JustAnna

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna continued to try and reach for Sam as he tried to break the chains free of the floor. As weak as they were, Anna was confident that he could break them free, but it wasn’t happening fast enough. She looked all around them, expecting a demon to show up and begin the massacre any second, but as Sam finally broke the chain, Anna’s heart flew into her throat with happiness.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder as he lifted her from the ground, “I thought they had killed you. Cason kept saying you were coming for us, but…I couldn’t feel you or anything. I thought you were dead.”

Anna was shivering, a clear sign that she was both terrified and strung out on demon blood. Her skin was blazing hot and she was drenched in sweat as she shivered in Sam’s arms.

Dean, Duke and Cason

Dean gritted his teeth as Esme pushed past him, punching the air by his hip. Before he could turn around and follow her, he heard as she found Duke. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, preparing himself for this one. This is something he always thought he would be prepared for, Duke dying on him, breaking his heart. He had worked up to this, for years, but having Duke back, a lot of those feelings had fallen away. Duke had changed, even if just a bit. He seemed more careful, more trained up.

He turned with a huff, deciding to play this as stern and tough as he could, but the second his eyes fell on Esme cradling Duke in his arms, his entire mind reverted back to fear and he nearly froze. There was no way Duke could survive that wound. There was no way that he was getting out of here alive. He quietly walked over to Esme and Duke, slowly lowering himself onto his knees beside them, “C’mon man…please…”

It was then that he realized he was beginning to tear up, something he didn’t necessarily want Esme to see, in this moment. He turned his eyes away from them, as Esme tried to wake Duke, and stared over at Sam and Anna, his heart flooding with a little relief, like a cool drink of water. But hearing Esme tell Duke how much she loved him shattered Dean’s heart. Duke had to survive this…

In Duke’s mind

“You runnin’ from your boyfriend?” Duke called out, the sun shining so bright that he could barely see as he looked up from under the rim of his cowboy hat. In the bright sunlight, as he squinted, Esme appeared. She was wearing a dress she would never wear, and she looked almost like an angel…if he didn’t know better.

He sat his knife aside on the tailgate, and looked around. He was sitting in a large field, near the barn he had apparently died in, on the tailgate of his truck. And Esme? Well she was looking too good to be true. He tilted his head as she stepped even closer to him, “Now hold on. If Dean come’s out here, he’s gonna assume the worst. You know that.”

Esme didn’t answer him, but her hand raised, causing Duke to shy away from her touch briefly, as it made contact with his cheek. He could feel her fingers against his skin, eventually knocking the cowboy hat off the top of his head, which confused him to no end.

“I love you, Duke.” She whispered, the sound echoing all through his brain and freezing him in place.

“Wait wait wait…I’m dead, right? I died in the barn? Dammit. I can’t go out like that.”

“But you have to.” Esme suddenly spoke for the first time. And Duke shook his head. “Yes. You can’t argue with death, Jason.”

“You’re not her. Let me guess…you’re a reaper. You’re one of them? Then you let me go back and say goodbye.”

“You know I can’t do that.” She whispered, stepping up to him. Her steps caused him to flinch but she smiled. “And you know I can’t take you unless you agree to go with me.”

“I know. And I ain’t goin’ nowhere, until I tell that girl goodbye.”

“It’s a bad idea, Jason. They will try to save you…and they will fail.” She explained sadly.

“I don’t care. I don’t care because it will give them closure…”

“No. It will leave a hole. It will be a failure. It will be a casualty that both of them will never heal from.” The reaper whispered, brushing his hair away from his forehead as she spoke. Duke shook his head.

“They know how this job is. They know people die!”

“And that’s why it’s unnessary pain. You can go with me. You’ll rest…they can rest.” She spoke softly, but firm. Her words caused Duke to scoff incredulously, shaking his head.

“You think they’ll rest? In case you haven’t noticed, the world is endin’ around them. There is no rest! Please. Please…I’m not goin’ with you. So do what you need to do. I’m goin’ back to them. I’m goin’ to tell that girl goodbye.” Duke said definitely, and the reaper sighed sadly. She leaned in, and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, the sun brightening into a blinding white light. The light suddenly faded, and the world was dark again, but her lips were still pressed to his. Duke kissed her back, not opening his eyes, as Esme’s lips began to feel real to him. He wasn’t leaving yet…

Breaking the kiss, he smirked.

“I don’t even wanna know…how h-hard you’re gonna punch me later…” Duke suddenly spoke, causing Dean to flinch. He turned back to stare at him with wide eyes, reaching forward to his limp hand. Duke instantly squeezed his fingers weakly and Dean sighed, not even realizing he had been holding his breath.

