JustAnna

All Roads Lead To You

Dean

Dean chuckled at Esme’s very good point. He was never one to turn down sex, even if he was in the worst pain of his life. There were more than one way to navigate things. But he really did want to make sure she was okay, before he allowed himself to potentially injure her worse than she would admit she was feeling.

Her insistence that she was okay enough to forego the normal remedies for the pain she was obviously feeling caused him to frown, ready to argue. But the smile on her face was enough to win him over in any argument. It was a weakness. She had a chokehold on his emotions and as much as he tried to hold her at arms length when they first met, she had broken through something in his brain. All that pain, emotion and self hatred fell away when she was around, or at least it fell away enough to let her love him.

Did she love him?
Wait…did he love her? That wasn’t even a subject he knew how to navigate, at this point in his life. He was a hunter. Love, especially new love, was sort of out of the question. As Dean zoned out and scanned Esme’s face, trying to find answers to his own internal struggle, she reminded him that she didn’t need anything and for the first time since they had known each other, he conceded.

“Alright. Well…” He rolled over her, moving to lay flat on his back on the small bed. He then carefully slipped his arm under her head, pulling her to lay on his bare chest with a sigh, “If that’s all its gonna take to save the day, I’ll take it as a double win. I get the girl and the girl gets some much needed sleep.”

The next morning

Dean blinked as the harsh light from the window hit his eyes. He frowned and opened his eyes, turning them toward the window and wiping his right eye harshly with his hand. He wasn’t used to waking up with anyone, and so Esme’s weight took him off guard, and he quickly turned back to his left and took a deep breath. She looked so peaceful, sleeping on his chest. He couldn’t help himself, bringing his hand up to brush a bit of hair from her face, pushing it behind her ear, careful to avoid any of the overly sore areas he knew had to hurt.

The smell of bacon and coffee were filling the house a little more every second, and Dean just knew that Bobby and Duke were downstairs, gossiping away the morning, probably eating up all the food. With a reluctant sigh, Dean glanced toward the door, playing over in his head how he would be able to get out from under Esme’s head and out that door.

He began to shuffle, pulling his body, little by little to the side, until her head gently began to fall onto the pillow. He quickly reached his hand up and doubled the pillow, so her head wouldn’t fall too hard, and then gently laid her face against it. Hovering his hands, he made sure her breathing stayed even and she didn’t wake up, and then quickly shuffled off the bed and onto his feet, like diffusing a bomb.

As he padded downstairs, he buttoned his jeans he had just pulled on, and scratched absentmindedly at the back of his head. Before he could step into the kitchen, Duke stepped into view and smiled brightly. He was standing there, in the kitchen, his cowboy hat perched on his head, in only jeans. His smile was judgmental and caused Dean to roll his eyes.

“Mornin’ sweetheart!” Duke chimed, picking his piled plate off the counter, before sitting down at the table. Bobby didn’t even look up from his paper as he picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. Dean waved Duke off, smacking his cowboy hat over his eyes on his way to the food. “Rough night?”

“No. Not a rough night. Sleepy night. And keep your voice down. Esme’s still asleep.” Dean grumbled, making a plate for Esme with his back turned to Duke. Duke chuckled and took a bite of his bacon.

“Sure. I’m sure there was no way that after that little outburst, you just…went to bed.”

“I am capable of not having sex with a woman, just because she yelled at me. I know…foreign concept to you, right?” Dean scolded Duke, and Bobby cleared his throat.

“And if you don’t shut your mouths, that ‘Esme’s sleeping’ concept is going to be lost.” Bobby chimed in, glaring at both of them over his paper.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya giggled silently at the mental image of Dean just latching onto whoever was willing to make him food. It almost seemed like Dean needed a good maid, rather than a girlfriend. She stepped around to the ovens, opening them as Sam rummaged through the fridge. This was an industrial kitchen, something of dreams for anyone who liked to cook. It was something she could work with, at least, as long as she could remember everything she needed.

Luckily, Sam alerted her to the fact that Lexi and Dean had been grocery shopping. So, she could probably find everything she needed and she tapped on the counter, rather excitedly. But her mind went blank for a moment when Sam stepped back over to her, a little closer than she expected and his fingertips brushed her face, pushing the stray strand of curly hair behind her ear. The simple gesture caused her heart to skip a beat, and she had to hide a shudder with a soft smile, turning her eyes up to his.

This was a moment she wished she could speak more than anything, as the tension in the room instantly raised and she was once again tempted to just tilt up on her toes and kiss him. But he changed the subject and she let out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding.

With a nod, she broke eye contact and took the can of soda with a smile. She stepped away from him, walking over to the fridge to gather the supplies she needed for baking and luckily for Dean…meat. She slid all of the ingredients onto the butcher block counter, and pressed a few buttons to turn the oven on as she whipped around the room.

After several minutes of mixing and making a mess, she wiped her hands and placed the last pie in the oven, closing the door and taking a deep breath. “Done…”, she thought before turning to walk back over to Sam. She pulled her phone from the counter on her way by, and typed out a simple message before setting it down and pressing play.

“We just need to wait about twenty minutes and I’ll have stolen your brother’s heart.” She teased in the message, smiling as she stepped in front of him. Standing there, she wrapped her hand around he elbow and awkwardly stood, tapping her toe for a moment as she tried to decide what to say to him. As was the case before, the kitchen fell into a bit of tension. She scanned over the features of Sam’s face, taking in his height over her, and the way he stood. His empathy wasn’t an act. Neither was his ability to calm someone when they were close to him. Unlike his brother, he didn’t feel the need to use bravado and wit to push his way through someone’s walls. He was…interesting and beautiful.

