JustAnna

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Cason, Dean, Duke, and Anna

Duke stepped a little closer to Esme as he watched her body language change with the questioning. He didn’t say a word for the time being, deciding that he would step in to fill in gaps if it was needed. But the second she started talking about the note Bobby gave him, he tensed. He had no idea how Dean, who was on edge already, would react to the news. Or Anna, who seemed so on edge that her tension was palpable in the room.

Dean simply tilted his head, his eyes narrowed, as she explained the situation. He didn’t see this as any sort of weird situation. It was a farm…crawling with demons. With the right preparation, they would be in and out within a few hours. But then she mentioned Anna, and he turned to look at her, along with everyone else.

Anna breathed in, tensing and balling up her fists as the entire room seemed to focus on her. She didn’t remember anything about her childhood, or any connections in her life outside of Cason. She opened her mouth to speak but decided against it as the room still seemed focused on her. If Esme continued, maybe they would shift focus.

Cason and Dean echoed one another, turning their heads toward her and raising their eyebrows, when Esme said that she had seen the future. That was new. Even for Cason, that was surprising and opened up a whole new level of ‘what is she?’ in his mind. They both listened intently until she mentioned Dean’s name and he sat up a little straighter.

“Well, I um…It can’t be seeing the future. I mean, what demons do we know that can do that much damage with this big of a group? We have a demon on our side. We have Anna, who seems ready to rip throats. No offense, Anna.” Dean spoke up, rubbing his hands on his pants uncomfortably.

“But you don’t think we should take this seriously?” Duke chimed in, annoyed with how Dean was dismissing what seemed like a very real premonition of his demise. There was no way that Esme was just having some sort of fever dream that detailed.

“Of course, we should take it seriously! But we have nothing to go on. Esme might be able to see the future, which should freak me out, but considering…things, it doesn’t. I say we go and we see what’s there.”

“There’s something bigger there,” Cason grumbled with a sigh. Anna placed her hand on the table near his and he moved it, not wanting to accidentally be burned again.

“What is the connection to me?” Anna randomly chimed in, causing Dean and Cason to turn and look at her. “I mean, I know I’m the weird one here that’s high as a kite. I know everyone is afraid of me but what does a demon-infested farm in Western Missouri have to do with me?”

“We don’t know,” Duke spoke softly to her. He didn’t know Anna, but he knew that she was scared and on edge. He knew that she felt like the ‘other’ in the room, a feeling he knew very well. “But we could um…we could go look.”

“I don’t think we should just go look. We need to find out what we’re walking into.” Cason corrected but Dean slapped the table in front of him and shook his head.

“No. Because every single time we do that, especially when it’s your idea, everything falls apart. We go. We find out what’s going on. We take care of it…kill it.” Dean snapped, but Cason growled and turned to Nat.

“Please talk sense into him. Please!”

“I don’t need my sister telling me anything. And don’t tell her what to do. Don’t forget that you’re only alive because of her!” Dean raised his voice, making it clear that this wasn’t going to be a case that was cut and dry. Working together was already proving to be easier said than done, and with what was coming, they were screwed if they couldn’t fix this.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Cason, Duke, Anna and Dean

Anna sighed, her knee beginning to jump aggressively as the arguing went on for what seemed like hours. With every word that Cason said, and with his back turned to her, she struggled not to jump on him. But she had made a deal with him. She had promised, silently, not to hurt him as long as he was willing to work with her. She wanted nothing more than to yell at Dean that she was fine, along with Cason, but the truth was, she wasn’t sure if she was fine. She was struggling not to murder her ex boyfriend, while the rest of her little family seemed scared to death of her. They truly thought she was dangerous…again.

Dean turned to Mika a bit unwillingly, and frowned, staring at her. He followed her breathing and growled, his emotions so heightened that he felt like they would never regulate. He was tired of demons getting to every single member of their group, and as innocent as she looked, Anna seemed to be the problem, to him. She brought Cason to them. She brought demon blood to the surface of the issue. She was high right now! But Mika was right. If he was aggressive, Anna would run, Nat would hate him, and everything would just blow up again.

He took a deep breath, and turned his eyes down. He couldn’t help the chuckle, and the glare that he shot Mika as she called him her classic ‘brozilla’ nickname. He turned to Duke, who was already shaking his head.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m just tired of…”

“Don’t worry about it bub. I get it. We got a lot to get to, and a lot to get through. Let’s just figure this shit out, alright?” Duke explained softly, his blue eyes wide and convincing as Dean sighed once again and nodded, placing his hands on his hips. “Now, let’s go inside and see what we can come up with.”

Duke placed a gentle hand on Esme’s back and led her into the room behind Dean and Mika as Nat turned to them. He cleared his throat, and leaned against the wall by the door with his arms folded, “It might.”

Cason didn’t quite like that answer, and he tilted his head, turning his eyes from Duke to Esme, who seemed on edge. He didn’t know Esme as well as he would have liked to, but he knew that she was different. She could feel emotions and was horrible at hiding her own. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head back, “It might? Esme, what do you know?”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke uncovered his eyes, and glanced over at Esme with a raised eyebrow. Sam and the little one coming back with baggage couldn’t be good. Sam on his own coming back with baggage was scary enough. He sighed, and turned back to look at the ceiling, just as Esme leaned over him. He thought she was going to wrap up on him, and tell him to just stay in bed and let the others rest for a while. Instead, she kissed his cheek and sat up, almost pulling an audible groan from him.

He followed her movements, throwing his legs over the side of the bed. “I’ll go break the news to Dean at least. Maybe he’ll be more…accepting of information if I can calm him down first.”

Duke began to get dressed, slipping into his jeans as he stared off into space, trying to reason with himself on what to tell Dean. He glanced over at Esme as he buttoned his jeans, and reached for a shirt. He could tell that Sarah was nearby, after Esme said her name. He still didn’t know how he felt about getting too close to the hellhound. So, he pulled his t-shirt over his head without approaching them.

After a moment, Duke stepped over to the dresser and retrieved his hat, shoving it onto his head with another sigh. He was dreading telling Dean anything. But he didn’t want Dean caught off guard. That wasn’t fair. Before he had enough time to tell Esme he would be back, he heard Dean’s voice and his fist pounding a door.

“No. That can’t be good.” He echoed Esme, grabbing his pistol off the dresser and shoving into the back of his jeans, before following her out the door. He protectively held an arm out, stepping in front of Esme as they approached the group. He was ready to help Dean, but he wanted Esme back and away from any danger that might be behind the door Dean was trying to get into. “Stay back here. If there is somethin’ going on in there, you need to be with…with Sarah.”

Dean and Cason

Dean continued to hammer at the door, ignoring all the bickering and chaos behind him. He just wanted to get to Nat. For all he knew, Anna had already ripped Cason’s throat out and had hurt Nat in the process. As Esme showed up out of nowhere, he turned his head, and almost echoed Sam.

“Nat’s stuck in there with…with Anna and if anyone’s killing Cason, it’s me!”