“Oh my god, Duke. Jesus Christ…” Dean shuddered out a terrified sigh, his face scrunching as he fought a sob.

Dean’s entire body jolted as Mika called his name, asking him to come and help with Cason. He came back to reality slowly, and the aggravation and anger bubbled up in his chest as he turned to her. If it was Duke’s life or Cason’s he already knew his choice, even if Natalia would hate him for it. Dean closed his eyes tightly and sighed, standing from Duke’s side and turning on his heel. He looked around the area, and his eyes fell on a crowbar hanging on the wall. He grabbed it on his way by, his aggression heightening with every single step. He then squatted in front of Cason, wedging the crowbar between the iron cuff and the wall, breaking it with ease and releasing Cason’s neck.

He tossed the crowbar aside, and sighed through his nose before grabbing Cason’s jaw in his hand, “I want you to look at me…”

“Why? So you can look me in the eyes, while you kill me? You don’t think I know?”

“Oh I know you do. I know that you know…you’re not walking out of here. Right? You know that there is no part of me that’s going to give you even half a chance to take my sister any further down whatever hell slide you have planned for her.” Dean spoke low, making sure that no one would be able to hear him, other than Cason. Cason shook his head.

“I would never hurt her.”

“Sure. You’re a good lapdog, right? No. See…unlike my siblings, I don’t believe that for a second. I don’t believe for a second that you have some sort of human soul trapped in that meatsuit that is calling your shots out of some sense of what…love? No. No…” Dean laughed incredulously and wrapped his hand around the fire poker that was lodged into the wall through Cason’s body. Cason cried out in pain, reaching up to grab Dean’s wrist. But Dean slapped his hand away and began rocking the poker up and down, seemingly attempting to remove it from the wall. “You almost got them killed. My brother…Anna. What happens…when the chips are down, and you have to choose between Lucifer and my sister?”

Cason growled, his eyes black as he glared back at Dean, once again reaching for Dean’s wrist. Dean slapped his hand away again, and Cason groaned, gritting his teeth, “I protected Anna. I r-rebelled.”

“And a lot of good that did. The demons are hotter on her ass now than they were, and Sam’s. If they take you, they will leave Nat alone.” Dean sneered at Cason but Cason shook his head and coughed.

“No. They will just get to her faster…”

“What do you know? What do you know about Anna and my brother?” Dean asked, rocking the poker again and causing Cason to cry out once again.

“Dammit! I don’t know. I know that Lilith…Lilith wants Sam’s head. I know that…I know that Lilith wants Anna. I don’t know why. It’s not like I can read her mind.”

“But she was your boss. She must have told you something!” Dean growled a little louder.

“Her only orders were…were to keep Anna safe. That’s it. Keep her safe until he comes. She didn’t say why. She didn’t tell me what she wanted from her. And then I hid…I hid Anna from her. I didn’t bring them together…fate did.” Cason gasped out. Without another word, Dean ripped the firepoker out of the wall behind Cason, freeing him, and threw it to the side with a loud ‘clang’. Cason took a deep breath, as if it was the first he had ever breathed, but stayed still.

“If you are some sort of unicorn demon, then fine. If that’s the case, I’m sorry. And if that’s the case, you will understand…why you can’t come with us.” Dean said as he stood up, a torn look between disgust and regret plastered to his face. He turned to walk away, and then turned back to Cason briefly, “Nat will forgive me eventually. Good luck, man…”

Cason didn’t argue with Dean. He simply leaned his head back, allowing his body to slowly start healing as Dean turned, and walked back to Duke’s side. Luckily, Duke was relatively thin, or there’s no way they would have ever made it out with him.

“Let’s get him out of here.” Dean grunted at Esme. He didn’t know if moving Duke was a good idea, but they didn’t really have a choice. He signalled for Esme to help him, and he wrapped one of Duke’s arms around his neck, counting to Esme before hoisting Duke from the ground, “I got you bud. Let’s get you patched up. C’mon…just stay with me.”

As Dean began to walk to the door of the barn, Anna looked back to Cason, and then to Dean and then to Sam and instantly shook her head. She pulled out of Sam’s arms, peeling him off her with her burning hot hands, and twisted in every way she could to get away from him until she was free. “No. No. We’re not leaving him! You can’t leave him!” She cried out, running over to Dean.

“Anna…move.” Dean warned her, his face showing nothing but seriousness and urgency. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he was getting Duke out, even if he had to anger his brother.

“No! We’re not leaving him. Sam. Help me. Please. Mika? Someone!” She cried out, running over to Cason and pulling one of his arms around her neck. She attempted to lift his damaged body with all her might, but they both collapsed on the ground as she whimpered. “Someone help me! Please!”