She only realized she was zoned out staring at him after what could have been minutes, but she assumed was only seconds and she snapped herself out of it, reaching up to rake her hair out of her face. She picked up her phone and sighed, deciding to just break the ice on their tension.

“I’m having a very hard time being around you, right now. I feel the tension, and everything in my brain is telling me to touch you. You feel it too, right?”

She looked up at him briefly, and then typed another bit before pressing play on the whole thing, nervously tilting her eyes up to meet his.

“It’s just me and you, here.”

Dean

Dean smirked as Lexi told him he wasn’t being bossy, he was being careful. He did feel a bit bossy though. He was protecting her with aggression, his PTSD screaming through as he looked at her and saw just as formidable of a hunter as Mika, but also someone who was vulnerable, as long as he was connected to her. His better judgement wanted her to run as far away from him as she could. He also knew that he would never tell her that, out loud.

With a nod, he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, and glared through the windshield, “I’ll let you take the first swipe at him if he’s running us around. Let’s hope he’s dealt with hunters before and knows better. Somehow I doubt it.”

Dean glanced down, seeing her hand drop to the seat. He stared at her hand for a moment, and chewed at his lip, fighting the urge to comfort her, even if she didn’t seem upset. He was long past the days of being soft with his partners…or women. That part of his soul had likely been crushed into oblivion over the years. He just couldn’t quite place ‘when’. He squeezed the steering wheel with his left hand, and reached down with his right, picking up her hand without warning.

“It’s just a milk run…” He muttered, more to himself than to her, as his mind ran over every single way this appointment could go wrong. He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, ending his internal screaming against showing affection, when it was obvious they weren’t going to be able to stay away from each other…professional or not.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna scoffed at Sam’s comment about keeping her safe from demons. She could still feel the buzzing in her brain from all the demon blood and she was covered in it. There wasn’t much that Sam would be able to add to the equation, other than his size, when she was apparently a demonic flame thrower.

As the truck fell into silence, Anna sighed with relief, not wanting to hear any sort of apology or anything from Sam. She just wanted to get away from the entire group. She wanted to meet up with Cason and hash out…

But Cason was dead. She had no one. In this whole mess, she felt really alone, even with Sam sitting right next to her, but then he spoke up and Anna held her breath. His apology was sincere. She could feel it in his heartbeat, as their hearts tried as always to even out and match up. He was scared. She couldn’t quite place why he was scared…her leaving? Her hating them? His brother and Mika being hurt? Either way, his discomfort was hurting her chest.

The tears pricked at her eyes as the gravity of what they had done set in. They had left Cason behind. After everything he had done and risked for the group, Dean Winchester was allowed to make a decision out of emotion. Anna didn’t believe for a second that they couldn’t have saved him. She didn’t believe for a second that he was left behind for any other reason than malice.

“Dean left him behind because he wanted him dead, and didn’t want to upset Nat. You know that.” She whimpered. As she turned to look at him, her eyes full of angry tears, her face softened a bit at the look in his eyes. There was no anger in her face, only hurt and betrayal. “I know that we weren’t close, after what happened between us…but he deserved better than that, Sam. And I-I don’t know…”

She paused, shaking her head as she fought a sob, “I don’t know that I can trust you not to do the same to me…if push came to shove and Dean told you to. You follow his lead. You’ll always follow his lead.”

Dean and Cason

Dean was rattled by Cason popping in and popping out like he did, but he was even more rattled when the Hellhounds seemed to growl at him to follow them. He followed them reluctantly, making sure that he and Mika were touching, or at least within touch distance as he quieted his steps behind the giant invisible dogs. Without hesitation, the Hellhounds began going to work, taking down demon after demon as they were slashed at.

He passed a demon that swung a knife at him, grabbing the demon by the collar and pulling his foot up to its chest. With a kick, he kicked the demon directly into the jaws of a Hellhound he couldn’t even see. Looking back to make sure that in all the chaos, Mika was still holding her own.

“No…he isn’t.” Dean gasped, as the Hellhounds bit the heads off the last few demons by the door, leaving the path open but strewn with body parts. He walked past the Hellhounds, uneasy with them breathing on him, and reached for the handle of the door. One of the Hellhounds jumped up and pushed the door open, breaking the lock with ease, and leaving Dean and Mika standing there in the doorway.

What he saw as he looked around shook Dean to his core. Cason had done all this? There were body parts everywhere. The floor, walls and ceiling were painted in blood. Dean’s eyes turned to Cason, who stood there with Nat, as if she was this breakable thing he had to protect and hold onto. He recognized the look on Cason’s face, but shook his head, refusing to believe the body language. He began to step forward, but Mika’s arm barring him from doing so told him that she wasn’t concerned with Cason hurting Nat, despite the little pained sounds his sister was making. He sighed, shifting on his feet and then Cason kissed Nat, and Dean’s face changed to something more protective as he turned to Mika.

“Are we going to do anything? Just…let this happen?” He asked, but Mika had apparently read his mind. As she coughed, Dean smirked, proud of her for stepping up and being the less awkward, bigger person here.

“We really do need to go.” Dean spoke, turning his eyes to Nat to give her a knowing look. “And I want to take a look at you, the second we survive this hell hole, you got it? He didn’t hurt you did he, because if he did…”

“I wouldn’t hurt her. I told you that, already. And Yes, let’s get out of here. Lilith will send more, now that she knows I’m here.” Cason agreed, wrapping an arm around Nat’s waist. He reached under the water and picked up her legs, turning to carry her out of the room.

“So, they’re here for you. Great. All roads lead back to…” Dean started, a sarcastic and annoyed expression sweeping across his face.

