JustAnna

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna scanned Sam’s eyes as he spoke, her brain buzzing with all the ways she just wanted all of this to be over. She wanted to hope that things would go back to normal, and they could just forget all this. She knew that it was impossible, but she hoped, nonetheless. Part of her wished she could wipe the whole night from her brain, and just go back to blindly following them around, clinging to the idea of Sam Winchester.

Then Sam kissed her forehead, causing her to close her eyes briefly at the soft touch, and the tenderness of his actions. He said the most patient and loving thing she could ask for in that moment, that he would simply wait for her to work through her emotions and be ready to love him again.

“Well. Thanks for loving me, I guess.” She shrugged, a small echo of a smirk touching the corner of her lips. Just then, the alarm in the hospital sounded, and Anna instinctively whipped her head to look toward the emergency bay, as a ton of nurses and security guards ran into the hospital. “I wonder what’s happening? After tonight, I don’t know that I want to find out…but what if it’s the demons?”

The trauma of the night was definitely settled into her brain, as a simple emergency alarm being tripped was causing her to want to run away, as far away from demons as possible.

Cason

Cason was a little jumpier than he normally would be, teaming up with an angel against his will. Once Esme told him she was okay, even if she wasn’t all…okay, he sighed and nodded, staring off into space for a moment until she screamed at Castiel. The sound, and the fact that she was yelling at an angel caused Cason to tense up, the flinch switching his eyes to black for a split second and then back to blue.

“I would watch it. That’s an angel.” He frowned and murmured to Esme. He didn’t get much else out, before Mika shoved the seat forward and stumbled out of the car at his feet, running over to Dean the second Dean sat up straight. He wasn’t surprised, really. Mika and Dean struck him to be almost as dangerously co-dependent as Sam and Dean.

At that moment, he noticed that Nat had opened her door and stepped out of the car, and his instincts instantly kicked in. He ran over to her, and frowned at the words that came out of her mouth, that both he and Esme had heard.

“If it wasn’t them, it would have been me.” Cason scolded Nat, his eyebrows furrowed and great offense on his face, “Someone would have come after you, Esme’s right. If it wasn’t them…it would have been me, alone. I…”

Cason cut off his words before he said something he would regret and sighed, turning to stare off into space again, while wrapping an arm around her waist to help her stand.

“I was coming either way…”

Dean and Castiel

Dean heard Esme’s voice, and his heart leapt into his throat, as he turned to look at her. He was about to stand from the ground when Mika practically tackled him, causing him to groan with the stiffness that was taking over his body. He barely managed to hold himself upright as she hugged him. He wrapped his arms around Mika’s body, holding her tightly to him as her hair covered his face and a familiar comfort took over. He had almost left her alone. The odds of her forgiving him so quickly for that were slim. When she scolded him, he wasn’t surprised, but he tightened his grip.

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I um…I didn’t know what else to do.” He croaked out, his throat a little dry and scratchy, as he rubbed her back, trying to at least soothe her. It was then that he realized Cas was still there, awkwardly standing like a statue, just watching Mika and Dean. He uncovered his face from Mika’s hair and looked up at Cas with a grimace. “Hey, man. You think you can help the girls? Nat’s pretty banged up, and Esme can’t…she can’t be doin’ too hot.”

“No.” Castiel said simply, not moving from his spot. Dean tilted his head, giving Castiel a look of disbelief.

“No? Why the hell not? You can patch me up, but they don’t get a pass?”

“I only saved you. I didn’t…patch you up.” Castiel said simply, once again not moving. “You’ll still be sore for a few days.”

“Yes. I get that. But Nat is hurt bad, man. You can’t help her?”

“Natalia Winchester, yes. The other one? No. She’s not human, Dean. What more do you want me to say about it?” Castiel explained, holding his hands out to his sides. Cas didn’t give any of them time to process things, as he began to walk casually toward the Impala. Dean’s eyes were saucers as he pulled back from Mika’s hug, and turned to look toward Esme, echoing Cason’s own expressions as they stared at her. But then Cason noticed Castiel was walking toward Nat.