Dean closed his eyes, sighing through his nose, as Anna’s voice pierced his heart and then turned to shoot a look at Mika, shaking his head to tell her they didn’t have time to save Cason. They had to go. Anna continued to cry out for help, as Dean left the barn with Esme and Duke, his heart heavy with guilt. Nat might never forgive him.

“Sam…Please. Please help me…” Anna begged, her trauma bonding with Cason evident as she shielded his body, covering the wound in his stomach with her hand as it gushed blood. Even with her addiction, her mind wasn’t even focused on his blood, only his well being. He wasn’t healing fast enough to walk out on his own two feet. The lights began to flicker, signalling that the demons were likely on their way back.

All Roads Lead To You

Bobby

Bobby smirked when Esme assumed so quickly that Duke would cut her out upon first meeting. That wasn’t Duke’s personality at all. In fact, the moment she began scrapping with him verbally, the boy probably fell in love with her. He shrugged his shoulders, “I wouldn’t be so sure…”

He walked back over to his desk, hearing the shower turn on, and the house fall into a lull of almost silence, just how he liked it. Pouring himself another drink, he glanced up at Esme from under the bill of his hat and scowled for a moment. As much as he wanted to force her to come sit in a chair and let him redoctor that cut on her head, he knew that she would just refuse. If anything, she was in good hands with Dean. The boy was head over heels for her, whether he liked it or not.

Dean and Duke

A few minutes later

“Fresh and…clean.” Dean sighed, cutting himself off as he rubbed at his hair, walking shirtless into the living room. His eyes landed on Esme, laid back on the couch, either sound asleep or just on the verge and in deep thought. He tossed his towel in the overflowing laundry hamper in the kitchen, and carefully walked over to the couch. Bobby said nothing, flipping the page on his book as if he had seen this song and dance a million times.

Dean slowly sank down onto the cushion beside Esme, and reached his hand out, brushing his fingers through her hair against her forehead.

“She’s awful cute when she’s sleepin’. Way more peaceful.” Duke chimed from the kitchen and both Bobby and Dean shot him a glare that said ‘shut the hell up and let her rest’. Bringing his hands up in defense, he wiped his messy blonde hair with a towel and lumbered over to Bobby’s desk. “I’m just tryin’ to diffuse the tension.”

“And you think callin’ someone who just met you…and instantly hated you ‘cute’ is that option?” Bobby teased Duke quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. Duke tilted his head to the side, signalling that Bobby had a point, then sat down, picking up Bobby’s half drank beer, and taking a swig.

Dean turned and in a loud whisper, he pointed at Duke, “Listen…after the night we’ve had, you don’t think it’s RV time for you?”

“This is my house too, you know…” Duke grumbled back, just as Bobby snatched his beer back from his adopted son with his own grumble.

“It is. And there’s a reason you have the RV. It gets crowded in here, and I’m taking the guest room. Esme always gets it when she’s here.” Dean narrowed his eyes, waiting for Duke to say something stupid, but Duke simply shrugged and Dean rolled his eyes. “Just go to the RV, Jason.”

“HEY! Hey. There’s no need for government names to come out here…You never call me that.” Duke suddenly errupted. Bobby reached an arm out and placed it on Duke’s shoulder, pushing him down into the chair with gritted teeth. “Sorry. It makes me feel weird…and he knows it.”

“Son. I suggest you just go to bed. By in the mornin’ maybe we can start over. You want to diffuse the tension? Go to bed.” Bobby whispered to him, putting on his best supportive father face. With a sigh, Duke reached over and plucked his now clean hat off the stack of books on Bobby’s desk and plopped it on his head. He stood from the chair and began to walk toward the kitchen to head out to the lot.

“I guess tell her I said goodnight when she wakes up. I’ll be in for breakfast. After all this, somebody better make me some bacon.” Duke grumbled as he opened the back door and headed out to his RV. Dean turned back to Esme with a sigh and brushed his fingers across her forehead, just as Bobby turned on his TV by his desk, settling in for his own night of sleep…right there in his office chair and later, the couch.

“Hey sweetheart. Why don’t we go get some rest. I wanna take a look at you.” Dean whispered to her sweetly, all of his bravado fading away the second he knew only she could hear him. After a moment of watching her eyes for any sign of waking, Dean sighed, glancing over at Bobby’s desk. He could tell Bobby was beginning to nod off, himself.

Dean stood from the couch, and reached for Esme, slipping one arm behind her and one under her legs, before hoisting her into his arms. He let her head roll against his cheek and turned his head to press a kiss to her hair, as he walked toward the stairs.

“See you in the morning Bobby…” He muttered on his way by the desk. Bobby waved at him, and Dean smiled making the trek up the stairs with Esme. Luckily the bedroom door was already cracked open, and all he had to do was nudge it with his foot. He quickly and gently walked to the bed and as if she was made of glass, lay her down against the pillows.