“So leave me behind, tough guy. That’s a solid plan, right?” Cason reminded Dean, causing Dean to narrow his eyes at the tone of Cason’s voice. Cason was threatening to call him out in front of Nat…right then. “Take a swipe at me when I get your ass out of here. Until then, keep your mouth shut and follow close.”

Without another word, Cason pushed past Dean and into the hallway, flanked by all three Hellhounds. Dean stood, frozen for a moment, until a Hellhound pushed past him and pulled him out of his thoughts, his heart thumping in his ears. He didn’t even want to think of how much Natalia would hate him for leaving Cason behind. It was worse than killing him.

The dogs pushed in front of him, as Cason stopped to listen, for any sign of Esme in the asylum. After a moment, he picked up on her, and lifted his eyes to the right side of the ceiling, switching them to black. At least Nat wasn’t new to his demonic side. He turned his head to her, and scanned her eyes.

“I’m going to have to leave you for just a second. I promise, I’ll be right back. Stay with Mika.” He explained to Nat, his eyes still glossed over in black as he slowly lowered her to the ground, making sure she was firmly on her feet. He snapped at one of the Hellhounds, who stepped over, standing almost chest level with Nat. The giant dog leaned against her, offering it’s back as support. “I’ll be…right…back.”

As Cason disappeared, Dean quickly jogged up to Natalia, squatting in front of her to offer his back. He didn’t give her much of a choice, backing her into a wall and wrapping both her legs around his waist, before lifting her up, “Let’s get you out of here. I’ll come back for him.”

Dean glanced to Mika, letting her know that he was serious. He wasn’t leaving Cason behind, even if every single fiber of his being wanted to.

Cason landed just inside the door, his eyes instantly changing back to blue and nearly bulging out of his head as he watched Esme. She was vicious, and at that moment, Cason wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to be locked in the same room with her. His fight or flight mode was kicking in. He backed toward the door, ready to disappear back to Natalia and let Esme hold her own. But Violet showed up, bursting the door down with a quick jump into the metal plate. Cason flinched as if a gun had fired next to his head and he quickly looked from the door to Esme, holding a hand out. There was no way she didn’t know he was there.

“So…I came back.” He chimed sheepishly.

Duke

“Mr. Hatfield, we don’t know what is happening but you can’t just leave. We made a mistake and we need to be able to document the mistake by giving you a once over.” A nurse called from behind Duke. He was naked, standing in the middle of the holding area of the morgue, thoroughly confused. He had woken up with no explanation, covered in a white sheet that was smothering him, naked, and alone in the morgue.

“I have to find my brother. I have to…My brother will know what to do.” Duke spoke with a shivering voice. He grabbed the effects bag they had packed for him, and quickly ripped it open, pouring it out on the gurney, before rummaging through it. He picked up his bloody pants, slipping them over his bare legs, then picked up his belt. He buttoned his pants and slipped the belt through the loops before buckling it with some effort, due to the shaking in his hands.

“Sir, no brother was here with you.” The nurse explained, holding her hands out in front of her as if Duke would hurt her. He frowned at her, and then realized that Dean must not have been the one to bring him to the hospital, and wouldn’t be listed as his brother anywhere in his records. “Your girlfriend hasn’t been seen since we…since the doctor spoke to her. We could t-try to get ahold of her, but Mr. Hatfield, we really need to figure out how you’re alive, alright?”

“Nah. I’m good.” Duke answered simply, shoving his wallet, and phone into his pocket. He unrolled his jacket, and slipped it over his bare shoulders, before turning and walking through the door of the morgue. As he walked down the hallway, he could hear the nurse calling behind him, but he only had one thing on his mind.

Find his family.

An exit door stood out to him, and through his blurry vision, he limped toward it, shoving it open with a loud alarm blaring after him. As soon as he was outside, he glanced down at his stomach and frowned. He needed bandages. For some reason, the nurses had stitched him up but they didn’t bandage the wound.

That was a worry for down the road, as the chill hit him, and he pressed forward.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna wanted to turn around and tell Mika that she wasn’t necessarily upset with her. But truth was, Anna didn’t even want to look any of them in the eyes. She didn’t feel like a part of the group before, and now? Even less so.

She made it back to Duke’s truck, quietly opening the door. She tossed her jacket on the seat between her and Sam, and climbed in with absolute silence. She pulled her legs up in the seat and twisted them like a pretzel before running her hands through her thick hair with a sigh. She knew Sam was dying to talk to her and honestly? If she wasn’t so angry, she would have been happy to have that conversation with him. If anything, it would clear the air.

As if reading her mind, Sam asked her if she was okay physically, and Anna didn’t look at him but she did nod, “Yeah. Just a few stitches in my shoulder from the Hellhound bite. I’ll be fine.”

Dean’s words to her suddenly flooded her mind, as she tried to avoid having a conversation with Sam. She didn’t want to talk to him. She didn’t want to talk to any of them, or be near any of them. She wanted to just…be alone for a while. Then again, angry or not, she loved Sam and she wanted to keep him safe.

“We’re um…we’re not going after Dean and Mika. We’re supposed to wait here. I probably wasn’t supposed to say anything, but Dean asked me to stay here, with you.” Anna murmured, staring down at her hands as she picked at her nails, only then realizing that she hadn’t washed Cason’s blood from her skin and was covered in dried blood. “I guess as long as there aren’t any demons around, we should be covered, right?”

Dean

Dean climbed into the drivers seat of the Impala with an exhausted sigh, bringing the engine to life without pause as he stared blankly through the windshield. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel for a moment, and then turned so he could see out the back window to back them out of their space, just as Mika spoke up. With a sigh, he put the car in drive and peeled out of the parking lot. “She knows. Nat knows I would never stop until I found her. I just hope she’s strong enough to hold on until we get there.”