“No no no. No. We don’t want anything to do with angels.” Cason stepped in front of Nat and put a hand out, trying to wave Cas off.

“Move.” Castiel barked at him and Cason sighed, his eyes turning black as he stood firm, shaking his head. “Move or I will move you.”

“I don’t want you touching her. I don’t want your buddies having her scent. She will heal.”

“And you’re willing to allow her to suffer great pain, to keep her away from an angel, because of your fears as a bottom feeding hellspawn. Am I wrong?” Castiel spoke with disgust, and Cason began to growl, shaking against Nat’s chest as he backed up to her.

“Can you guys stop measuring dicks and help my sister? Fight in a parking lot somewhere later!” Dean called to them, as he sat on the ground with Mika, still trying to get himself back together, while thoughts of Esme’s humanity flooded his mind. He turned to look at Mika, scanning her entire face for a hint on how to react to this whole thing, and the only thing that came to his mind was the question, “You’re human, right? Like…you’re gonna stay human.”

Cason reluctantly tilted his head to the side, watching as Castiel’s hand passed over his shoulder, and he touched Natalia’s forehead, healing the worst of her wounds, outside of some soreness and a few scratches. Cason flinched as Castiel dropped his hand and turned back to Dean.

“Try to keep yourself alive. We have a lead on something that I will be bringing to you in a few days. I need you rested…and alive.” He ordered Dean, before disappearing.

Dean furrowed his brow at Castiel’s order, rolling over in his brain what the hell he could possibly be talking about. All they could really do is wait for his call.

As Castiel flew off, Cason released the breath he was holding in and turned to Nat, brushing her hair away from her face. He took his jacket off, in that moment, and draped it over her shoulders, brushing his thumb over her nose.

“I don’t like it. I don’t like angels spreading their grace all over everything, but how do you feel?”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna almost smiled as Sam seemed to breathe in her actions. He always seemed to calm along with her as long as she was playing with his hair and holding him close. Their heartbeats syncing could be stressful at time, because there was never any warning for which of them was going to be ‘the one’. So, if either of them was particularly stressed, there was a chance the other would feel every bit of it.

As Sam’s nose nudged hers, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to keep herself under control, being this close to him. She had to restrain the urges to just let everything go, kiss him, and make up. Her proclamation of sticking around wasn’t the end of this. It was just the beginning. She wouldn’t run, but she couldn’t promise that things would just go back to normal.

“How horrible is it that this is the closest I’ve felt to you?” Anna spoke, her right thumb brushing over his ear as she opened her eyes and stared into his. She knew her skin was burning hot and that she was probably in for a rough few days of detox, but she was going to ride her current high until it faded. And she didn’t want to send him mixed signals, “All this time, and in the one moment I can’t kiss you…I really want to.”

Cason

Cason glanced back at Nat as she willingly got in the car, causing him to sigh with relief, but Mika was beginning to raise her voice as the reality of what was happening was setting in. As she saw the light, and Cason recognized the cry of anguish and the motion of her feet to run into the building, he stepped forward. He reached for her, right as she fell to the ground and he groaned.

He felt like the odd man out in this situation. He couldn’t empathize with Mika at all. He didn’t care if Dean lived or died. All he cared about was that Nat was safe, and that he could pick up her pieces after this was all over. He stomped over to Mika, and wrapped his hand around her upper arm, dragging her to her feet as she cried.

“Come on. We have to go. You can hate me. You can cut my head off. You can do whatever you feel like you need to do later on, but you have to come with me. NOW!” He shouted, wrapping both his arms around her in a mixture of control over her body and an actual hug to attempt some sort of human comfort. He dragged her back toward the car, and turned her to him, wrapping his arms around her again in a tight hug. “He wouldn’t want you to fall apart and get yourself killed. Get in the car.”

Cason opened the back door, gesturing for Natalia to scoot aside, and then he roughly shoved Mika into the seat, just as Castiel appeared next to the car. With the wave of his hand, the Impala roared to life with no keys, and drove itself with a squall of the tires, straight backward, all the way into the field adjacent to the asylum.