All Roads Lead To You

Dean and Duke

Dean watched Esme’s facial expressions, trying to read what stages of her anger she was in at that moment. She could be hard to read, but he was also getting to know her faces, all too well. When she finally sighed and explained that she believed him, Dean released a huge sigh, releasing Duke’s mouth.

Her comment about their smell caused him to pick up his shirt, and sniff it, his nose curling at the horrible smell. They really did reek, but there was only one shower, and what if Esme was gone before he got back, and he didn’t have a chance to check on her, or pick her brain? He wanted to see what she was thinking after all this, why she was so angry. He wanted to make sure she wasn’t too hurt, or hadn’t made any mistakes that had her in a bad mental space. For once, he cared about a woman he hadn’t known long.

As if reading his mind, she reassured him that she wasn’t leaving. He wanted to believe her, especially since she looked worse for wear. But, a pang in his stomach told him that she might actually run off. Like he pushed her away, or scared her away with his lack of care…for himself.

“There’s only one shower and I’m not showering with Dean. But I ain’t stayin’ out here alone with you either.” Duke spoke up, causing Dean to harshly slap the back of his head, ruffling his bloody blonde hair. Duke grabbed the back of his head and swung around to look at Dean, his eyes wide and hurt, “Ow dude!”

“You boys stop the two year old squabblin’ and go clean up. There’s a half bath in the basement. You know that. It ain’t a shower, but you know how to use a bucket and some towels, don’t ya?” Bobby chimed in, glaring at both boys in front of him. He raised his eyebrows to drive home the point, and Dean and Duke turned to each other.

“Winner takes the shower.” Duke held out both his hands for ‘rock, paper, scissors’ with a bright smile. Dean eagerly set his own hands up and leaned toward Duke. They counted, and finally laid out their signs, Duke holding scissors and Dean holding rock. “No! Best two out of three!”

“Nope! Winner gets the shower. And I’m the winner!” Dean gleefully chimed, walking around the chair and to the linen closet. He pulled a couple of towels and stopped at the bathroom door, looking back at Esme. “Please…don’t leave.”

Duke reluctantly stood from his chair, holding both his hands in front of his face at Esme, and also raided the linen closet. As he passed Esme to head for the basement stairs, he stopped and looked down at her, “Sorry we met under these circumstances. I really ain’t as bad as I probably seem to you right now.”

“Duke!” Dean yelled from the bathroom, causing Duke to roll his eyes, and stroll past her to the basement.

Bobby shook his head, and stepped around his desk. He walked up to the chair that Duke had been sitting in, moving it back to its place in front of his desk. Then he stooped, and picked up Duke’s hat, holding it in his hand with a sigh, “His head ain’t screwed on right…but he is one of the good ones, once you get attached to him.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya was relieved that Sam didn’t take her declaration of attraction as some sort of overstep. He took it in stride. That seemed to be a trend with Sam, a personality trait that only made him more attractive. He wanted to be her friend. He wanted to spend more time with her. He wasn’t just running away and shunning her for having weird feelings for him. That much was a relief.

She smiled softly, finally showing some emotion on her face other than awkward worry, and nodded to him. Without looking at her phone, she typed a simple, “I think I would like that.”

After thinking over his offer for food, Anya shook her head and pointed to the movie. She wanted to finish the movie with him, something simple and personal. Then, they could explore more of their budding friendship. She pulled her phone up and typed a message, “Let’s finish the movie, and then I might see about making you something sweet. I can be a decent cook. Maybe it will help Dean warm up to me, too.”

As the message read out, she giggled softly.

Dean

Dean furrowed his brow in a tiny bit of offense when Lexi once again brushed off his advances, but she related it to work, which made him tilt his head to the side, as if she had a point. He blinked a few times and smirked, sighing. As they drove down the road, Dean gripped the steering wheel excitedly and agreed with her.

“Oh yeah. I feel like I’m going crazy in the bunker. It’s like the walls are crushing me, and then Sam is moping around. He’s lonely and fixing everything. He’s fine with just staying inside, pouring over the same old books over…and over.” He paused and chewed at his lip. “And I can’t help but feel like theres something…around. Like it’s not the same home it was, you know? Hell, I don’t know what it is. I know the place ain’t haunted. It’s proofed. Like…more than proofed. But it just feels tense. The air is heavy. Call it grief or anxiety or whatever…but I needed to get out of there or I was going to go crazy.”

