he pressed soft kisses to her knuckles, “I mean, I can’t flash my baby blues and apologize right if you don’t look at me.”

As he lightly teased her, he smiled against her knuckles so she could feel it, and then balanced on just his knees, reaching for her other hand, “C’mon, sweet pea…”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna played with the button on the right sleeve of Sam’s flannel as she stared out the window of the plane. She didn’t even know she was capable of controlling anyone’s mind, outside of demons, but in her desperation at the airport, she had convinced a desk attendent to not only give her a ticket, but to get her a rush ticket to Sacramento.

While waiting for the plane to taxi, she had called the one person she knew she could trust, Max, her sort of ex boyfriend and former Stanford roommate. Of course he said he would pick her up from the airport. He never could tell her no.

“It’s almost over…”, she whispered, as the plane began to circle over the city, readying itself for landing. The only thing playing through Anna’s mind, the entire time they decended, was the hope that Sam would be okay this time, and that he wouldn’t follow her to California. She reached under her seat, pulling her backpack and holding it in her lap, taking a deep breath at the fact that she was almost home…well…her old home.

Walking through the airport, she shivered, nervously glancing around for any signs of the Winchesters, or Cason for that matter. But the airport was surprisingly empty. Taking another deep breath, she played with the button on the sleeve of Sam’s flannel, which she was wearing as a dress and finally Max came into view.

Max

He gave her a wide smile, like her tired and devastated face was the best thing he had ever seen, and the look made her stomach drop. She wasn’t here to give him some false hope. She just needed his apartment. It was selfish.

“Hey! How have you been?!”, he asked loudly as he ran up to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Her heart sped up a bit and she swallowed down her tears as the first physical contact she had felt since leaving Sam washed over her.

“I um…It’s a long story. But, I’m here.”, she explained simply as he pulled back from her and pulled her backpack straps from her shoulders. He slung the backpack onto his back and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“We have plenty of time to catch up, kid. First, let’s get you back to the house and out of…whatever you’re wearing. And from the looks of it, we need to get some food into your system.”, he laughed. Anna feigned a small smile, nodding her head as he guided her out of the airport, back to what she was assuming was their old apartment.

Dean and Cason

Dean glanced back at the door when he heard footsteps walking out, only to see Nat. He diverted his eyes from her for a moment, only to turn fully and look down at her as she asked to talk to him. He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, squinting at the ideas in his head of what she could possibly have to say to him. But as awkward as they both were toward each other, he took a deep breath and followed her away from the group, silently agreeing to let her say her piece.

He crossed his arms, shielding himself from whatever she decided to throw at him, only for her to make him visibly flinch with her first few words. She was apologizing. And then Hell came back up and he visibly flinched again, just at the mention and the quick flash of memories. He opened his mouth to speak, only for her to continue, causing him to quickly close his mouth and scan her eyes.

What she dumped next caused him to make the most confused face he had caught himself making in a while, processing everything she was telling him so fast that his head hurt. Once she slowed down, he took a very deep breath, letting it out with a shake of his head, his hands coming down to his hips.

“He…basically saved your life.”, he said softly, looking up at her from under his brow. He was processing out loud and honestly wasn’t completely convinced that she wasn’t being manipulated by Cason. Then the realization dawned on him, “You remember him from the asylum, don’t you. He was there…”

Tilting his head back, he stared over her head, toward the door of her room, chewing at his lip, before reaching forward and gently pulling her into a hug.

As he hugged her, the door behind her slammed loudly and Cason stomped out onto the sidewalk.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just…ready to fling myself into Hell. I’ll be here when you’re finished.”, Cason grumbled, pacing as he tried to decide whether to just leave and go to the first idea he had for where Anna could be, or whether to stay and make sure everyone was on the same page. He glanced down the sidewalk at Sam, sighing, as he almost felt bad for him.

Duke

As Dean walked away with Nat, Duke sighed at how heavy the morning was already, between the fall out from the night before with Dean and Nat, and the missing girl that he honestly didn’t even know…but apparently was important to Sam. When Mika spoke up, he nodded, “Yeah, I gathered. Looks like they might be able to salvage things though. They always do.”

He chuckled, but flinched when the door slammed, and turned his head, to see Cason stomping out of the room that Esme had just entered. He had to force his feet to stay still, as worry welled up, only for Esme to follow him out a few moments later. As she approached, he reached a hand out for her, but she went to Sam first.