As the car rolled to a stop, Cason stared out the window as the entire asylum crashed to the ground in a massive pile of rubble and dust. His eyes were saucers as he turned slowly and stared through the windshield.

There was no way Esme and Dean survived that.

Dean

Dean watched Esme walk away from him, his heart racing as the light within her grew brighter with every anguished scream. Every time she told him to leave, he shook his head and tried to yell over the sound of the rumbling beneath his feet, “NO! I’m not leaving. I’m not leaving you here!”

As she professed her love, something he hadn’t heard from her mouth in what felt like forever, his stomach lurched and he looked toward the window. He realized this was the point of no return. He could jump out the window, break a few bones and survive this. But his mind wouldn’t let him run for it. He turned back toward Esme, shielding his eyes from the light as she began to erupt. He ran over to her, and wrapped his arms around her as tight as he possibly could. He placed a hand on the back of her head, pressing his chin into her shoulder as she screamed, piercing his ears and the light engulfed both of them. “I’ve got you. It’s okay. It’s okay, Esme.”

A little later, Castiel walked over the rubble, his face blunt and unmoved as he searched for any sign of life. He glanced around, and after a few moments of kicking at stone and glass, he saw a hand hanging out of the rubble. He recognized the ring instantly, and began moving the heavy stones away from Dean’s body, until he completely uncovered him.

“I found him.” Castiel barked toward the Impala, not really caring if anyone heard him. He tilted his head to the side, squinting as he pushed a foot forward and kicked a piece of rubble next to Dean’s head, uncovering part of Esme’s shoulder. Two of the Hellhounds were alerted to things moving around and unburied themselves, shaking dust and pebbles from their invisible fur as they fluffed up. They stepped over the rubble, but had uncovered the majority of Esme’s upper body.

“Dean. Hey…Dean.” Castiel called to Dean, uncovering the rest of his body. When Dean didn’t respond to him, he sighed, and looked around for a moment, watching the Hellhounds pacing around on their way back to the Impala to meet back up with Cason. He didn’t waste much more time, as he looked back down and noticed that Esme was awake. “Hey! Are you hurt?”

He leaned down and pushed some of the rubble aside, before lifting Esme onto her feet. He held onto her, and bent slightly to wrap his other hand around Dean’s wrist, dragging him over the rocks and rubble with full plans to fix whatever was broken once he got him safe.

Castiel approached the Impala, still mostly carrying Esme and dragging Dean as Cason quickly jumped out of the car and ran over, hesitantly wrapping an arm around Esme’s back to help her stand. He walked her over to the drivers seat of the Impala and eased her down, holding a hand out, “Are you alright? I mean…physically? What about him? Is he alive?”

As Cason turned to Castiel, Castiel shrugged and tilted his head, “Yes. More or less. He has several broken bones, and his brain seems to be bleeding. I was hoping he would wake up on his own.”

Without another word, Castiel squatted next to Dean and pressed his fingers to his forehead, causing Dean to awaken with a loud gasp. He sat straight up, feeling around him for Esme. “Esme?!”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

For a split second, Anya was afraid that Sam was going to pull away from her and tell her not to touch him, even though he didn’t move. His hand touching hers sent her heart aflutter once again, and she watched his fingers briefly, to see if he was going to peel her hand away from him.

When he didn’t, and instead pulled her closer to him, their chests pressed tightly together, Anya smiled into the incoming kiss. This one felt different than the first. There was still a bit of nervousness, but they were on the same page. She could feel it the second his lips touched hers and she stood on the tips of her toes as his hand reached the back of her neck.

As he pulled away from her, she chased his lips, her eyes still closed as took a deep breath, not even realizing she had been holding it in the first place. It was then that she once again wished she could talk. She wanted to say something, anything…

Instead, she smiled brightly, and leaned back in, taking his bottom lip between her teeth with a giggle, before kissing him again. She pulled them back toward the table, and carefully sat herself against it, pulling him between her knees so they could be impossibly close.