He paused and smiled fondly, “But I will tell you, it’s nice to have a new voice echoing off those walls.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean

Dean’s face broke into torment as he tried to conceal his emotions, especially from Mika. He needed her focused on the case, not him. If she was worried about him, she might go into this reckless. But Esme made it clear that she wasn’t strong enough to handle the loss if Duke was dead, and Dean’s mind went into the space that it always did when she was emotionally compromised…protection. With her hand squeezing his arm, he was reminded that she knew him almost better than anyone. She knew that right now, he wasn’t the strongest in the group. He might be the most protective, but he wasn’t the tough guy. He was terrified.

“We’re all gonna get the hell out of here.” He repeated her, reaching a hand up to squeeze her hand as his eyes also fell on Duke’s truck, and he let out a shaky sigh. The feeling in the pit of his stomach wasn’t one that he was fond of. All he could think of were flashbacks to the many times they had been in this situation. Every one of them, Duke came out on the other side. But this time felt different. “Let’s go find him…Hey. We’re gonna find him.”

He pulled Esme into his arms, pressing her forehead against his chest as he clung to her for a moment, just trying to hold onto anything he could that didn’t feel completely hopeless. It was like being that scared young hunter again. After a few minutes, he loosened his grip, sniffling and pulled back from her, placing a hand on each of her cheeks.

“Stay close.” He whispered to her, before placing a tight kiss to her forehead with a sigh. He then reluctantly stepped away from her, and over to the Impala. Nat puking out the side door hurt his stomach all over again, as her physical state made him anxious. He didn’t want to come back to this car and find his sister dead…especially if they found the worst case scenario down the hill. His thoughts of handcuffing her to the steering wheel were out the window. She would never make it anywhere in this condition. He passed to Sam and began to re-evaluate the weapons on his body, making sure he was full on ammo, Ruby’s knife was tightly slid into his belt, and he still had holy water in the flask in his jacket pocket.

Sam’s voice perked him up as Sam closed the door of the car. Dean shrugged and shook his head, “Not really much of a point, now, right? I mean, it’s not like she’s going to bolt down the hill and go in guns blazing when she can’t even see straight. I think she’ll be fine, right where she is.”

He leaned in close to the window, signalling for Nat to roll it down a bit before leaning close to the gap she made with a sigh, “We’re going to finish this. I need you to stay put. I need you to keep yourself safe and I need you to listen to me…for once. Please. I love you, kid…”

A few moments later

Dean led the group back down the hill, Ruby’s knife held so tightly in his hand that his knuckles were white. He held the knife up to his chest as he reached the barn, and pressed his back to the cold wood, assessing the situation. Peering around the side of the barn, he glanced back at the others, and held up two fingers, letting them know that there were two demon lackies guarding the front door. From what he could tell, both looked terrified, and they seemed to be expecting the group to show up. This could very well be a trap.

He counted down to himself internally, before walking out from the side of the barn, brutality taking over his entire brain. He rushed the first demon, giving the others room to move around him if they wanted, and without missing a beat, he stabbed Ruby’s knife through the heart of the smaller man, causing him to flash and spark before dropping dead on the ground at Dean’s feet. He pulled the knife from the body and turned to take on the other demon, when it suddenly smoked out in terror…or as a messenger.
“We gotta hurry. If they’re smoking out like that, they’re going back to someone. I don’t want to find out who that someone is.” Dean explained simply, gasping for air as his body shook with adrenaline and fear. He ran to the door of the barn, grunting as he slid it open with some effort and his eyes focused in the bright light inside.

Instantly, those eyes fell on Anna and Cason against the far wall of the barn. Dean’s shoulders fell with absolute relief, seeing that she was alive at least. Cason didn’t look so hot. But they were found. He took a deep breath and turned to Sam, stepping aside to let his brother through. At least one of them would have a happy ending, here. As he stepped aside, however, his eyes fell on something that made his stomach fall to his feet, Duke’s hat, lying in the straw, covered in blood.

Staying aside so Sam could get through, he turned to Esme and gave her a knowing look, as Anna began panicking to be let free, and called out Duke’s name. He swallowed heavily, before reaching his arms out to stop her from running through, “Esme. Stop. Let me go in first…”

Anna and Cason

Anna rolled her head to the side, staring blankly at a hole in the side of the barn as Cason rested, his hand now limp again. She flexed her fingers, trying to see if he was still alive, and as if understanding her internal question, he tapped his middle finger against the back of her hand. She took a deep breath, letting it out in a shaky attempt to not start crying again as she stared. The sound of a body hitting the ground outside, and a familiar grunt perked up her ears.