He stepped back from the door, and prepared himself to kick it in, when the door swung open, causing Dean to tilt his head to the side in confusion.

“What?” He asked, fully not understanding what Nat had said. They were just ‘chatting’? He glanced around Nat’s side, and saw Anna and Cason, casually sitting together at the table. The sight made him even more confused, and he squinted his eyes. “Did you know she was high? She looks fine!”

“Because she is fine!” Cason called out to Dean, causing Dean to grit his teeth in frustration. He scanned over Anna’s face, and she really did look…fine. She seemed a bit on edge. Her eyes were a little hollow and dilated. Her leg was bouncing on the ground and she seemed to be keeping her distance from Cason, but she didn’t seem on the edge of murdering the demon, or anything.

“Alright. Well…she’s fine.” Dean spoke flatly, turning on his feet to throw his hands up at Mika. She was the only one who would understand his frustration with being wrong. The last time Anna had access to Cason while she was high on demon blood, she had nearly killed him. He turned back to Nat at the door and sighed, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck, “So, what are you guys talking about?”

“Dean. That ain’t none of your business.” Duke groaned, trying to diffuse some of the tension for Esme’s sake. Dean simply shot him a dirty glare, and then turned to Esme.

“And what are you guys doing?” He asked, his annoyance beginning to spill into him attacking everyone, if Mika wasn’t able to pull him back in.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna and Cason

Anna winced when Nat spoke her own fears aloud. Cason was scared. Most likely, they were screwed. She folded her fingers into fists, and wiped them aggressively on her bare legs, anxiety flooding her, along with Cason’s heartbeat roaring through the room. But she had to continue, before something bad inevitably happened. It was like being fielded by the FBI. The demons could be anywhere.

“There’s more…unfortunately.” Anna started, pulling the empty vial of blood from her pocket and placing it on the table. She placed both her hands back in her lap as Cason stepped closer, reaching for the vial. “Please don’t come near me! Please…I can hear your heart beating.”

“I don’t have a heartbeat.” Cason muttered, confused. He narrowed his eyes at her, and Anna simply shrugged.

“Well, whatever that really loud buzz is…it sounds like a heartbeat. I can’t handle it anymore. So, stay over there and let me finish and then I need to go. I want to rip your throat out.” Anna snapped quickly, holding up a hand but not looking up at Cason. He took a few steps back, and sighed. The poor girl was in bad shape and there was absolutely nowhere to lock her down, or keep her safe. They were stuck with flimsy motel walls and picture windows…in the presence of a ticking time bomb.

“Go on. What happened next?” Cason urged her, shooting a worried glance over to Natalia. With Anna being able to burn demons alive, there was no way he could restrain her, if she did attack him. He realized, in that moment, that he had made a mistake, allowing Nat to stay. She was currently the only body in the room that could try to handle Anna unless he could disappear from the room, and then Dean would kill him for leaving Anna alone with Nat.

“W-we got on a bus. And when we were getting on the bus, there was this demon that was watching us. He ended up on the bus with us, and literally the second the bus started moving, he and every other person riding, held Sam down and forced me to drink demon blood.”

As she finished explaining, Cason stopped his pacing and held out a hand in confusion, “How exactly were they able to force feed you? Your hands are like acid, right?”

“Only when I’m high. Like…I don’t even know if I can microdose like S-….like others. I have to be high before it works. After the guy was basically drained, I was able to burn all of them. I turned him to ash. That was a new one.”

Anna seemed genuinely confused and scared of her own powers, but also cynical. Cason could only assume it was how high she was, that was causing her to behave this way. But Sam was still drinking demon blood? Sam was using his powers…without drinking from demons. That was the big take away that Cason wouldn’t speak out loud until he and Nat were alone. He nearly flinched when Anna started talking again.

“Then at the airport, a woman followed me into the restroom, and gave me that. It was given like an anxiety pill before I got on the plane. She told me ‘the cowboy has the address’ and ‘it’s either you or one of them’. Sam doesn’t know. They just want me…”

“They’re not getting you.” Cason snapped quickly, cutting her off.

“What other choice do we have?! She made it clear that Sam is to stay alive. They don’t even want Sam. They just want me. I won’t let anyone get hurt for me…not anymore. Sam will just have to deal.” She snapped at him, picking up the vial and fidgeting with it. But Cason wasn’t going to budge on this. His annoyance and frustration with trying to keep humans alive was reaching a boiling point. The last thing they needed on their hands was Sam Winchester, high on demon blood, mourning the girlfriend he had just flown a thousand miles to retrieve. She was making it out of this.

“Give that to me.” He ordered, almost like a father or a big brother. He snatched the vial from her hand, her finger sizzling against his skin as their hands brushed. He unscrewed the lid, and pulled his pocket knife with his free hand. Flipping it open, he jabbed the tip into his wrist and quickly pulled the vial up to drip his blood into it. “This is probably a horrible idea, but whatever they are wanting you to do is going to take a lot out of you, and we need you to be able to kill…every…single…demon that is there.”

“I don’t want to.” Anna whispered, but Cason held the full vial of his blood out to her, and nodded at it. “I don’t want to kill demons.”

“You don’t have a choice, darling.”

Dean

Dean sat down at the table, as Mika answered the knock at the door. He figured it would be Sam and Anna, pregaming the group on her plans to meet with Cason, but to his surprise, it was just Sam. As Sam walked in, he could tell that his brother was exhausted, stressed and upset. He looked disheveled and honestly, it was unnerving, to see Sam this way, after what should have been a simple retrieval. Mika took the words out of his mouth, when she urged Sam to speak and Dean leaned back in his chair a bit, waiting for the bomb to drop.

Hearing that they were tailed by demons from the beginning caused Dean’s hair to stand up. Of course they were. The two were magnets.

“Of course they knew where you were. You were separated. It’s the perfect opportunity to get to you both separately…”, Dean groaned. But he waved Sam on and when his brother got to the ‘weird’ part, Dean nearly groaned again. Weird, for Sam, was dangerous. That meant they were both lucky to be alive. Anna hearing voices wasn’t exactly surprising for Dean. She was a little off, and possibly not even human. He would never voice this out loud, for fear of his very tired brother punching his lights out. But the thought was in his mind, until Sam began to talk about the bus. Dean instantly sat up straight. The name Alastair caused a bit of tunnel vision to set in, and his heart began to hammer in his chest.

“So wait. Anna is being targeted by Alastair?” He almost whispered, his voice shaky as he stared off into space. If that was the case, there wasn’t much of a way to protect Anna. Alastair would get what he wanted. He always got what he wanted. Dean wasn’t even 100% sure that there was a way to beat him, even if they had the weapons they needed.

He almost didn’t hear the rest of the conversation between Sam and Mika, but the second Mika scolded Sam for leaving Anna alone with Cason and Nat, Dean’s protective nature flared and he came back to reality.