Dean

Dean leaned over against the window, putting his hand over his mouth as he watched Lexi approach the weird guy all by herself. Every fiber of his being wanted to jump out of the car and follow her, even if it meant the guy would clam up. At least she would be safe. As he watched them speak, his free hand tapped at the handle on his door.

“Don’t do anything stupid…” He grumbled at the guy, even though the guy couldn’t hear him. But then the guy turned and looked at the car and Dean tensed. This was either about to go way downhill, or Lexi would take care of it swiftly, judging by the guy’s body language.

Then the guy made a move, and Dean instantly pulled the door handle, opening the door a bit while watching as Lexi took care of the kid in a pretty quick order. He waited, making sure she would be okay, and as she slammed the kid on his car, Dean winced and smirked.

“There you go…” He cheered her on quietly, as Lexi dropped him and turned to the car. He closed the door of the car and settled into his seat, waiting for her to get back in. As soon as she did, Dean smiled over at her and laughed softly. “Maybe. But you almost killed that kid. It went about how we expected, honestly…minus him having the balls to actually make a move. What an idiot.”

Dean pulled his phone from the middle seat and sighed, “Time to break the news to the kids. Are you good? He missed, right?”

He asked his question with a raised eyebrow, narrowing his eyes protectively as he glanced over at her and pressed the number for Sam’s phone. He placed it on speaker and frowned when it rang more than twice. Sam’s phone was never out of reach. Half the time it was in his hand. How dare he not pick up? He was alone in the bunker with a stranger that was sweet on his ass, for what reason Dean couldn’t even begin to think of, and he wasn’t answering his phone?

All Roads Lead To You

Duke and Dean

Duke glanced over at Dean when Esme stated that she not only didn’t want them to work on her car, but also that she didn’t want to deal with their fighting anymore. He tilted his head in a way that said ‘see what you did?’ And straightened his cowboy hat. Dean had always been one to give Esme space, if she needed it. Even when he was hovering over her injuries or wellbeing, he was still willing to give her air. He knew this couldn’t be easy for her, being taken care of, and basically being on house arrest while she wasn’t super mobile.

He watched her stand up and took a deep breath, going back to his food. But Duke wiped his hands on his jeans and slapped a hand on the table next to Dean with a knowing look, “You know you’re supposed to run after the girl when she’s upset and needs air…right? Don’t kick me or so help me I will beat your ass in this kitchen and apologize to Bobby later.”

“I’m not gonna kick you. She wants space. I give her space. It’s what keeps things…kosher.” Dean explained, gesturing with his hands to punctuate his statement. Duke scoffed and shook his head, standing from his chair suddenly. “Where the hell are you going?”

“I’m gonna go out there and I’m gonna talk to that girl. She seems like she needs an ear…” Duke stated simply, not smiling at Dean which weirded him out. He narrowed his eyes at Duke and leaned back in his chair, watching his best friend leave the kitchen, straight for the front door.

Duke stepped out the front door and carefully closed it behind him. He rolled his bare shoulders, and without making any more noise than necessary, he slowly stepped down the steps next to Esme and then sat down, not saying a word for a bit. After the awkward silence, he couldn’t handle it anymore and looked up from his folded hands, staring across the vast yard, “So, you wanna talk about it? What happened yesterday, I mean. You’re pretty busted up and I’m here if you wanna…talk about it.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna sighed, scrunching her nose to try to quell the tears as Sam said everything she could possibly want to hear. He was in the same boat with Hell that she was. He was chased by the same brand of demon that she was. His fate was basically written for him, and ended the same way as hers. As he finished, Anna’s breath caught in her throat and she wasn’t even sure she could get it back if she tried.

“You go down, then I’m going down with you.”

The words echoed in her mind a few times as she stared at him. She didn’t want him to die with her. She didn’t want him to die at all. She just wanted him to be safe, and to not blindly follow his brother but the idea that he would be careful if it meant making her comfortable made her heart flutter, her heartbeat breaking contact with his, which was rare when they were together.