“Dean?!” She cried out, looking toward the door with wide and hopeful eyes. But then the sound stopped, followed by a horrific scream from one of the demons as it smoked out. The silence was deafening as she waited to see who was going to come through the door. When Dean slid the door open, standing there with Ruby’s knife in his hand, panting for air, Anna’s heart nearly burst with relief. Dean didn’t seem to care for her much, but in that moment, seeing his face was like seeing a spring of water in the middle of a barren desert. Then he stepped aside, and her eyes fell on Sam. All independence and toughness that might have been stored in her brain fell away. She reached out for him, sobbing violently as she stressed the chain around her wrist to try and get to Sam.

“Sam! Oh my god…You’re alive! The demon. That demon. He’ll come back for us. He’ll come back and he’ll kill all of you. He’s…get me out of this, please. Please!” Anna panicked, swinging her arm forward to show him that she was bolted to the floor. “And Cason. We have to help him. He’s dying. Duke! Oh my god Duke!”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya met Sam’s eyes as he turned to her and she sighed, hearing his explanation for Dean’s behavior. It wasn’t anything she couldn’t see herself, seeing Dean being so guarded and aggressive. She didn’t know if it was just a personality trait that came out when he was stressed or if he was genuinely high strung, but from what Sam was saying, it was a mixture. She pulled her phone and began typing as Sam explained that Dean would be happier out of the bunker, but stopped typing when he told her not to be embarrassed about kissing him.

She deleted everything she had typed on her phone, and looked up at him, not really able to smile, because she was embarrassed. There was something about him that felt safe, and attractive in a way that wasn’t just physical. He made her feel safe and she could tell that in a perfect world, he was someone she would be able to be good friends with…at the least. At best, maybe they could try to spark up a normal friends to relationship type situation.

Anya frowned and typed on her phone, her fingers moving quickly before she pressed send with a sigh, “I am embarrassed. But I’m more embarrassed that I kissed you while you’re trying to help me. It’s not really like me. I just think you’re…someone I want to get to know better. I didn’t know how to tell you that, and I guess now you know.”

Dean

Dean tilted his head in a mocking way when Lexi explained away Sam’s actions, as if he didn’t have a stranger in his bed, while he and Lexi were about to leave the bunker. Thinking about it, though, it might be good for Sam to get some quality time alone with a girl. Who knew? It might crack open that brain of his and make him concentrate on work a little harder, when Dean got back. Anything was better than all the moping…Dean too.

He grumbled a bit, but finally followed Lexi up the staircase with an awkward smirk. She wanted to see him in action, like he was some sort of mythical superhero. The thought widened his smirk and he stepped out into the cool night air behind her, gesturing toward the Impala, “You know we have to take that sweet girl. She’s been on damn near every hunt I’ve ever been on. No need to change things up!”

As he teased, he walked around and popped the trunk, tossing his bag inside, and as soon as her bag was in, he slammed it shut and walked around to the drivers side of the car, opening the door and sitting down heavily in the seat, “I’m just hoping I don’t overwhelm you too much with my…skills. I would hate to scare you away. Not many women have seen…what I can do.”

Dean shot her a proud smile, happy with his joking skills as he turned the engine over. “And I promise to keep my hands to myself on the way there.”

All Roads Lead To You

Dean and Duke

Dean waved his hand at Duke, off to his side, as he noticed Esme’s eyes turn to what he only recently recognized as…off the edge rage. He reached toward his best friend, tempted to push him away and force him to go take a shower. Anything but piss Esme off further. But then she grabbed Duke and pushed him into the empty chair in front of him, Duke’s bodyweight rocking the chair briefly onto its back two legs, and then down onto the floor with a loud ‘bang’ that caused Dean to release the back with a flinch.

“Oh Jesus Christ…” Dean sighed as Duke’s demeanor changed from proud and slightly confused to irritated and annoyed. There were times that Dean forgot Duke even had those emotions, with how he carried himself. Luckily for Duke, when Esme threatened the cowboy, he did indeed shut his mouth, simply glaring up at her as he folded his arms across his chest like a petulent child. Dean’s gaze was brought back up to Esme, when he felt her eyes burning into his and he took a deep breath through his nose, preparing to, at least, attempt to explain himself. But once again, Duke chimed in, when Esme insulted him by calling him a moron, a verbal knife wound that Duke couldn’t have let go if someone had a gun to his head.

“Ouch! See that’s hurtful. You don’t even know me!” Duke scolded Esme and Dean’s instincts kicked in to protect his best friend. He reached down, wrapping his arm around the back of Duke’s head and instantly covered his mouth, holding firmly, and knocking Duke’s hat off in the process. He held the back of Duke’s head tightly to his stomach and sighed, closing his eyes for a brief second, and then opening them to try and smooth this over.

“Now. Would you believe me…” He started, suddenly distracted by the blood trickling from Esme’s eyebrow. He knew that if he didn’t finish his explanation, just to check on her, she would explode all over again. So, he chose to keep his attention on what seemed to be a very touchy subject…recklessness. “Would you believe me, if I told you that we didn’t go in half cocked…at first?”