“She’s high?! Sammy do you remember what happened the last time she got high and was within ten feet of Cason?” He scolded him, standing from his chair. His legs were shaky and his hands were quivering, but he had to push that down. There was a real possibility that Nat could be in danger, and he wouldn’t even have to kill Cason for it. Anna would do that for him. “I’m going down there. If she tries to kill Cason, Nat will try to stop her.”

Without another word, Dean stomped toward the door and then out onto the sidewalk, his heart hammering so hard in his chest that he could hear it in his ears. He had a small hope that Mika and/or Sam would follow him, for some sort of backup. Anna was terrifying when she was high, and unhinged. He knocked frantically on the door of Nat’s room and took a deep breath.

“Nat?!”

Cason hurried and took the empty vial from Anna, as soon as she finished drinking his blood. He capped it and shoved it into his pocket, as Anna wiped her mouth. Taking a chance, he sat down at the table and gestured for Nat to get the door. “I think we’re good, for now. We have a deal, little one?”

“We have a deal.” Anna whispered. She had struck a deal with Cason, similar to the deal that Sam had with Ruby. In return? She had to tell him if she was thinking of draining him, and he would provide.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna looked up at Sam as they stepped out of the corridor and into the terminal of the airport. She had spent most of the flight curled up in her chair, hoping that no one would notice that she was high as kite. But Sam’s complaint about the leg room caused her to smirk. He had sat behind a particularly rude lady that took absolutely no hints at his need for leg room. Being well over six foot, he had to be sore.

“I’m sorry. I should have switched seats with you. I just couldn’t…not sit next to the window.” She apologized with a wince. Feeling as uneasy as she had, the idea of sitting anywhere but the window seat would have sent her into a full blown panic attack on the plane. She placed a hand on his side, mostly to make sure they stuck together as they walked through the airport and out to the taxis.

The second they were comfortable in their seats, she waited for Sam to give the address and leaned her head against the window, internally groaning at the idea of having to be near Cason, while very high. The last time she was in this situation, she almost drained Cason dry.

“Maybe I’ll feel more excited when we get there…”, she muttered, flexing her right hand.

Dean

Dean was enjoying the peace and quiet of having absolutely nothing to do, when suddenly, his phone vibrated. He groaned, and glanced down when Mika did. Pulling the phone from in between them, he held it up over his face and checked.

“Yeah. The kids should be back in about ten minutes or so. That’s a Cason problem.” He huffed, but he knew that Sam would be coming to him. If Anna wanted to talk to Cason, Sam had news. He sat up reluctantly, and threw his legs over the side of the bed, standing with a soft groan. “Sam’s going to come through that door. Something happened while they were gone. And I would assume…”

He stopped and sighed, throwing his hands up in annoyance, “I would assume that something ahs to do with demons.”

Cason (and Anna)

Cason paced in the room, glancing toward the window every now and again. The feeling he had in the pit of his stomach told him that they were probably being watched, which meant that Anna had run into some serious trouble. It was the whole reason he wanted to keep her under his thumb. Letting her have all that freedom, and just leaving her to her own with Sam was the worst idea he had possibly ever had.

As he disassociated and stared out the window, a yellow cab pulled up behind the cars in the parking lot. He didn’t bother to go to the door, he already knew what was coming next. He turned and paced back to the back of the room, and like clockwork, a knock at the door came.

“I got it.”, he grumbled, quickly marching to the door. As the door swung open, a very keyed up, very shaky Anna stood there, without Sam. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

He looked around the parking lot, scanning with his eyes, ears and nose for demons or anyone that might be trailing them. Luckily, nothing was out of the ordinary, not even the smell of sulfur. Anna didn’t speak at first, seemingly allowing Cason to make sure she was alone, and then she crossed her arms nervously.

“He went to fill Dean in. Can I come in? It’s getting dark and I’m…I’m not doing good.” She explained with a shaky voice. Anna could barely hear her own voice over Cason’s heartbeat raging in her ears. She was afraid that if she looked at him too hard, she would be able to see the blood pumping through his veins. Cason stepped to the side and held the door open, waving Anna in, and toward Nat at the table.

Anna stepped in and Cason closed the door, locking both locks and turning to stand against it. He then sighed, and ripped the bandaid off. “You drank demon blood.”

Anna’s head snapped to look at him, her eyes filling with tears immediately. In that instant, Cason regretted ripping that bandaid off. He softened his expression as she tried to find her words and finally, she choked out “Yeah. But it’s complicated! I will get there but first I need to know about something that happened at the motel.”

“Alright. Alright…let’s start with one question at a time.” Cason cooed to her, stepping forward, but Anna held up both her hands and shook her head, telling him to stay where he was. Holding up his own hands, he leaned against the door once again, and urged her to continue. “What happened first?”

“Um…Nat’s here.”

“It’s okay. She’s with me and she’s only here to help. She won’t say anything to the others unless you’re cool with it. Right Nat?” Cason encouraged Anna, who seemed reluctant but finally decided to continue.

“When we left this morning, there was this old lady. She was just standing there and she was speaking Latin…but on the outside, from the look on Sam’s face, she was just being a nice old lady.” Anna paused for a moment and Cason tilted his head.

“You said she was speaking Latin. Do you remember any of what she said?”

“I only remember hearing my name and one single line…’Nexis ad luciferum luciferum primo rumpitur.’ I think that’s how it went.” She explained and Cason brought his hand up to his chin, rubbing it as he thought about the translation for a moment. He began to mumble the words outloud and furrowed his brow.

“The intertwined shall be broken at the first light of the morning star…” He murmured, repeating himself a few times. On the surface it made no sense, but the longer he washed over it, the more obvious the message came. Without allowing Anna to go much further, he looked over at Nat and his expression was stern. “Your brother cannot know about any of this. I mean it.”

“What does that mean, Cason? What is the morning star?” Anna asked frantically. Cason turned and looked at her. His expression showed fear, and he only uttered one word.

“Lucifer.”

Duke

Duke’s smile only grew as Esme teased him back. All the relief in the world washed over him to feel something other than stress, considering how he thought this night would go. He was about to make that first move, when Esme climbed onto his lap, eliciting a surprised chuckle out of him. He wrapped his arm around her, keeping his hold against her jaw as she leaned in to touch noses. The smile on his face was nearly hurting his cheeks by that point. He stopped the urge to go ahead and kiss her, but when she made her intentions clear, he gave into her completely, kissing her deeply, while pulling her impossibly close to him. For now, this was all they needed…each other.

——-TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER——-

Duke drew little circles on Esme’s shoulder as he stared at the ceiling. He wasn’t thinking. He was simply staring. After a few moments, however, the thoughts of needing to tell the others the truth came flooding into his brain. He pushed them aside quickly, and nuzzled Esme’s forehead with his cheek, trying his best to keep what little rest they had intact.

The sun had began to set outside and the light that peeked through the window was dim and almost seemed ominous, like an hourglass, counting down the time they all had to just exist. As if right on cue, a car pulled up outside the rooms down the way, and a door slammed. Not too long after, two separate knocks at two separate doors rang out, and Duke involuntarily groaned.