Not only had he just admitted that he refused to live without her, and fully planned to ‘blaze of glory’ things to die with her, but he also admitted that she was the love of his life. That was something that seemed so petty in the moment, but to Anna…it was overwhelmingly open for Sam. It was the most open he had ever been with her.

Taking a deep breath, Anna unfolded her legs, her brain trying to decide how to handle the rage of emotions in her mind. Every part of her wanted to run away, just open the door and run. But a small part of her mind kept her in place, stuck. Maybe it was their hearts which were hammering in unison, or the demon blood calling to the demon blood in his veins. She couldn’t place it.

After a moment of thinking it over, she moved onto her knees and her hands came up to brush through the hair behind both his ears, a gesture that had always comforted her when they slept together, quieting the images and voices in both their minds. She clenched his hair in both hands, and pressed her forehead to his tightly, “I’m with you.”

Dean

Dean flinched, having to force himself to keep his eyes open at Esme’s sudden outburst toward him. He nodded at her proposal to burn the asylum down. He was more than happy to let her, but her next words struck him a bit. Why couldn’t she go with him? What had he done that was so bad she couldn’t come home with him? Even when they weren’t together, off and on all those years ago, there wasn’t a single moment that she wouldn’t have followed him out of this room.

And then it came.

Duke was dead. He had died in the hospital and none of them knew, except Esme, who had stayed with him. Cason turned his eyes down to the floor and Dean shook his head in disbelief, his eyes filling with tears as she stared at Esme. Everything inside of him wanted to scream, or kill something, or go and try to make a deal for the one person in this world that deserved a chance. Duke deserved a chance to be happy, and for a moment he was. He and Esme both were. But that moment was over, and Dean’s heart shattered in that moment.

“Esme…” Dean started, but Esme’s voice grew louder as she continued the ascent into exploding. He watched her, his breathing uneven as the tears took over his eyes and began to fall down his face. He would save her, if he had to go down with her.

When she warned them to leave, Cason recognized what was happening immediately, and he nodded, grabbing Dean’s arm to pull him through the door. “Let’s go. Dean let’s go.”

“NO! You go. You take care of my sister. You get Mika out of here. You go.” Dean ordered Cason, shoving him toward the door. Cason stared at him with wide eyes, astounded and in disbelief. Cason grabbed the collar of Dean’s jacket, trying one more time to convince him to come with him and when Dean turned and made eye contact with him, his eyes flooded in tears, Cason sighed and disappeared.

Dean instantly ran over to Esme, reaching back to shove Ruby’s knife in the back of his jeans. He then stepped up to her, ignoring the heat that was radiating off her skin. If he burned, he burned, but he wasn’t letting her die alone.

“Please…” Dean begged her, raising his shaky hands to place them on her nearly fire hot cheeks so that he could try and get through to her. His first instinct was to pull his hands back, the second he felt the heat, but he refused. “Please come with me. Please. I’m not leaving here without you. If you jump…I jump. Remember that? I still believe that. I still believe that, Esme. You can burn this place down. You can blow it to pieces…but not like this. I will help you burn it down. I will light the fire myself.”

Dean closed his eyes tightly and looked down, a little more afraid than he would let on. He was probably about to die in this place, which seemed poetic, considering Natalia’s history there. Taking a deep breath, Dean whimpered quietly, a tear trailing down his cheek, “Just please come with me. Don’t jump…If you can’t do it for me, do it for Duke. He wouldn’t want us to go out this way.”

Cason

Cason landed in front of the Impala, without Dean. He knew what that meant and he knew what was coming next. He instantly stomped toward Mika, no emotion on his face as he wrapped an arm around her and pushed her back toward the car. “Get in the car.”

His words were simple, but told everything. Dean wasn’t coming with him. Chances were, Dean was going to die in the asylum, being the self sacrificing idiot he tended to be. But he had made a promise to Dean, and he had made a promise to Nat a long time ago. Both these girls were leaving with him.