His shoulders fell, but he patiently waited for her, relieved instantly for Sam. At least he would have hope…

But then she ran off toward their room without even acknowledging him and he tilted his head, frowning, “I think I messed up…”, he muttered to Mika, nodding to her and Sam, before following after Esme. As soon as he got to the door, he leaned his head against it, gently knocking, “Can I come in or should I um…go spend some time with my cooler in the back of the truck?”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean and Anya

Dean waved as Lexi asked what the demons wanted from Anya. He was genuinely curious to know how a girl like her could end up in such a mess. But the mention of the Colt instantly caused his eyes to practically pop out of his head.

“The Colt. Like…THE Colt?”, he asked incredulously as Sam explained that Anya knew they couldn’t get the gun back. His excitement wained a bit, having a brief moment of thinking that maybe this girl was some sort of key to finding it. But alas, she didn’t seem to even know what they were talking about, judging by her face, “Even if we had the gun, we would never give it to a d-…to an aquaintance. That would be stupid.”

Anya didn’t even know how to respond to any of them, but she picked up the pad of paper she had used to communicate with Sam, and wrote down, “My father had it just a few years ago. But when he was killed, it disappeared.”

“What? He what?!”, Dean asked, as she turned the pad around, causing her to flinch visibly. She tapped aggressively at the word ‘killed’, and then spelled out ‘because of the gun’ in sign. Rolling her eyes after Dean stared at her for a moment, she made a gun with her fingers, and pulled it up to her temple, pretending to kill herself with it, and then held it up.

“He was killed for the Colt.”, he asked slowly, and Anya nodded, putting the paper pad back onto the table, “Well…then I guess we have work to do. I’m not making the mistake I want to make right now. So, back to the bunker?”

Anya wondered what mistake that could be. Leaving her alone? Teaching her stuff? Was Dean more of the answer here than Sam? She didn’t know, but as soon as Dean got the words out of his mouth, she smiled, feeling accomplished and signed to Sam, “Let’s go.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean and Anya

Dean flinched and frowned even deeper when Lexi slapped his arm and scolded him, “It was an honest question! For all I know, she’s hexing me or something with those hand skills.”, he grumbled, rubbing his arm. But as soon as they had an actual name, he raised his eyebrows and nodded, “Anya! Small angry woman’s name is Anya. Good to know.”

Anya was just about to turn to Dean and let him know that she could hear him fine, when Sam spoke up, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She honestly didn’t want to have to pass another language barrier with a stranger. It was getting to be exhausting in this town.

She looked down at the floor, crossing her arms again, to show that she was verbally disarmed, and shifted her weight from one foot to the other as Sam explained what she needed. She half expected yet another lecture, but instead, Dean simply huffed.

“You always seem to find them, don’t you?”, he muttered with a chuckle, causing Anya to look up at him, so she could judge his face. He seemed relaxed, and not as worried as she expected, which was both concerning and a relief. What if he just said they couldn’t help?, “By aquaintances we’re talking about the kind with…not so normal eyes, right?”
Anya simply nodded, bringing out one of her hands to sign to him, but deciding against it. Dean was already waving off her attempt to speak.

“We don’t train hunters.”, he said simply, and Anya’s eyes widened and she looked back at Sam, begging him for an answer to what that meant, “But I guess we have to help…”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean and Anya

Dean frowned as they approached the table, and he noticed that not only was the girl signing, meaning she was deaf? He assumed? But also, it looked as if she was leaving in a hurry. What had Sam done to deserve this kind of attention?

Anya glanced up at Dean and Lexi, assuming they were waiting on the table at first, but then Sam stood and asked for a compromise and her head whipped back to face him in shock. She honestly didn’t expect him to concede so easily, but the look on his face was hard to ignore.

She sighed through her nose, her shoulders dropping as she folded her arms across her chest, a sign she wasn’t willing to discuss this any further, but then he mentioned his brother, and she turned to scan over the two people she thought were waiting for a table. Pulling her hands from their pretzel, she slowly signed, “Fine. But I’m not dumb, just because I can’t speak.”

She hoped he would at least understand that small sentence enough to respect her, and then Dean spoke up, “So, this isn’t how I expected to find you. Who’s your friend?”

“Anya.”, she sighed quickly, barely looking at Dean before turning her eyes back to Sam for confirmation. Dean flinched and his face scrunched in confusion as he turned to Lexi and held his hand out.