“The gang is back together at last…”, he grumbled, bringing his free arm up to place it over his eyes in annoyance. This is why he wanted to run away. This was the feeling he was trying to avoid…the feeling of helplessness, and inevitablity. He wondered if they should give them space, or go and rip the bandaid off, the second they got back. The faster they took care of whatever the mysterious case was that would end up with Dean flat on his ass, the faster that they could stop it and move on. “Should we go over there, or warn them we’re comin’, eh?”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna looked down at her shirt again, as Sam offered her his hand and asked if she wanted his hoodie. It was pretty badly stained with blood. But even more ominous looking was her skin, which was essentially painted with it. Sighing, she took his hand and shook her head, “Let’s just get to a bathroom as quickly as we can. I don’t want to potentially draw attention, in case they had friends waiting on us.”

Luckily the bathrooms were closer than she thought they would be, to the door. She stepped away from Sam, squeezing his hand to reassure him that she would be back, and then quickly walked into the bathroom. Now that the demon blood was coursing through her veins, seemingly faster than ever, she felt paranoid. As she stepped in, a hand dryer began to blow as a woman dried her hands, in the corner. The simple action caused Anna to flinch, instantly on full guard against the loud noise. The lights overhead buzzed. The buzzing was so loud that it was nearly deafening as she winced, and tried to ignore it. She stepped into a stall, and quickly closed the door behind her, dropping her bags in the corner.

She pulled an oversized tshirt and a pair of bicycle shorts from her bag and shakily removed Sam’s flannel, rolling it into a ball and shoving it back into her bag, before getting fully dressed.

Just as she was pulling a baby wipe from a small pack in her backpack, to begin cleaning the blood from her chest and hands, the door to the bathroom opened, and she froze. It could have been Sam, but it was an all women’s restroom. Unless something was wrong, Sam likely wouldn’t come in and she was too frozen to call out for him. To her relief, the stall next to her opened and a woman stepped in and seemingly sat down. Leaning her head against the wall for a moment to catch her breath and diffuse a bit of dizziness, Anna took a long and deep breath…

“I don’t blame you for being nervous.” A feminine voice called out from the stall next to her, causing Anna’s blood to run cold as she raised her face from her shaky hand and stared at the wall, wishing she had x-ray vision. “Alastair is very intimidating, but I will tell you…he’s also very fair. Don’t!”

Anna froze once more, just as she reached for the lock on the door, to run. How the person heard her fumbling with the door, she didn’t know, but she instantly dropped her hand and turned back toward the wall. Of course demons were at the airport. They were following them everywhere, “What do you want?”

“I don’t want anything. I am simply here to send a message to you…and by proxy, to Sam. Alastair would like to meet you at a special place. Your group has the address, and he requests that you bring the entire group for a little…rendevous. If Alastair is happy with what he gets, then he will leave your merry band of losers alone. If not, he’ll kill you all.” The voice explained and Anna’s eyes began to slowly cloud over with white in her sudden anger and frustration. She began to breathe heavily and the lady laughed, “Don’t do that. He also wanted me to let you know that it’s non-negotiable. If you don’t show up, he has all of your friends in a fishbowl right now. You might want to start considering the one you could stand to lose…My vote would be fore Dean. Alastair is finished playing games.”

“So, what does he want from me?” Anna choked out, leaning her head against the wall again, with her eyes closed. The person in the stall was a demon. Anna could hear their heartbeat, whirring like an engine, just on the other side of the metal wall.

“Simple. He wants you to be great! He wants you to do what you were made to do, and when the time comes, he wants you to be willing to fulfill your purpose…fully…without Sam Winchester’s morality standing in the way.”

“He’ll never let me go. Now that we’re back together, he’ll be watching me like a hawk. I don’t plan to fight him…” Anna began but the voice called out again.

“That’s why you follow…the plan. Sam won’t have many choices in what happens from there. But it’s you or one of them. I vote we start with the problem, little Sammy. But apparently Lilith wants him alive. So, maybe we take out the little sister…or the girlfriend? Or maybe the cowboy and his girlfriend. Two birds with one stone, and I’ve been dying to get my hands on him…”

“I get it! I get it. Stop. I’ll find a way to get them to come to the location. Where is it?”

“The Cowboy has the address. Bring the family. And drink this. It might help you on the plane. See you soon, sweetheart.” The voice finished. A vial of blood rolled under the wall, and as Anna reached down to retrieve it, the person left, just as quick as they had come in.

A few moments later, Anna stepped out of the bathroom, her bags slung over her shoulder and a scowl on her face as she approached Sam. She didn’t know what to tell him. So, pulling a page from his book, she chose to say nothing, simply nodding for him to follow her to the checkpoints. It was better to just get this overwith.

Dean

Dean nodded softly in agreement with Mika basically echoing his own sentiment about Cason. She said it in a nicer way, but he was a means to an end. As long as Nat was happy, Cason was safe. The second he stepped out of line, that was the end of it for him. But Mika was also right about his relief regarding his relationship with his sister. Nat had never really taken to Dean. Maybe he just reminded her too much of John, or maybe it was his lack of putting in any effort to try and understand her. He often just saw her as a more vulnerable and less capable version of Sam, the annoying younger sibling that couldn’t take care of themself.

But Sam was anything but that. Dean was well aware that he still treated Sam the same way he did when Sam was a kid. He still saw him that way, and probably always would, “I’m not the biggest hugger, but I’ll take it from her. Any contact means she feels safe. If she feels safe, she’s less likely to do reckless crap that will get her killed. I’ll take it. I’m not the snuggly type, but I’ll take it.”

He chuckled, but the chuckle broke off when she mentioned the hickey on Nat’s neck. He rolled his eyes and groaned, turning his gaze down to Mika’s. A smirk crept onto his lips as he took in her expression. She was genuinely amused by the whole situation, in spite of his own disgust. “I don’t exactly want to think about what they were doing last night. She doesn’t want to talk about it. I would rather not ask again. All I know is that she does…have some bruises. So, it must have been a good night. Gross.”

Dean crunched up his nose, but chuckled, showing that he was torn between disgusted and amused. His lack of anger was proof that he was willing to give this whole thing a chance, as long as Nat was safe. Cason was the devil he knew.

Cason

Cason’s relief at the standing between him and Nat couldn’t be overstated. She made him feel strangely human, and he preferred the idea of keeping her close…safe. It wasn’t like he was in love with her or anything. That sort of emotion wasn’t possible for a demon. But the feeling in his chest was at least strong.

When Nat agreed to stick around and help with Anna, he relaxed his shoulders a bit, and nodded. Anna was going to need a level head that would agree with Cason on reasonable expectations and requests, if this involved any demons beyond his old inner circle. If this was involving the upper regime, even Cason wouldn’t have all the answers. Nat mentioning the asylum took Cason off guard, and he shook his head, stepping a bit closer to her again, before pulling her in, their noses almost touching.