“Get in the car. Nat, get in the car.” Cason repeated, opening the backseat of the car for them both to get inside. He turned back to Mika and grabbed her wrist. “I will break your legs if I have to but you have to get in the car!”

He stood next to the Impala, waiting for the girls to follow orders, which he was expecting a massive fight with. Glancing up at the asylum windows, he saw the glow from the room he had just escaped, and a pang of regret flooded the back of his head, the human emotion burning like acid. There was no way that the wayward group would survive losing Dean Winchester…as much as he wanted to murder the guy.

Tempted To Try Again (Fandom stuff)

@MegaraFoxfire Why did I miss your reply?! If you want, maybe we can talk ideas over via DM?

All Roads Lead To You

Dean and Duke

Dean watched Esme carefully as she nursed her coffee, and then seemed to be thinking of something. He was ready to ask what it was, and kick Duke one more time for good measure, when Esme replied to Duke and shut him up for the moment. Duke was one that would try to win her over with a bright smile, his best pretty boy blue eyes stare. It was like a damn super power with the kid, and women.

When Esme mentioned her car, Dean shook himself out of his thoughts and nodded, wincing with her as she iced her face. He wished there was some magic cure for the injuries they tended to come home with. Not just for the moment, when he wanted her to just…be okay, but also, it would make hunting more efficient. That was something to have Bobby research later on. He made a mental note and cleared his throat.

“I can take a look at it.” Dean spoke finally, and Duke quickly turned to look at him, his smile fading a bit as he scanned Dean’s face and then turned back to Esme.

“Yeah. We can look at it. You don’t need to be crawlin’ up under the thing, right now anyway.” Duke offered, his bright eyed smiling demeanor serious and helpful all the sudden. Bobby sighed from his desk, and folded his paper up, standing. He walked through the kitchen, out into the garage to go take a look at the damage to Esme’s car, without being asked, like the dad he was.

“And you can rest. A little beer. A little music. Rest.” Dean ordered, holding his coffee cup in both hands, as he pointed.

“And then we go shoot.” Duke chimed in and Dean rolled his eyes taking a long drink of his coffee, and fighting the urge to kick him again. “If you feel up to it, that is. I’m cool with just gettin’ dirty under the hood of a car. It’s been a while.”

“Then you take over the wrench and I’ll play dutiful best friend.”

“I wouldn’t really say you guys are friends, by the way you’re actin’…” Duke started, and Dean landed a heavy kick to his knee, signaling for him to shut his mouth, and Duke frowned, staring at Dean with wide eyes. They communicated silently, similar to how Dean used to be with Sam and Duke scoffed, turning back to his food. “I heard ya…”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya sighed with relief as Sam reacted exactly how she hoped to her words. She was worried he would brush it all off and ask her what she was talking about, as if he wasn’t covered in tension. Anyone could see by just looking at him. She could have chalked it up to grief, or him being worried about his brother, but every time their eyes met, the tension rose higher. When he pushed off the counter, her heart jumped into her throat, and her hands began to shake with nerves. It was the first time that they seemed on the same page since the moment they met, not awkwardly dancing around each other.

She turned her eyes away from him briefly, thinking about typing another message. But she decided against it, laying her phone on the table behind her, before stepping up toe to toe with Sam. As if asking permission, she reached a nervous hand out and placed it on his chest, feeling his heart beat beneath her fingers.

Looking up at him, she smiled softly, trailing the same nervous hand up to his shoulder and then the side of his neck, curling his hair around her fingers. She was terrified to kiss him again, but everything on her face made it clear that she really…really wanted to.

Dean

Dean sighed with relief as Lexi not only didn’t pull her hand away but verbally agreed with him, and squeezed his hand. It was a step. It was a tiny step toward allowing themselves to get closer, without instantly jumping into each other’s arms, which he wasn’t sure he was ready for. He knew he wanted to be around her, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to just…allow himself to.