“Am I supposed to know what that means?”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean and Duke

Dean sighed in relief as Mika listened to his brother and simply nodded at him. But as she passed, her words in his ear both perked him up and frightened him. He swallowed heavily, not even glancing at her with a simple, “Noted.”

Duke frowned, glancing down at Esme’s arm as she pulled him to the side, and quickly pushed his hat back on his head so that he could see the fire in her eyes. He had either really messed up, or she was needing something, and judging by the brand of fire he saw, she was pissed.

“Now hold on…”, he started, as she laid into him over the bounty hunter comments. He had no intention of sending some hack job after Anna, though he couldn’t guarantee they would follow instructions…

This Esme definitely brought back memories. Slightly less physical than she used to be, which he chalked up to the fact that she still had stitches (and he was thankful for that), but when she continued, he winced. He opened his mouth to speak, after she finished, feeling very small. But he was cut off before he could speak, turning his eyes down to the ground like a scolded little boy, “Yes, ma’am…”

Dean couldn’t help but notice the exchange, knowing that he likely had his own scolding coming…luckily not from Esme, this time. But Esme was right. Bounty Hunters jobs were to bring back bodies. If the bodies were banged and bruised, they still got paid. If they were dead, they got paid less…but still paid. Duke knew this, but then again, Duke himself had done some bounty hunting with Dean for a bit, during their dark years. It almost made Dean feel bad for him.

“You alright?”, he asked Duke as Mika showed back up behind him. Duke simply waved him off, and leaned against the post in front of the rooms, waiting to see what went down in the other room.

Dean instead looked down at Mika with a sigh, “He’ll help, or he’ll deal with Sam. I’m sure that’s a decent incentive.”

Cason

Cason listened to Nat essentially beg him to stay. It’s not like he would leave if she didn’t want him to. He didn’t have a reason to. She was safer with him near her, and she was safer mentally if she wasn’t alone. At the same time, he knew the tension between her and her brothers wasn’t exactly productive. There was work to do, and as much as he wanted to blip her out of the game completely, he couldn’t. He opened his mouth to argue with her, when the knock at the door came and he dropped the issue for the time being, smirking at how jumpy Nat was, being wrapped up in their conversation.

“It seems we’ll have to continue this later.”, he agreed, dropping his hands onto his lap, before scooting himself off the bed behind her. He followed her to the door, but stood back, wanting to be the last body in the path of her brother, but what he saw on the other side of the open door caused him to frown in confusion.

“Esme? Why um…why would they send you of all people?”, he asked awkwardly, his pride still a bit wounded by the shunning he felt like he had received after their meet up with the demons. He fully expected her to still be wrapped up with Duke, her knight in shining armor, and though he didn’t fully know what jealousy should feel like, he still felt a bit…hurt.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean smiled widely at her agreement to coffee and turned back to the steering wheel, bringing the Impala to life with a roar. He peeled out of the parking lot, but slowed once he was on the road, driving slowly while looking around for the coffee shop he had picked Sam up from time and time again.

“Hopefully…hopefully, the bunker will be a little more comfortable with all these creature comforts. I mean, having other people around might help Sam. I’m fine…most of the time. But Sam, he gets lonely…”, he rambled, before parallel parking in front of the coffee shop, and putting the car into park.

“Although. I vote that you stay, if not just for sanity. I’ve been ready to kill Sam and his hovering nature for months.”, he quipped with a chuckle, opening the door quickly and stepping out. Before Lexi even opened the door, he glanced over the roof of the car at the window of the coffee shop and huffed another chuckle, “Well, will you look at that. Sam…is with a girl.”

Anya

Anya held her frustrated face for a moment, while Sam attempted to talk his way out of her anger. She couldn’t help but soften her face as he spoke, turning her eyes down from his face to the table. It was obvious he had seen people like her before, and apparently had lost people because of it. The thought hurt her heart, but she couldn’t back down.

Truthfully, she had also lost people, but for the opposite reason. She lost them because they weren’t prepared. They didn’t know what little she knew. They didn’t know what they were getting themselves into and were slaughtered like ants because of it.

Shaking her head lightly, she pulled the pad back one more time, as the door opened and Dean stepped in, “I’m going to find a way to learn. If you don’t want to help me, I understand. But I have to do this.”

She stood up, pushing her chair back and straightened her jacket, before digging in her pocket for a couple of bills to tip the waitresses. She laid them on the table and pushed her chair back in behind her, before turning to him and signing, “See you around, Sam.”