“I can’t promise you much, because I don’t really make promises. Deals? Yes. Promises…not so much.” He chuckled, and brushed the tip of her nose with his. “You will never go back to that place again. I’ll make sure of that. I told you before the chuckleheads came in and stabbed me…once you’re out, you’re never coming back. I meant it.”

He tilted his head forward, and pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath, “You’ll be safe. I can at least promise you that. As long as I’m alive, you’re safe.”

Duke

Duke didn’t resist when Esme sat up on her knees and pulled him in. It was a very vulnerable position, as his hat fell off and onto the bed and the cold air hit his hair. He closed his eyes and rested his head calmly against her chest, listening to her heartbeat until her voice vibrated her chest with confirmation. That was all he wanted. He wanted her to know where he stood, and what he was willing to do, before they walked into a situation where he was very likely to die. Obviously he was doing his best to keep those feelings repressed, trying to learn how to hide them from Esme. Likely she could sus them out, and honestly…he didn’t know how she could expect him to feel any other way.

He shook the thought from his mind, and wrapped his arms around her, brushing his fingertips up and down her spine. There wasn’t much hope of getting everyone on task and in the same room until Sam was back with them. Dean was probably worried sick about Sam and the Anna girl was in the middle of all of the demon chaos.

“We can just wait til Sam gets back.” He muttered lazily, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s not like Dean’s gonna go anywhere until he knows he’s safe anyway. I brought food. We got a tv…”

He reluctantly lifted his head from her chest, and sat back, wrapping the fingers of his right hand around the back of her neck, to pull her face closer. He flashed his bright smile, an attempt to convince her that when they went into all of this, there was nothing to worry about. They were fine. They were on the same page and if they went out, they went out together.

“I don’t know how we could spend a couple of hours, though. Do you?” He teased, through his bright smile.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna listened carefully to Sam’s explanation of his addiction. His gaze was honest and completely set, which for the first time in a long time, told her he was telling the truth. She didn’t change her face, however. She wanted to get to the bottom of the whole Ruby problem, before she was even willing to move forward, whether with or away from the group. Her heart jumped into her throat, however, when he mentioned that Ruby had come to him the night before, while she was asleep.

Thinking of his face just earlier in the morning, while he was lying to her face, and not telling her anything about his little rendevous nearly turned her eyes back to white. She felt used, and manipulated. But she shook the thought for a moment to hear him out. When he mentioned that he could still take care of demons, despite not having blood for a while, Anna’s thoughts began to race. She wasn’t able to burn the demon before, until they had already force fed her a ton of blood. So, was Sam more powerful than she was? Was he something else?

Anna sighed as Sam finished his groveling and she shook her head, “I don’t need you to grovel to me, Sam. I just want you all to stop treating me like a child that’s on the edge of a temper tantrum. I’m no different from you. My powers or whatever don’t seem as strong as yours. I can’t do what I did, just then, without nearly draining a whole demon. The group knows what I’m capable of…and what causes it. You see how they treat me. How do you think they’re going to treat you?”

She winced at the idea of the group ousting him the way they seemed to fear her. The thought was heartbreaking, and the spiral it would probably cause with Sam broke her heart, no matter how mad she was at him.

“I’m not going to leave. But I don’t want sneaking anymore. No more sneaking around. No more meeting with Ruby in the dead of the night, hoping I won’t wake up and ‘catch you’. I want full honesty. We have the same problem. We can deal with it together, or I’ll deal with it on my own…my way.” She ordered, ending with a sigh as the bus squealed to a stop in front of the airport. The bus driver opened the doors and sat there, still in a trance. Without another word, Anna picked up her bags, and although still partially covered in blood (she could change in the airport), she walked off the bus, waiting on the sidewalk for Sam.

Dean and Cason

Dean didn’t miss the blush on Nat’s face as he asked about the mark on her neck. But the wide smile after conflicted his feelings. She looked genuinely happy, and the fact that Cason was the cause, made Dean uncomfortable. But at the same time…she just looked truly happy. So, he shrugged his shoulders, “Don’t kiss and tell, and all that. I’ll respect that, for now.”

But then she spoke what he had seen on her face, out loud. Dean’s face softened into a loving smile, and he took a deep breath, reaching up and teasingly brushing the back of his fingers across the tip of her nose.

“If you know what you’re doing, and my job from here is to try and treat you less…like a kid or whatever, I’ll do my best. I don’t have to like it. But I like happy, on you. Keep him close. Keep him quiet. And if he so much as says a word that bothers you, or makes you feel weird, you come straight to me. I’ll take care of him.” He ordered, pointing a single finger. His eyebrows were slightly raised and he was entirely serious. But then his nose scrunched a bit.

“But I would like to not…know if you’re doing…that.” He waved his hand in a circle, gesturing toward her neck and making it clear that if he was accepting Cason, he didn’t want more details about their sexual relationship.

Cason was thankful that Mika had agreed not to rat him out to Dean. He honestly didn’t even know where he stood with Nat, at this point. But at least Mika was willing to play fence, and considering what had happened between them, he would take what he could get. This was the closest to acceptance he could hope for.

As soon as Nat agreed to come out with him, he stepped back out the door and reached back for her. When they were both outside the door, Cason turned and placed his hands on both sides of her face, leaning in and kissing her deeply, out of eye shot of the door. After a few moments, he broke the kiss and gently brushed his thumbs over her cheeks with a smirk, “I just wanted to make sure that would still work. I wanted to see where we stand.”

He chuckled softly and then dropped his hands, continuing the conversation that he had pulled her out for, “Anna is coming here with some sort of drama. I wanted to give you a heads up, because I honestly don’t know what to expect. I have a feeling it’s demon stuff. So, if you want to hang back, I get it. But you also seem to be someone that could be a…good ally to her. Might not be the worst idea to stick around.”

He took a deep breath and let it out in an annoyed sigh, “And I have a bad feeling about the cowboy and all the conflict I feel from that room down there. So, be prepared for that…”

Dean smiled and wrapped an arm around Mika as she stepped up beside him. He shrugged and tilted his head, “I think we both know where we stand. That’s the best I can hope for. But I still…don’t like this. I’m not going to like this. It seems like things are falling apart, but with niceties, between Sam and Nat and Esme. This just seems like the beginning.”

Duke

Esme’s question of whether or not the group could handle the news of her being able to see the future…and what she had actually witnessed caused Duke to shrug. The simply shook his head and shrugged once again, “I don’t know that they have a choice. We can’t just let things play out…”

Duke followed Esme’s movements, simply going with sitting down. Honestly, he wanted to sit down, as his knees were beginning to feel weak from the weight of the conversation. He resisted the urge to reach out and brush Esme’s hair from her cheek, feeling the need to just touch her and diffuse some of the tension between them.

But then she asked him to do what he would typically consider impossible. He would protect the ones he loved, even if it meant being a literal human shield. He sighed through his nose, and his shoulders tensed at the idea that he would have to restrain himself. But she was asking him to, because she needed him. He knew that. After weighing it in his mind, she continued by diffusing the tension with teasing, and he smirked.