—

At the meeting point, Dean perked up when Lexi pointed out the nervous looking guy standing near an old beat up car. He scanned the guy over, and judging by his demeanor, he didn’t look too hard to take down, if the need arose. He looked as if a stiff wind would blow him over. Dean scoffed, “He looks about like I expected.”

As Lexi moved to get out of the car, Dean pulled her hand back, kissing her knuckles one more time with a stern look, “You stay…”

The words buzzed in his brain, the same warning he always gave Mika. It was the same speech, different hunter. Same speech, different attachment. The thought made his stomach churn, and he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. He cut himself off and shook his head with a sad smile, “Get out of here. Go get him.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Sam’s quick burst of emotion toward her words caused Anna to frown and watch his face even closer. She had made him cry. It wasn’t something she ever wanted to do and he was usually so good at keeping his emotions in check, even if he was devastated. He didn’t hide them. They read all over his face, but tears falling from his eyes were jarring. Him correcting her so quickly and with so much conviction caused her heart to do a flip, as she grappled with believing him, or believing that he would always choose his brother.

Another tiny sob broke from her throat as he continued, and in that moment, she believed him. Against every part of her brain screaming not to, she believed every word he was saying. Taking a deep and shaky breath to calm the sobs that threatened to break through, and derail her confidence, Anna looked down.

“I believe you.” She whispered, turning her eyes back up to meet his. She looked between his eyes, her own eyes frantically searching for a reason to stay away from him, a reason to run, but she couldn’t do that either. She couldn’t forgive him for following his brother, even if it meant driving off a cliff. But she did have to admit that she loved him. “And I love you. I do. So much. I just don’t know how much more of this prophetic control mess I can take. I-I’ve lost everything to this, like you have. And I don’t want to lose you, but I-I have a…I have a feeling I will, before this is over. I’ll lose you too.”

Dean

Dean held onto Nat’s legs tightly as she settled onto his back. Feeling her arm drape over his shoulder, he reached up and wrapped his fingers around her hand, holding tightly as he started to walk away from the disgusting scene behind them. Her complaining caused him to roll his eyes, and he turned his head, his forehead brushing hers, “Will you stop crying like a baby and let me save your life? A little bit of pain is a lot better than staying here, right?”

As she pitched the idea of burning down the asylum, Dean raised his eyebrow. The idea was solid, but he didn’t have any of the tools he would need to burn down a building this big. Maybe, as touchy feely as Cason was feeling, he could call in some favors and get the thing taken care of for her.

“Well, maybe your boyfriend can take care of it. He seems to have some pull.” Dean joked with her, trying once again to push the idea that he was cool with Cason, if it would keep the truth of him trying to kill someone so special to Nat from coming out.

The trek to the front door was pretty straight forward. No demons. No trouble. But Dean could feel that more demons would show up at any second, and he didn’t want to be here when they came. He carried Nat to the Impala, and carefully lowered her to the ground against the car, so she had something to stand against.

“I’m going to go get him. He’s taking too long, and we’re not leaving him behind.” Dean explained simply. He stepped over to Mika, and pressed a tight kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be right back. Stay with her. Keep her still and safe. I would say keep the dogs around, but I don’t know what they’ll do if I talk to them.”

He turned and jogged back up the stairs of the asylum. The first place he ran to was the room they had rescued Nat from. Glittering in the light of the moon was Ruby’s knife, covered in blood. He ran up, swiped it off the floor and then began searching for Cason, as he held the knife in front of him for coverage, just in case Lilith showed up.

Cason

Cason’s eyes were saucers as Esme finished off Valid, melting him into a puddle. He couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. He didn’t know how he was going to explain it to anyone who would understand and he also didn’t expect that he would be walking out of this room alive. He threw both his hands up as Esme spun around, looking like an absolute animal but also, something he had never seen before. He stared at her, trying to find the right words to get through to her and convince her that they had to leave. Before he could make that decision, she flung her knife at him and with a gasp, he tilted his head to the side, right as the knife embedded into the demons head over his shoulder.