—-

During the long drive, Dean ran over many possible scenarios for how this night would go. The fight was going to be brutal either way, and the odds of them succeeding weren’t the highest. If only they had Cason there as a buffer, they could be in and out in no time, and Nat would come home with them…safe, even if Cason had to revive her himself. He shook those thoughts from his head as they pulled up to the asylum. For the most part it looked the same, to Dean, but older…forgotten. He stared at the building, looking for any sign of life before shutting the car off and taking a deep breath as Mika spoke up.

“Yeah, well…it’s not like we’ve never been here before. Same crappy gothic building, different demon era.” He quipped, stepping out of the Impala. He stepped around to the back with Mika, loading himself down with every weapon he knew could take down a demon, including Ruby’s knife, which he kept in his hand as he closed the trunk and began to walk to the doors with her. As he reached for the door, all the crickets and cicadas stopped singing, and the entire area went quiet, heightening Dean’s senses.

With a huff, he pulled the door open and ushered Mika inside, only for the door the slam behind them and within seconds they were surrounded by demons. One particularly snarky demon showed up and called them out on their codependency, which caused Dean to snarl, glaring at the demon. But they were surrounded, and Dean flinched, turning around in a full circle before the fight began.

“Son of a bitch…” He growled, stabbing the first demon and shoving it against the wall, before turning to another who landed a heavy blow to Dean’s jaw.

Cason

Cason frowned as Esme accused him of being happy that Duke was dead. He wasn’t happy that any of their cursed little gaggle died. It didn’t make anyone stronger…except Dean Winchester’s anger. He flinched even more at the look that Esme gave him as soon as he brought up a demon deal. It was the Winchester way. He had just assumed that she wasn’t so different from the two stooges he was unfortunately tied to.

He followed Esme’s eyes down to his hand and then glanced back up at her face as she mulled over her options. He didn’t feel the need to explain anything to her. He didn’t need for her to know how much he helped her, or that his attachment to her started while he was working at the asylum. In this moment, she probably would have taken it as a sign that he had helped with all that happened, not helped her escape.

His eyes then fell on Sarah, who he was tempted to call back, and have stay behind. He was a little bit attached to the pup. But he also knew that she would be a fierce protector of Esme, something he was going to need if he was going to save Nat.

“I sent dogs after Nat. That’s how I found out where she is. They’re not mine, but they’ll do. You keep Sarah close. You’re gonna need her.” Cason explained simply, as Esme finally made the decision to come with him. “Sarah, you know where to go? Good girl. We’ll see you there.”

Without giving Esme much of a choice, he pulled his jacket sleeve down over his hand and wrapped an arm around her and disappeared as Sarah took off toward the door of the hospital. They landed in the broken down asylum, the glass crunching under their feet from the various broken windows and doors of the corridor they had landed in. Cason released Esme’s waist and stepped away from her, quickly popping into a nearby storage room, a room that he had used often while working the halls of the institution. He returned, his covered hand now holding an iron wrench the size of a small baseball bat.

“Not that you technically need it, but the last thing you need is to pass out in the middle of this whole thing. So, use the wrench.” Cason ordered Esme, as he turned and listened closely, his fists clenching as he heard Nat screaming from far off in the building. Sarah stepped up beside him, nuzzling his knee as the other two dogs also appeared next to him. The three Hellhounds growled to each other and Cason composed himself quietly. He turned back to Esme with fear in his eyes, and stepped close to her, “I will come back for you. Sarah will stay with you, and you can use her to find the others.”

Cason stared into Esme’s eyes with a knowing look, his fear and anguish evident on his face. It was new from his normal stoic behavior he showed toward the humans he was forced to work with. Without another word, he took a deep breath and disappeared, suddenly appearing in front of Dean and Mika. Dean nearly fainted, he flinched so hard. Releasing the dead demon he was holding, just as he and Mika finished the first wave of assailants.

“What the hell?” Dean breathed, staring at Cason as if he was seeing a ghost…and wasn’t Dean Winchester. He stared at Cason’s face for a long moment, seeing the danger that stood right in front of him, but Cason’s face wasn’t exactly showing anger as much as fear and resolve. Cason stepped up to him, their noses nearly touching as the shorter man stared him in the eyes and reached down to Dean’s hand.

“I need this.” He murmured, taking Ruby’s knife from Dean with a snarl. He stepped back from Dean, and Dean still didn’t move, glancing down at the knife, now clenched in Cason’s fist. Cason looked away from Dean, up at Mika as he took a deep and even breath, “Down this hall. Take a right. She’s in the second door on the left. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Cason nodded at Mika, and then disappeared once again. When he reappeared, it was behind a demon that stood near the door, as a separate demon was in the process of slowly drowning Nat in a pool that he had seen them use…way too many times. With a snarl, Cason stood up straight, cracking his neck as his dogs took care of every demon that came between Dean, Mika and the door he didn’t bother to use. The demons’ screams curled a smirk into the corners of his mouth.

“Well there he is…” Another demon called from the dark corner of the room that Cason hadn’t bothered to check. The demons knew he was alive, well before he showed up. With an evil smirk, he turned and held the blade out in front of him, guiding every demon in the room, except the one torturing Nat, to attack him. “I’ve waited ages for this. Lilith will be so pleased.”

“She really doesn’t take breakups well, does she?” Cason teased back, turning in a circle as more demons slid into view, a clear ambush they had sat up for him. Cason tilted his head with a nervous scoff, “And it’s going to take six of you to take me down? I’m flattered.”

“We’re making sure that the job stays done. There’s no universe in which you’re walking out of here…with or without the girl.” The head of the snake sneered at him. “Palling around with the Winchesters is one thing…but falling in love with one? Wow. That human soul is just clinging on for dear life in that brain, isn’t it?”