“I will do the best I can to not get myself killed. I can’t promise that I won’t do everything in my power to keep you and Dean safe. I can’t promise that things won’t go south. I won’t disappoint you like that. But I can promise that…I will make sure to make a plan, if I’m gonna do somethin’ stupid.” He conceded, flashing a small smile to make sure she knew he would indeed try. “I’m more scared of your fists, than demons…”

Duke reached out finally, and brushed his fingertips against her cheek. He needed to touch her. He needed to feel comforted from all of this. This could very well be the last few moments they would spend together. This felt so heavy…He didn’t expect to survive any of it. He hid as much of the thoughts from her as he possibly could and bit his lip for a few seconds, “When are we gonna break the news to them? If I’m stayin’, I’ll be with you, till the end of the line, you hear me?”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna’s eyes began to slowly fade back to normal as she frowned so hard that it hurt her head. Sam’s begging tugged at her heart, somewhere behind her anger, but honestly, she was sick of being lied to. She was sick of not fitting in with the group, but being kept around as either some sort of weapon…or for sympathy. She was tired of being treated like a kid. Cason didn’t treat her like a kid.

“Why…does everyone around me feel the need to lie to me?”, she panted, taking a deep breath, before sitting down. The bus driver at the front of the bus continued to drive, his trance not broken, as if he was under a spell.

She shuddered, and flexed her fists, the burns on her hands healing. She then wiped her hands on the back of the seat in front of her and turned back to Sam. “When I was high on demon blood, and I was scared and alone, you told me that you ‘used to’ have a problem. You made it sound like it was some thing in the past. You made me feel like it’s possible to not have this issue, while still being useful. You lied. And the worst question comes into my mind and makes me want to kill Ruby.”

Anna wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve and thought about her next words carefully, before finally taking a deep breath, “What is she, to you? Obviously she’s…feeding you. I’m not going to jealous girlfriend you, here. I just want you to be honest with me. Don’t bring me back and keep lying to me. If that’s your plan, let me off the bus and I’ll take my chances with Max.”

Dean

Dean wanted to shake his head and tell Nat to stop worrying about his feelings. While he was silently demanding that she acted less reckless and in his absolute best case scenario, Cason would be gone. But this wasn’t some perfect world, and Nat being in his arms was almost surreal, considering how much they had fought in the last few weeks. Cason held her down. Cason kept her alive. Cason protected her from herself, and without Cason, she likely wouldn’t be hugging him. The thought made him sigh.

“I won’t complain about that…” he responded to her declaration to be less reckless. Dean tensed slightly when Cason’s name popped up again and a bit more when she mentioned his time in Hell. He took a long and shaky breath, while holding her tighter. He wasn’t going to talk about Hell. He refused to discuss it, even with Nat. Eventually, everything that he had left out of the conversations would come to light. He just hoped that it would be on his own terms.

His thoughts were broken when Nat shifted and her eyes met his, softening any tension in his body. He smirked, and nodded, “Well, yeah. You’re that much like Sammy. Someone’s gotta keep you guys out of trouble, or you would kill yourselves. Unfortunately, as the big brother, that falls on me.”

A thought came to his mind, and he kept his smirk, to diffuse any thoughts of tension that might crop up from the question he was about to ask. He brushed his fingers across a very visable bruise on her neck and furrowed his brow, “Getting tangled up with demons isn’t safe, though. You know that…like physically.”

He was trying to carefully tell her that he knew about the night before, without opening the most awkward and heated dialogue of the day. As she had stated, he just wanted to keep her safe.

Cason

Cason groaned at the words that left Mika’s mouth first. Of course they were coming back for advice. There was no way that Anna had managed to make it out of a solo trip without being hit up by demons. He just hoped that whatever her need was, it didn’t have to do with their time together before she reached the group. The tension in his head had been building for days, and it felt like something big was coming…and that something big was to do with demons - big ones.

Before he could get too lost in his thoughts, Mika brought up the bigger elephant in the room. Cason tried his hardest to think of a way to lie to her, but it was going to be nearly impossible, judging by the look on her face. The warning that came directly after caused him to roll his eyes. He was very aware that if Dean was to kill him, of course Mika would be on board with all of it. If anyone would understand Cason’s sexual restraint, it would be Mika, though. So, he brushed off her threat, just taking it as an extension of Dean’s blustering. That fight was for if…not when.

Shrugging his shoulders he nodded, “Yeah. We slept together. She was in a bad spot. So, we went out. She had an amazing night and for once, she seemed okay. One thing led to another, and when we got back, it just seemed…appropriate. I didn’t hurt her. I didn’t use any weird demon power on her. I did my best to be gentle, in fact. I don’t do these things with humans, for a reason.”

He stopped and then tilted his head, “You know that I can be safe…”, he almost whispered, bringing up their brief moment together at Bobby’s. He ended the conversation there, and took a deep and shaky breath. At least the revelation had gone better than he expected it to. There was no blow up. Hopefully, this was the beginning of an understanding between all of them, and he could settle here.

Cason followed Mika inside, and the second he made it in, he gestured to Nat, “Can we talk for a minute?”

Duke

Duke relaxed at Esme’s reasonable tone, but the second she took the paper from him, the gasp from her throat caused him to flinch aggressively. He let go of the piece of paper, and grabbed both of her shoulders, leaning his head down to get on her level, as he stared into her empty eyes.

“Esme! Hey! No no no…” he groaned, scanning between her eyes as she stared blankly ahead. And just like that, she came back to him, grabbing onto his shirt. Out of reflex, he wrapped his arms around her, his breathing now coming out in pants as he remembered how to breathe. “Holy shit…”

She echoed his own concern, meaning she had no clue what had just happened. It was like she had a seizure or a stroke, right in front of him. With all the stress from her powers, neither would have surprised him. He shook his head, trying to catch his breath as she blanked out, causing him to shake her one single time before she finally started to talk. “Honestly? As long as you don’t zone out again, I can take anything…”

Listening to what happened, Duke’s eyes darted around her face, trying to make sense of what she was saying. He had heard of this sort of thing before, but not from anyone he was close to. She was seeing the future. He didn’t know how to bridge that conversation with her, and break that news to her, but he had a feeling that he had to rip that bandaid off. The thought of Dean being broken and bloody, and not knowing when it would happen sent a shiver down his spine.

“I um…” he started but broke off. When he found the words for the question, he took his own shaky breath, “Was there any idea of when? Like time of day…anything? Any other faces you could recognize? I’ve only seen this kinda thing once or twice and this ain’t good…”

He frowned slightly and then shook his head, “I hate to tell you this, sweetheart, but you just saw the future or somethin’. Something is going to happen, and…I guess we have our answer on leavin’. We just gotta figure out how to handle this, and we gotta figure out how the hell that just happened…and what to tell the others.”