“Holy shit!” He cried out, breathing heavily as he looked down at the demon and then back up at Esme with wide eyes. He wasn’t sure what to even do. He couldn’t touch her. He couldn’t possibly fight her, considering what he had just witnessed. But then she said something so human that his shoulders fell…only a bit. “I know. It took a minute to take care of the shit downstairs. HEY BEHIND YOU!”

Cason stepped forward, to help Esme and take care of the demon that was attacking her, but other than the Hellhounds, he had no weapons. He was more helpless than she was. And as he suspected, the demon was taken care of quickly by Esme’s hands and Sarah’s strong jaw. He winced as Sarah finished Morana.

Hearing footsteps jogging down the hall behind him, Cason stepped carefully toward the doorway, watching Esme’s every move, “Darling…we have to go. You’re gonna be okay and we can figure out what the hell is going on, but we have to go. I came to get you.”

“Cason, what the hell is taking so long?!” Dean shouted as he stepped through the doorway and his eyes went wide, staring around at the carnage in the room. He saw the pile of goo, and the headless demon, and then his eyes turned up to Esme, Ruby’s knife clutched tightly in his fist.

“Dean, I wouldn’t make any sudden movements…”

“Yeah, I gathered that.” Dean huffed back at Cason. He turned his eyes back to Esme and took a careful step forward. “Hey sweetheart. Why don’t we go somewhere together? Hmm? We can get out of here, you and me. We can go anywhere you want but you have to…you have to calm down.”

All Roads Lead To You

Dean and Duke

Dean nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard Esme’s voice, turning with her plate in his hand. He was just about to pour her a cup of coffee to bring a whole tray to her, when she stepped into the kitchen. He quickly ran over to the table, and sat her plate down, strolling over to her straight after.

“Hey, sweetheart.” He called to her, scanning her face. It took less than a second for him to read every ounce of pain that she was feeling, which told him everything about the ‘are you okay’ question he was dying to ask. He didn’t even bother. “Come sit down and eat, alright? I’ll grab some peas for…for that.”

Dean guided her to the table, as if she was going to break under his touch, causing Bobby to raise an eyebrow as he watched them. Duke also narrowed his eyes at Dean’s behavior, but before he could say much, Dean shoved his feet off the chair at the end of the table and he nearly fell off his chair.

“Hey! I was comfortable.” Duke complained, pushing his cowboy hat back to show more of his face. His blonde hair fell in random strands over his eyes and he straightened up in his chair. “Good morning! You don’t look like crap at all. I promise.”

Duke smiled brightly, and Dean once again fought the urge to slap him. But Bobby was still staring at him as if he was an alien. Dean shot Bobby a ‘what?!’ Look, and Bobby simply shook his head with a shrug, going back to his paper. It was obvious that this would be a conversation later on, when he and Dean were alone. Dean stepped away from the table and poured Esme a cup of coffee, bringing it back over and holding his hands out with a smirk.

“There. Breakfast. You kick back, relax and eat. Ignore Duke. And we’re gonna have a day…off.”

He stepped over to the fridge and grabbed a bag of peas from the freezer, laying them next to Esme’s plate before taking his seat across the table from her.

“A day off? I thought we were goin’ out to do that thing at the Peterson’s farm…” Duke spoke up, genuinely confused. Dean kicked his leg under the table and Bobby once again spoke up.

“I sent Chuck and the others after that one.”

“And you don’t think we should go help them?” Duke asked, holding a hand out to Dean. Dean kicked him again with a scowl and Bobby shook his head at him.

“We are taking…the day…off. We have company, and our company had a long day yesterday. And it’s one werewolf. It’s nothing the other guys can’t handle.” Dean explained simply, taking a bite of his toast. He looked across the table to Esme and smirked, winking at her.

“Alright. Well…that just gives me time to get to know Esme, here! I need to redeem myself.” Duke beamed with a bright smile, his blue eyes almost glittering under the dim light of the kitchen. Dean simply rolled his eyes, dipping his head in annoyance before taking a long and annoyed drink of his coffee. “Maybe I’ll take you out for a shoot later.”