“Could explain the temper and the drinking…and the self preservation.” Cason shrugged, scanning each of them as he made a plan to survive the scenario.

“But you’re not 100% there, are you? You’re still injured.”

“Yeah. Iron will do that to you. Maybe I’ll have to show you, while I gut your lackies.” Cason quipped, his stance getting lower every time the demons took a step toward him. And then all at once, they rushed him. Now would be a good time to have a Winchester. But alas, he was alone.

Twisting on his heel, he drove Ruby’s knife into the first demons stomach, slicing all the way across until the demon fell to the floor, burnt out. Another demon rushed him, placing his arm across Cason’s neck and driving him into the nearest wall, tilting his chin up, while grabbing his knife hand with the other hand. Cason growled, his eyes turning black as he struggled, eventually dropping the knife and catching it with his other hand. The demon bashed at his face, breaking Cason’s nose in the process.

On the third hit, Cason flipped the knife up and stabbed the demon in the chin, between his own arms. With an evil smile, Cason twisted the knife and shoved the demon’s body off himself, turning to the other four.

“C’mon! We all know how this ends. We all know who walks out of here alive. We’ve been here before.” Cason called to them, his nose bloody. The blood began to seep over his teeth, making him look even more unhinged as he stood straight, “Who’s next?”

Out of nowhere, an iron rod swept across Cason’s face, knocking him down to the ground in a daze, and he brought his empty hand to his temple, groaning. The demon with the iron then brought it down on his upper back, once, then twice, until Cason was lying face down on the floor, groaning in pain. He reached out for the knife, and the demon stepped on his hand, grinding his fingers into the floor as he gasped.

At that moment, a bark ruffled Cason’s hair, as one of the hellhounds made it into the room, standing over him with a snarl. He recognized that growl instantly. Violet had found him, after all this time. She had come back for him. She always was one of his favorite pups, and one of his most vicious.

He couldn’t see the demons behind him, but Violet stepped over him, backing the demons into a corner, before pouncing on them. Their screams caused Cason to smirk, as he struggled but eventually sat up on his knees and then pushed himself onto shaky legs to stumble across the room. The Hellhound ripped each of the demons apart, scattering limbs all over the room, and Cason did nothing to slow her down. He simply turned the knife over in his hand, as the demon over Nat continued his job, holding her harshly under water with no emotion.

With a flick of his wrist, Cason threw the knife, lodging it in between the demon’s shoulder blades. The demon stood, it’s body sparking and glowing as it slowly faded. Cason growled, his eyes jet black and his body numb with rage as he staggered forward, shoving the demon to the side and leaning over the tub.

Reaching his hand into the water, he didn’t bother to bring the table up, simply busting the straps that held Nat down, and with a sharp tug to her collar, he pulled her from the water and wrapped his arm around her back. All that rage subsided, as he looked at her face, and all of the pain she had suffered while he was stuck in that barn. Guilt was an emotion he wasn’t familiar with, but he was suspicious that it was creeping into his bones in that moment.

“Hey princess…” He smirked, reaching his other hand up to wipe some of the water away from her eyes as he held her in his arms. “I got you.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya nodded, smiling at Sam’s demeanor when he stood and stretched. His shrug almost looked boyish and he pointed toward the door. Anya nodded toward the door and quickly walked through it, out into the hallway. She vaguely remembered the way to the kitchen, and didn’t wait long for Sam to join her, before exiting the corridor into the war room, looking around the large room as if she had never seen it before. It was intimidating, antique, and as weird as it felt to say…it seemed like the most appropriate home for Sam and Dean.

As she walked past the table, she brushed her fingers along the antique wood top, and over the back of one of the chairs, carefully stepping through the swinging doors of the kitchen. She leaned against the stainless steel counter of the kitchen, and waited for Sam, while typing on her phone.

“So, from what I can read about your brother, he’s simple. He likes a lot of meat and hearty foods, right? Beer. Pies. Ice Cream. Burgers. That sort of thing? Find me some ground beef, whip cream, and any fruit you have. I’ll have him wrapped around my finger in two bites.”

As soon as Sam came through the door, Anya pressed play on the message and smirked, looking up at Sam from under her hair as it fell into her face.

Dean

Dean almost breathed an audible sigh of relief when Lexi returned his talk about work, as it was obvious they were both having trouble being this close to one another, considering they had shared a kiss the last time they were in the Impala together. It was a muscle memory thing…he thought. But she had faith in him having her back. That was a relief. Something in the pit of his stomach wondered if he could, after what happened to Mika.

He didn’t necessarily trust himself to help anyone anymore. It had made him almost a hermit in the bunker. He took a deep breath and glanced over at her to find her eyes staring at his.

“I got your back. As far as we know, this kid is just human. So, you give me any sign and I will blow his brains out.” Dean explained, seriousness overshadowing his good mood for a moment, to let her know that he would lay anyone out that tried to come near her. There was no way he was going to let another person he cared about get hurt right in front of him. “One signal. I’ll kill him. Try to stay where I can see you both. Get the info. Get out of there. We’ll be on the road…”

He nodded to make sure Nat understood that he was serious, and then he smirked, “I hate sounding like a bossy dad.”

All Roads Lead To You

Dean

Dean’s heart fluttered as Esme admitted that she wouldn’t have been able to leave the house, after that fight. It’s everything he wanted to hear and part of him was afraid that she, like everyone else in his life, was just telling him what he wanted to hear. But judging by the way she brushed his lips, and the warmth he could feel in her body language, she seemed completely there with him. She was there with him, and she had always planned to stay.