As much as his own emotions were drilling his brain into mush, he was moving into protective little brother mode. If Dean was going to be hurt, he would always be the one to jump in front of that bullet. Between Dean and Duke…Dean would survive. It had always been that way, and it would always be that way. Esme knew this…

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna nodded at Sam’s advice to just keep cool and try to stay aware of the strange man on the bus. Everything in her bones told her that they should avoid the bus altogether, but they had to get back to the group somehow, and it was unlikely Cason would be willing to just pop in, if she called. So, she followed the man onto the bus, keeping her distance with Sam behind her. She watched the man closely for a moment, and then took a seat a few rows ahead of him, dropping her bag on the floor at her feet.

“I mean, at least there’s the good news…you can exorcise demons.” She said offhandedly. She wasn’t sure if Sam’s powers depended on demon blood the same way hers did. She knew they were linked, but the extent of their link was still a mystery. Either way, Hell had plans for them both. The man’s heartbeat rang out in the bus like some sort of pissed-off snake. It drowned out every voice around them and Anna’s heart pounded in her chest with both annoyance and anxiety.

As the bus began rolling forward, the sound of the man’s heart grew louder, and then without warning, he sat in a free seat beside Sam. His hands were in his lap and he was staring straight ahead. Anna couldn’t handle the tension anymore. She turned, leaned across Sam, and asked, “What do you want?”

The man didn’t turn to her. He simply stared forward, as two men took seats behind Sam, reaching over the back of his seat, and wrapping their arms around his neck to restrain him. Anna yelped, and grabbed one of the men’s arms, trying to burn them desperately. It was then that she realized that no one on the bus seemed bothered by them. She stopped resisting and looked around at every single face. The people all sat, fake smiles plastered to their faces as they watched the struggle.

“W-what is this? Some sort of trap?” She stammered, as her eyes came back to the man in front of her. He was now staring straight into her eyes with a weird trance-like smile on his face.

“A gift…from Alastair.” He muttered, pulling a large dagger and slicing his wrist open. A set of arms wrapped around Anna’s chest, pulling her tight to the seat as the man roughly gripped her jaw, forcing her mouth open, and began pouring his blood down her throat. Slowly, smoke began to pour from the arm around Anna and the demon holding her began to scream. The scene caused the demon that had force-fed her to cackle excitedly. “Amazing!”

Anna spat what little demon blood was left in her mouth, fury in her eyes as her heart hammered in her chest and her skin simmered with the heat of her blood. Without hesitation, she placed both her hands on the demon’s face as he laughed, melting him right in front of Sam’s face. She looked animalistic as the other demons released Sam and scooted back from him, terrified of the duo together. The melting demon never stopped laughing, “C’mon Sam! Take them out! Massacre them! It’s in your blood! Ruby made sure of that. She made sure you were fed. How much have you drank?! How much…”

With a tightened sudden grip, Anna burned him out, dropping his burnt husk on the floor of the bus alley, panting. She turned to Sam, using the back of her hand to wipe a dark smear of blood from her nose, her eyes solid white as she seethed at him.

Dean and Cason

Dean shook his head at Nat’s argument to his terms. He was unmoving. Cason would die if harm came to her. It was the most he was willing to offer in terms of concession. But when she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, he melted into her grip, forgetting all about the situation with Cason. All he could think about at that moment was making sure she was okay.

Her soft mumble made him smirk, and he shook his head against the top of hers, “You’re not a disappointment, idiot. You’re just careless. I should know about carelessness. Keep your nose clean for a little while…that’s all I ask.”

Dean reached a hand up, stroking Nat’s hair as he held onto her tightly. It seemed like forever ago that she was willing to hug him like that, or even be near him for much of any reason other than to argue and bicker.

Cason looked up at Mika as she nodded, nodding back at her, but then he frowned in confusion and tilted his head. Why would Sam and Anna need them to hang back? It wasn’t like there was anything important happening in this town, anyway. But as she nudged her head toward the door, he took the hint and sighed. He knew exactly what she wanted him outside for. She was going to grill him, away from Nat and especially away from Dean.

As Cason followed her to the door, Dean pulled back from Nat, just enough to smooth her hair back from the sides of her face with a small smile, “I’m trying to understand all of this. You know that, right? You understand why this is…impossible for me. Between whatever the hell is going on with Sam and Anna. I mean, she showed up, with Cason. He’s a demon and she’s…whatever the hell she is, which just brings up whatever Sam is. I refuse to let anyone else get hurt by demons while we’re just…fine with it.”

Cason stepped outside with Mika, immediately buttoning his pants and placing his hands on his bare hips with a sigh, “So, I’m going to get the protective mom ‘I’ll kill you’ speech, aren’t I? I mean…hit me with it. As long as Nat doesn’t have to deal with it anymore, I’ll take it.”

Duke

Duke began to smile as Esme confirmed that she would love to run away with him. The urge to scoop her up and run out that door with her was strong, but as she continued, he realized she was turning the idea down. The word ‘but’ hit him in the stomach harder than any demon ever had and his shoulders dropped a bit. He scanned her face as he let her words wash over him, pushing away the disappointment to think with reason. He opened his mouth to speak, but she continued with the absolute truth.

They couldn’t just leave, and pretend that what was happening wasn’t the literal end of the world. Putting on blinders and leaving their friends and family to die wasn’t the answer, here. Even he, a runner, couldn’t disagree with that. Duke gritted his teeth and sighed through his nose, realizing that there wasn’t much way to get away. His conscience wouldn’t allow it.

He leaned his head forward, placing his lips against the top of her head for a moment as he thought it over and she gripped onto his shirt. His mind was made up before she was even able to ask him to stay. He and Dean weren’t as close as they had been all those years ago, but they had sworn to go out in a blaze of glory together, and that’s exactly what would happen if this was the apocalypse.


Duke swept a piece of Esme’s hair from her face and he chewed at his lip, before finally speaking, “We can’t leave…not till we know the job is done. Just don’t seem right to go.” He muttered, turning his gaze to the wall behind her as he thought of what to say, or where to go with his thoughts. After a moment, he looked back down at her.

“Bobby gave me some information about a farm. Apparently, Anna was born there…and had a story kinda like Sam’s. Mom and Dad burned up on the ceilin', burned the house down and I don’t know if she even knows. I don’t know the poor girl too well. But the place is lit up with demon activity and from what Bobby was able to get from the weird nerdy angel…Castiel or whatever, the angels fully expect Dean to handle it.” He finally admitted, turning his gaze down to pull a piece of paper out of his damp pocket. On the paper was scribbled an address for a home in a small town in Western Missouri. “I guess while we make our plans to leave…we can keep him safe, together. That’s takin' care of each other, right?”

He shrugged with a slight glimmer in his eye. If they had to stay, he was going to do some reckless fun in the meantime. Taking Esme with him just kept his head on straight, while he did what he did best. He held the paper out to Esme, giving her a chance to look over it and see if she had any bad vibes before they had to break the news to Dean.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

“Do you remember the demon from Bobby’s? The one that made me drink all the demon blood and made me go all…crazy?” Anna asked Sam, as they walked toward the bus stop. She glanced around her frantically, her paranoia at an all-time high, now that it was evident Hell was in her mind. She paused for a long moment, and then finally took a deep breath. “I don’t think it’s only Lilith that wants to get to me. I hate sounding like the special child of the universe or whatever the hell, but I’m having hallucinations.”