“You wanna elaborate on that, Dean? I think we’re both all ears.” Bobby grumbled from his desk and Dean gave an awkward nod, tightening his hold on Duke’s head as he cleared his throat.

“We found one of them, right? We followed it back to this old building, and sure enough, there were two of them. Just two. Well, it turns out that the others were just…not outside.” Dean winced at how awkward the sentence was, coming from his mouth. “Two vampires, we could have handled in twenty minutes, no problem. We would have been back by dinner. But it was like they were calling them in. They kept showing up. By the time we fought our way back outside, there were ten…maybe twenty of them? I don’t even know anymore. I just know that I went on hacking and slashing…and we got separated. You know how that can go. They work on you. They separate you from your people, and that’s how they kill you. I know that. You know that. Well…Duke got snatched.”

Bobby grumbled for a moment, not wanting to interject too hard, but with Duke quiet, he had to help Dean. He believed him. Things simply hadn’t gone as planned. “And any reason you couldn’t use a phone? Call for backup?”

“I couldn’t just leave him behind, Bobby.” Dean’s eyes broke into sadness as the thought of Duke being ripped apart, just so Dean could call back up crossed his mind. He turned his eyes back to Esme. “I couldn’t take the chance and leave him behind. I fought. I killed. I brought him home with me.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya and Dean

Dean raised his eyebrows, tilting his head back and forth in a mocking way as Sam explained that he and Anya were simply watching a movie…on his bed, as if he didn’t just see them kissing. He shook his head and then held up his hands, “You know what? Fine. I was just coming to tell you that me and Lexi are gonna go follow up on this lead we found. Don’t wait up. Don’t destroy the place and keep her inside.”

Anya was tempted to chime in, and ask what he found but she also wanted to be as invisible as possible in the awkward tension in the room. Her face burned with embarrassment, both toward Dean and toward Sam for her actions. They had just met and she was already making moves on him? That wasn’t like her at all, and from what she could gather from Dean’s reaction, Sam didn’t seem the type to move that fast, either. She sank back into the pillows and hugged her knees as they talked.

“So, I’m going to head out…” Dean almost grunted, waving his brother off as he turned and walked down the corridor, back toward the war room. He wasn’t angry, as much as he was worried. They knew nothing about Anya, outside of what she had told them, and what little information they had about her father. Her inability to speak made her even more of a threat, as it was hard to not see her as sneaky. But he had to try and trust Sam’s judgement. As he re-entered the war room, he stepped over to the library area, and picked up a duffel bag, before swiping his phone from the table on his way to the stairs, where Lexi was waiting, “So, Sam’s…very comfy. So is Anya! I told them not to let us distract from their…fun, and not to wait up. I told you I didn’t trust her just wandering around, and now she’s holed up in his room…on his bed…convincing him of God knows what.”

All Roads Lead To You

Dean and Duke

Dean’s spine stiffened as Esme came into view, and he instantly knew she was going to be firing on all cylinders, ready to kill him. He held his hands up in front of him, putting a tiny bit of space between himself and Esme, as if she was going to stab him with a knife he couldn’t see yet. He looked to Bobby for help, and Bobby simply shook his head and stepped back, crossing his arms, “I ain’t touchin’ this with a ten foot pole. You did this to yourself, boy.”

“Bobby…” Dean started before Esme continued her rage at him, and his eyes widened even more. He hadn’t seen her this angry…ever. She never got fully angry with him. Agitated? Yes. A little bossy at times? Yes. But pissed…this was new. Dean took another step back, and pulled a chair in front of him, as Duke just watched with raised eyebrows.

“Now hold on…” Duke spoke up in his heavy southern drawl. He held up his hands, and took a step toward Esme, careful to not try to touch the angry woman. He had never seen her in his life, but it quickly dawned on him who she was, and he narrowed his eyes, “Hold on a minute.”

“Duke. Shut your mouth.” Dean warned him, closing his eyes, knowing that whatever was about to come out of Duke’s mouth was just going to make the situation worse. But Duke didn’t listen to him. Duke never listened to him.

“You’re the girl. The pretty blonde hunter that Dean’s all sweet on. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Duke. Will you shut up?!” Dean called to him. He tightened his grip on the chair in front of him, and turned back to Esme, his expression softening. “If we can calm down…just for a second, I can explain everything. Please? There were…complications.”

“Complications being me. It was me.” Duke chimed in, flashing a bright smile as if he was proud that he had almost got himself killed…but didn’t. Dean sighed, and closed his eyes, ready to knock Duke out himself.