An incredulous look covered Dean’s face when she ordered him not to let her stay away from him, as if he could just force her to stick around. He chuckled, “Since when does anyone ‘let’ you do anything? Hmm?”

He leaned into her a bit as her hand found his cheek, a touch that he had waited for since the moment had walked out that door the last time. He would never speak those emotions out loud, of course. He wasn’t one to get attached, especially now that he was on his own. But he was…attached. He returned her sweet kiss, inhaling through his nose as he crawled onto the bed a bit further, reaching a hand up to brush his fingers through her hair. He deepened the kiss briefly, gently brushing her blonde strands with his fingers.

After a few moments, he broke the kiss, and lifted his head to stare down at Esme, his forehead pressed against hers, “I feel like I need to be the responsible one here, and make you get some rest. You’re gonna be sore enough tomorrow.”

He chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to her upper lip, then the tip of her nose, and finally her cheek, “Do you need any aspirin or anything? Whiskey?”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna sat in silence as the male nurse sewed up her shoulder. Her mind was racing with what felt like absolute betrayal, as she stared at the wall in front of her. She could hear the nurse asking her questions, but they felt far off, and she didn’t answer any of them. Then the nurse mentioned Sam and Anna sighed, shaking her head.

“No. It wasn’t him. He saved me, dragged me out.” Anna spoke matter of fact, not looking at the nurse.

“Is he hurt?” The nurse asked, finishing the knot on her shoulder, and cutting the thread. He peeled open a bandage, and smoothed it out over the wound.

“I don’t think so. I didn’t ask. Everything happened super fast.” Anna explained, leaning away from the nurse to stand up as he finished fixing up her shoulder. The nurse seemed to want to stop her from moving, so he could look her over, but Anna turned to him with a sigh, “I was barely injured in that whole fight, alright? It’s just the shoulder. I need to go.”

The nurse protested behind Anna, but the sound was far away as she stomped out of the triage, and back toward the door to walk outside. As soon as she pressed through the double doors, the cold air hit her and that’s when the tears hit. She wiped the tears roughly with her dirty wrist, and kept walking, her aim set to Duke’s truck.

Back in Surgery

“He’s crashing. We need that blood!” The assistant surgeon called out, right as the nurse busted through the doors, handing off the bags of blood to another assistant. As she placed the bags on a pole and began the process of giving Duke a transfusion, the surgeon tied of a knot, and began the process of attempting to patch the hole in Duke’s stomach.

“We need to stabilize fast, but the rest is going to be up to him…” The surgeon said softly. Just as the words came out of his mouth, Duke began fighting against the tube down his throat, tilting his head back as the heart rate monitor went crazy. “Oh no…”

“Should we sedate him further?” A nurse asked, but the surgeon shook his head sadly.

“We can’t. He won’t wake up from that. He’s…” He started, just as Duke went completely still, his head falling limp and the monitor by his head slowly flatlining with a loud screech. Bowing his head, the surgeon stepped back, “Call it. Inform the family. There was never much hope anyway.”

“Time of death…1:38 am.”

Dean

Dean didn’t know what to do with his hands, in that moment. He wanted to run off and go get Nat on his own, but he knew it was a suicide mission. When Mika hugged him, he nearly lost it. He sighed, holding onto her for dear life, “I can’t lose anyone else. Mika, I can’t do it. I’m so tired of losing people…”

He glanced up at the sky, tempted once more to pray, until Mika touched his face and he was brought back to her. Scanning her face, he nodded softly. She was right. They needed to get Nat back, or Duke wasn’t the only family they would lose that night. But then his phone buzzed.

“Apparently Duke is still kickin’. They’re giving him blood. We can’t stay here. Mika, we have to go, you and me.” Dean murmured, trying to figure out the best way to sneak them away, without Sam being able to chase after them. As he was thinking, Anna pushed through the doors, looking more upset than she did when she walked inside. Dean reached out as she walked by, scared to death to touch her, but needing to. “Anna I need to talk to you.”

“Not now, Dean. Things are a little fresh. Maybe pull the manipulative big brother speech when we’re not all on the cusp of death…” Anna snapped at him, but Dean interrupted her.

“Do you care about my brother?”

“What? Of course. How could you ask that…especially now?” Anna snapped back, and Dean sighed in frustration, glancing back at Duke’s truck.

“If you care about my brother, you’ll tell him to not follow us. I need both of you to stay. I need both of you away from the demons we’re going after.” Dean explained as gentle as he could, causing Anna to shift from foot to foot. “Look. You can hate me for the rest of your life. You can shun me, beat me…Hell, I’ll even give you a shot at me, when all of this is over, but I need you to trust me.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“But I NEED you to, right now. If you don’t trust me…trust my instinct on this. Me and Mika are going to get in that car, and we’re gonna go get my sister. I need you and Sam to stay away. Please.” Dean begged her, and even as angry as Anna was with him, she couldn’t deny that Dean’s instincts were rarely wrong. She sighed, and shook her head.

“You know this is a suicide mission.”

“I know…” Dean muttered, causing Anna to shake her head and walk away from him and Mika, straight for the truck. Dean then turned to Mika, and gestured toward the Impala. “Let’s go.”

Cason

Cason landed with a thud, his knees buckling slightly as he hit the hospital floor and stood there for a moment, allowing the spinning to stop in his head. On cue, he glanced to the side, and there she was, Esme. As he prepared to approach her, a nurse came into the room, seemingly breaking the news of Duke’s death to the woman. Cason tilted his head back, a pang of sympathy burning through his brain as the nurse spoke to her. From what he could hear, it was a simple: “Unfortunately, he crashed and there was nothing we could do. I’m so sorry, ma’am.”