Admitting it out loud just made her feel more crazy. The idea of having hallucinations this far out of drinking any demon blood was terrifying. It was a spiral that she hadn’t planned to have for a while. The closer they got to the seals being broken…and if they couldn’t stop them from being broken, she and Sam would both be targeted more. Knowing what they knew, at this point, either the seals were being shattered left and right, or this was just some wicked pre-game by the demons to tear them apart…to tear her mind apart.

“That woman back there was speaking in tongues. From the way you reacted, I’m assuming you didn’t hear it, which means that she was specifically sent to me, for some reason. I have a weird feeling it’s something big. That’s why I need to talk to Cason. I need to know what he knows about Alastair, and how I can kill him.”

As she finished, she shuddered at the idea of taking on Alastair again, considering how powerful he was. She had beaten him before, only to hear the laughter in her nightmares for months. He seemed excited that she could hurt him. He seemed to want her to be that powerful. Maybe, with Sam, she would be able to kill him…

…but only with demon blood.

She needed to see Cason.

Just as Cason’s face flashed in her mind, a man stepped out from around the bus terminal, as the bus approached. Anna stopped her steps, staring at the man as a quiet hiss could be heard (she wasn’t sure if it was in her brain or not). The hiss was almost rhythmic as if a heart was beating, but so fast that it made a buzzing noise. Was she hearing his heart beating? Was he a demon? The man simply stepped onto the bus as the doors opened, and made his way casually to the back, as Anna stood frozen next to Sam.

“And I think we have company.”

Dean and Cason

Cason’s instincts were to reach out and grab Nat’s arm as she pulled from him, but he stood still, just letting her say her piece. It was obvious that nothing he could say would change Dean’s mind about him. But maybe Nat could get through to him. However, when she brought up the asylum, his blood ran cold and he swallowed heavily. His role in the asylum was a sore spot in his mind, considering how much was taken from him. His rank, his titles, all ties to other demons, and his reputation were carved out of him, one slice of flesh at a time.

Dean narrowed his eyes, watching both Cason’s reaction to the mention of the asylum and also scanning his eyes over Nat’s face. The way she stared down, as if she was terrified of him, made him feel nauseated and if he was honest, broke his heart. Hearing that Cason had risked his own life softened his expression, and the realization that Nat’s attachment was deeper than just ‘fun with a demon’ hit like a truck. She trauma bonded with the guy. He understood that kind of bond better than almost anyone. He had seen it in hundreds of hunter couples. They were the least likely couples in the world, but because of trauma and a shared connection that no one else could see, they worked together. So did Nat and Cason, even if it wasn’t romantic. He sighed, turning his eyes down from her face, to the floor, weighing the options of what to even say in this moment.

Before Dean could even speak up, Cason cleared his throat and chewed at his lip, causing Dean to flinch at the sudden breach of quiet. As Dean raised his eyes from the floor, to look at Cason, his expression neutral and for the first time since they met, not aggressive, Cason spoke for himself.

“I have never lied to you about my intentions with Nat,” Cason said simply. He shrugged and chewed at his lip for another few seconds. “I told you that I would take care of her. I told you that I wouldn’t let anything hurt her. I told you that I would protect her from herself if I had to…and even from you.”

Dean flinched visibly again, and his expression flickered with anger but Cason didn’t give him a chance to respond. He simply reached out and brushed the back of his hand down Nat’s arm.

“I meant what I said. I’ve lost everything. I have nothing to lose by…being a rebel, I guess. I don’t like any of you. I think you’re a lost cause that will only end in misery, pain, and heartache for anyone who ever gets close to you. I feel it from your cowboy down the way, right now. But, I want Hell in ruins, just as bad as you do. If I have to be good to make that happen…so be it.”

Dean sighed and scrunched his nose to pull back his frustration and emotion. After a moment, he placed his hands on his hips and nodded softly, “Alright.”

“Alright?” Cason asked, urging him to continue, for Nat’s sake.

“I don’t like any of this. I don’t like that he was there…when none of us even knew you existed. It’s not fair. It’s not right. But I…I can accept his existence, until the end of this. You’re willing to die to keep her safe?” Dean turned his gaze to Cason, who muttered ‘yes’ without hesitation. Dean nodded again. “You’re a means to an end. We’re not friends. I don’t want to be your friend. If she ends up hurt…at all, you’re finished. You’re mine. Do you understand?”

Cason nodded and shrugged, even though he knew Nat wouldn’t like the agreement, “Seems fair.”

“Good. Come here…”, Dean gestured to Nat, holding an arm out for her to hug him and squash all of this animosity. This wasn’t being the bigger person. This was creating an insurance policy and making sure that at least Nat would stay. He needed some time to process what Cason meant to her. Helpful or not, getting involved with demons wasn’t high on his to-do list.

Duke

Duke stayed completely still as Esme began to approach him. He didn’t know how to react to her staying silent. It wasn’t in her nature to just kick his ass, but it crossed his mind. The thought almost made him smile under the cover of his hat. But then he felt her warm hand against his cheek, and his breath hitched. He trailed his eyes up until he could see hers, and melted into her touch a bit as she began to speak. She wasn’t forcing him out. She wasn’t pushing him away. Instead, she was, with her body language, inviting him back in. He was almost emotional with his relief, letting out a shuddered sigh as she kissed his face.

“Esme…”, Duke whispered, involuntarily arguing with her kindness as his eyes fluttered closed for a split second. He opened them, just taking in her words. It was possibly the first time he could remember another human having any faith in him, whatsoever. It was the first time another human was willing to let him try to take care of something, with no disregard for his feelings or what he wanted. For that, his heart nearly exploded. The overwhelmed feeling only grew as Esme wrapped her arms around him, and the warmth of her body flooded through his numb and cold chest. He wrapped his arms so tightly around her that he was almost afraid he would hurt her.

“I don’t know that I’m the most trustworthy person to try and help anyone. I mean, Bobby says all the time he wouldn’t trust me with a puppy, much less another human. It's why I prefer to do things alone, most of the time.” Duke spoke softly, feeling rather small in his vulnerability. But the longer he held Esme against his chest, the closer to real everything felt. But then an idea that had been nagging his brain crept in again.

“We could leave together.”, he whispered. His heart began to hammer in his chest the second the words left his lips. The idea of running away together was not likely to go over well. Esme was close to Dean again. Together or not, they were on the same path…again. He squeezed her a bit tighter for a few quiet seconds and then pulled back from her, holding her by her upper arms, as his sad and teary eyes met hers. “We could take care of each other and we wouldn’t…we wouldn’t be in danger all the time. You know, just straight demons and vampires without all the angel stuff. I thought about it while I was drivin’ and I don’t…I don’t know if I’m any good to them. But I can be good to you…”