“I’m gonna pour myself some more whiskey. This is better than anything on tv.” Bobby joked with a scoff, his own anger at Dean fading as he watched him navigate how to explain himself to Esme.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean

Dean nearly exploded when Natalia defended Cason. She had no idea the path that she had taken herself down, and there was no way in Hell he was letting her stay on that path. He was just about to explode on her worse, when Sam spoke with actual sense, and his brother’s touch brought him out of his anger for a brief second. Nearly in tears, he wiped a frustrated hand down his face, squeezing his eyes closed for a second.

Then came Nat’s proclamation that she was running off to find Cason on her own. Dean’s eyes snapped open and he glared at her, “You’re not…”, he started, as Mika chimed in and Dean glared back at her as well. She was going to go along with this? Babysit Nat while they went off on what might be a death quest to find a demon…to save him?!

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing right now. We cannot just go into this half cocked! We don’t have a clue where they are. And of course, Dean knows nothing.” He ranted for a moment until Sam mentioned the barn. Dean nearly spun so hard that he made himself dizzy, as he turned to look at the barn, just across the lot from them. It was hard to believe that any of them were alive, if they hadn’t heard them by this point. The barn wasn’t insulated and you could practically see the light shining through the holes in the roof. But it was the only option they had on the property. Dean sighed in resignation, looking to Sam as he squared his shoulders. “Fine. We check the barn. But first, we regroup.”

He turned to Nat, his protectiveness painted all over his face, “And you. You are going to wait in the car. I don’t need you going off the rails if we don’t find him. We don’t know what we might find.”

He punctuated the sentence by turning to give a fearful and knowing look to Esme, communicating with his eyes that he was worried about finding Duke, considering his injuries that they knew about. He stepped away from the others, as Sam began to group everyone up. He walked carefully over to Esme and let out a worried sigh, “I need you to be prepared for this…for whatever we’re gonna find. You know how Duke is. We both know how Duke is. I’m not prepared for it. I don’t want to see what he’s got himself into. Esme I don’t know if I can handle it this time…”

Dean walked close to her as they began to walk back to the car to regroup, and gather themselves and any weapons they could use. He fully planned to lock Natalia in the car, handcuffed to the steering wheel if Mika would allow it. But Duke was heavy on his mind. He couldn’t shake the chill that was running through his veins. He repeated himself, “I don’t know if I can handle this. Nat’s gonna go off the reservation, and if we don’t find them…”, he couldn’t finish his sentence, just glancing up at Sam’s back with a sigh. They had to find them.

Anna, Cason and Duke

Anna had dozed off at some point, her head laying against Cason’s side. When she came to, she groaned, her head nearly bursting with pain, and realized that her hand was practically glued to his shoulder, the blood having dried to her skin. Snarling her nose, she peeled her hand away from his shirt and groaned, as the blood instantly began to pour from the wound. He still wasn’t healing. He also wasn’t awake, which wasn’t normal. She also could no longer hear his rattling breathing. It all hit her at once. She leaned her forehead against hers, and broke down in tears, now fully convinced that all hope was lost. If Cason died in that barn, she was definitely going to die.

“Please…please…” She begged him, as she attempted to reach her hand up and touch his face. She nearly screamed in frustration, realizing she couldn’t touch him, other than holding his limp hand in her own on the ground. “Please…Cason please.”

“If you keep beggin’ like that, the angels are gonna think you’re praying…” Cason spoke suddenly, his voice weak and raspy,but the sound nearly shocked her out of her body with a flinch. Cason squeezed her hand, a lazy smirk adorning his face, but he didn’t open his eyes.

“Oh my god. I thought you were dead.” Anna sobbed, and Cason instantly shushed her, frowning.

“I just decided not to breathe because it hurts. I mean, I’m skewered. Sam hasn’t shown up, yet…”

“No. I don’t think they’re coming. I-“ Anna started, when she heard a cough from across the barn, and both she and Cason sat a little straighter, turning their heads toward the noise. “Duke?!”

“Shit…” Duke groaned, Anna not able to see him, but hearing his voice sent her heart racing.

“Stay still. Are you hurt?” Anna called out to him, and Duke coughed loudly, dropping Anna’s relieved expression. He sounded awful.

“Yeah. Yeah…it’s bad…” Duke struggled and Anna shook her head.

“Don’t talk! Just stay still. Just wait!” She called to him. She didn’t know how bad he was hurt, but she knew that his cough sounded bad. There was no way he had been out this long from anything other than blood loss, which meant he was likely bleeding out, and unfortunately…or fortunately for him, it was happening slowly.

“Sam needs to hurry. I don’t think we’re gonna last much longer.” Cason whispered, tilting his head back against the wall.