“Great. One down…” Cason sighed, his leg twitching with anxious frustration. Dean Winchester couldn’t see him here, but he also had to go and get Natalia. Even if Esme was upset, distraught…name your useless human emotion, she was coming with him.

As soon as the nurse stepped out of the room, Cason whipped around the corner into the room in front of her. “C’mon. We gotta go. I know. It’s so sad. I feel for you, I do. But we gotta go. You’re the only person who will understand what is waiting for us when we get to the asylum and as much as it pains me to say this…I guess, your boyfriend is dead. You’re no good to him here, anymore, but you can get revenge on the ones who killed him.”

Cason turned on his heel, holding his hand out with an expression that made it clear Esme didn’t have a choice but to come with him, or he would carry her, “And no…I won’t make a deal. He wouldn’t want you to do that.”

All Roads Lead To You

Dean

Dean almost jumped out of his skin when Esme opened her eyes, ruining his plans to just let her sleep the entire night. He had planned to talk to her in the morning, and hopefully, she would be a little more cheery to see him. But as she teased him, Dean couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his face. He scanned over her face as she seemed to feel pain. He figured it was soreness from whatever hunt she had just come back from, but his worry wasn’t any less either way. He reached his hands out, hovering them over her body as if he could diagnose her just by having his hands near, but was afraid to touch her in case he hurt her worse.

He instantly shook his head as she began to apologize, “No…no, stop it.”, he started. But she continued her apology and he looked down at the mattress. Truth was, she did hurt his feelings, but he was also quick to get over things, when it came to arguments. As long as they were honest with each other, he would still be right there.

Dean furrowed his brow, concerned and wanting to hear more about her cases. But, she still seemed to be in apology mode, not complaining mode. Taking a deep breath, he reached out and brushed his fingers lightly against the back of her arm as she brought her hand down to her face, letting her finish her apology.

“You know what…” Dean started, a soft smile creeping up on his face, causing his freckled dimples to brighten up. He looked away from her for a moment and then turned his eyes back down to hers, “I was more concerned about that cut on your face than I was any of the mean crap you said to me. I’m just glad you’re here and you’re okay. Alright? Me and you…we’re good. I was just worried you were going to run off. You seemed so pissed at me. Duke is Duke.”

He leaned his body toward her, reaching his arm over to brace himself to where their noses brushed, sighing softly with a smile as he scanned her eyes, his lips brushing her upper lip as he spoke,“This doesn’t leave this room, or Duke will never let me live it down…being soft. But I missed you. A lot.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna shook her head, holding her hands out toward Sam as he bent and picked her up. Over his shoulder, she reached for Cason, trying in every way she could to twist her body out of Sam’s grip as she screamed out to Cason, “Cason, NO! No. Sam we have to go back. We have to go back! You can’t just leave him! He’s the only reason I’m alive. Sam please!”

She continued to scream, until they were almost halfway up the hill and the shock set in that Cason was definitely dead. There was no way he could fight back against the demons that were coming, especially Alastair. And with her gone? They were going to take losing her out on him, 100%. She was silent, sniffling as her head buzzed with demon blood, and her skin seemed to crawl, as if she was covered in bugs.

And for the first time, her faith in Sam was shaken. For the first time, her trust in the entire group was broken…especially the goodness she tried to see in Dean.

Dean and Duke

Dean hustled up the hill, as best he could with the majority of Duke’s weight against his body. He was trying to hold him as close as he could, both to make sure he stayed alive, and so Esme could keep his wound covered, and hopefully slow some of the bleeding. As they approached the vehicles, Dean scanned between them, trying to decide which car would be best to transport Duke in. He finally decided on the Impala, right as Mika dipped and picked something up off the ground.

He signalled for Esme to walk with him around to the drivers side of the backseat, using his free hand to open the door, and then carefully lowered Duke’s head, turning and laying him down gently on the seat. “You hang on, you hear me?”

“I waited this long…just watch…” Duke choked out, giving his best attempt at a smirk as he struggled to open his eyes.

“Watch the bumps. I know. Rest, man…” Dean stopped him, not closing the door as he jogged around to Mika. He didn’t even look up, not willing to meet Anna’s eyes as she fell into silence, numb. But that’s when Mika’s words sank in. “What did you say?”

“She said they took Nat. So…this isn’t over. We’re not out.” Anna murmured, staring off into space. Dean closed his eyes, his nose snarled, and for a moment, he was tempted to make the trek back down the hill to get Cason. He growled, grappling with the idea before turning his back from Mika with a loud and frustrated scream.

“What the hell is going on?!” He screamed, echoing through the empty farm. He glanced up at the sky, his face anguished as he was tempted to pray. He couldn’t take this anymore. He couldn’t take the losses. It was getting heavy. It was getting too heavy. He placed his hands on his hips and turned to Mika again. “What is that? Where did they take her?”

Cason

Cason didn’t fight any of them. He simply resolved himself to dying, until Sarah walked over to him. Such a good girl. The Hellhounds were always the bright light for him, ever since he was tasked with taking care of some of them in Hell. He smirked at her, shaking his head as Sarah leaned her head against him, a silent goodbye. He knew that she would always choose Esme…because he had asked her to.

“I love you too. Go on.” He whispered to her, lifting his hand to scratch behind one of her ears until she reluctantly turned and went after Esme. And then the barn fell into silence, with only Anna’s screams being heard outside.

On cue, the door opened again, after the group was up the hill. Three demons rolled in, their Hellhounds snarling as they padded along beside them. Cason smirked, seeing how large the hellhounds were, and how pissed they seemed. Before either of the demons could approach him, Cason began to laugh.

“What’s so funny? You’re going to die…and you’re laughing?” One of the demons asked with his eyes narrowed.

“A little something I learned from a frenemy of mine, I guess.” Cason groaned, suddenly realizing his legs were working again. He pulled one of them up, causing the smaller of the three demons to flinch, his fists clenching. “And what’s so funny? You brought me dogs.”

“Yeah. Alastair said to make it fun for you.” The demon attempted to tease Cason, but he just laughed louder. “Make sure you didn’t poof your way out of here.”

“Is that so? He knows me…but he doesn’t know me, I guess. See, Lilith trusted me with a lot…including her babies.” Cason explained, glancing down at the Hellhound to the right of the demon who seemed to be in control. “And by babies, I don’t mean her food.”

“Get the dogs out. Right now!”

“Attendite! Discedite nunc, pueri!” Cason suddenly began screaming at the dogs, causing them to growl, their attention focused on him, and then turning in fierce obedience toward the other demons. “Nunc!”

And suddenly the Hellhounds jumped on their handlers, ripping them limb for limb in front of Cason, as he smiled, choking out a laugh. He glanced down, as the screaming continued, and touched the bloody wound to his stomach, pulling both his legs up in front of him. The wound was nearly healed, which meant that if he hurried, he could get up the hill to the Winchesters, and beat the life…out of Dean Winchester. But as he tried to teleport, he couldn’t and he realized very quickly his legs weren’t healed enough to stand. With a sigh, he leaned back and smiled at the dogs.

“Bonum est. Nunc ite. Find Natalia.” Cason ordered them, and the Hellhounds turned and ran out of the barn.

At the hospital

Dean and Anna

The ER nurses rushed out to the Impala, pushing everyone aside to help Duke after Dean called ahead. They needed him in a bed, getting fixed up as soon as possible, or there was no hope of him surviving, if there ever was. As Dean followed the nurses to the doors, one woman held a hand out, placing it on his chest.

Dean looked past them to Esme, whom they let go in with Duke. Sure, Esme could handle it but he wanted to be there if she got the bad news he was dreading. He looked down at the nurse, opening his mouth to speak but she cut him off.

“He requested his girlfriend. But you? We have questions. Don’t leave, sir.” The nurse snapped at him, and Dean furrowed his brow, watching them wheel Duke inside, out of his reach and eventually out of his eye sight. He turned and walked back with frustration to the Impala, wiping both frustrated hands down his face.

“So what the hell are we doing now?”

“Miss, are you okay?” A random nurse leaned in and asked Anna, who was sitting in the passenger seat of Duke’s truck, leaning against the open window. Anna didn’t answer him at first and he tried again.

“No.”

“Do you need help? If you don’t feel safe, I can call ahead for…” The man continued, insinuating that Sam may have hurt her. Anna winced at the accusation, but shook her head.

“No.”

“I have to insist that you get checked out. If you’re afraid, I can escort you.”

“I don’t need help. I’m fine.” Anna grumbled, rolling her eyes. The nurse could see that she was covered in sweat and her shoulder was bleeding badly enough that it was still weeping down her arm, splattering onto the leather seat below her.

“Well, that shoulder needs attention. If you won’t come with me, I’ll have to call ahead.”

“Fine. Stitches, a bottle of water and I’m out. I just want to go home.” Anna snapped finally, opening the truck door without so much as a look to Sam. She climbed out of the truck and followed the nurse. The nurse didn’t even give Sam the option to follow them, turning to him.

“You stay here. There will be questions.”

Inside, the nurse that had held Dean back pumped the manual respirator they had already set up for Duke, her expression concerned and stern. She looked up at Esme as they walked along and frowned.

“Hes going to need blood, right away. You wouldn’t happen to be O-negative would you?” She asked her, still suspicious of the woman in front of her. Sure it was this man’s significant other, but she had arrived with a man that seemed awfully emotionally invested.

They burst through a set of doors and another nurse came to take over the bag, as the female nurse touched Esmes arm gently, stopping her.

“Let’s um…let’s get that sleeve rolled up so we can help your boyfriend.” She explained, as Duke was rolled back to surgery with urgency. “We can pray for a miracle together, alright? He’s in good hands.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya smiled brightly as Sam seemed to agree that food might be the way to Dean’s heart, if she wanted to gain his trust. She could tell from looking at the older Winchester that he was a meat and potatoes guy, with a stomach for down home cooking. Judging from both their accents, and the bunker being in Kansas, she guessed soul food might be his drug of choice. The simplicity of Sam pushing his hair behind his ear caught Anya’s eye, following his hand absentmindedly with a soft sigh. She resisted the urge to snuggle up with him, gesturing for him to press play on the movie so they could finish it up. If he didn’t, she wasn’t sure they would ever fully shake the awkwardness, because her temptation would get the better of her…all over again.

A little later, Anya stretched, dropping her legs off the side of the bed to stand up. She stretched a little harder once she stood, and smiled, turning to Sam typing on her phone, “I think I’m more relaxed than I’ve been in months…”

Dean

Dean raised his eyebrows when Lexi mentioned that having ‘him’ was a breath of fresh air. It nearly caused his heart to skip a beat. He couldn’t decide if it was excitement, or flattery, or a mixture of the two. Either way, his raised eyebrows fell into a proud smirk at her words. She adjusted himself in his seat, squeezing the steering wheel a little tighter to prevent his hands from reaching over for her, not knowing that she was fighting the same urge.

“Well, I’m glad to be of service.” He teased, glancing over at her as she stared out the window. He decided to focus more on the case than the tension in the vehicle, grounding himself so he wasn’t distracted. “I say, when we get there, I’ll hang back and let you handle the guy. I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him, but you showing up with me might cause him to…bolt. If I need to, I’ll rough him up a bit. But if we’re right, dude’s just a basement dweller with a little too much interest in the occult, you know?”