JustAnna

All Roads Lead To You

Duke

Duke watched Esme step forward, and check her gun, before firing a terrifyingly accurate shot into the mannequin in front of her. He raised his eyebrows, but quickly frowned at the sound of a sigh and then the pity that he would never have asked for from her, especially this early. He sighed himself, and shook his head, “I deal, you know. Wait what?”

It was then that he realized she was talking about her own situation, and his heart dropped. It was a story old as time with hunters. Either a parent, or a spouse, or a sibling…someone was killed by a monster and the hunt for revenge or answers began. A lot of them were just kids, when they were introduced to the world. It seemed he and Dean weren’t alone in that. He ducked his head, watching her line up another shot, both hitting their targets. And then she turned to him and he saw the tears in her eyes. He had never meant to make her cry.

That was the last thing he wanted to see from her. He had made her cry. But when she furthered her own story, Duke sighed involuntarily and glanced down at his own gun, turning it over and focusing on the floral pattern on the side. It was rare that he cried, but there was a lump in his throat. He snarled his nose, and looked back up at her as she finished. The entire situation made him shake his head. Demons and Hellhounds were torturous, and ruthless. It didn’t surprise him a bit that they would come after a mother and her kid. It didn’t surprise him to finally hear about a child who was actually almost killed during what seemed like a payment for a deal, even if Esme didn’t believe it.

He watched her body language for a moment, after lifting his head, seeing how spaced out she was as she recalled everything. And then came the million dollar question. They had a lot more in common than either of them had realized, and less than a day after meeting…they had both come clean to one another about exactly how much they had in common. Duke stepped over to the fence post, and placed the safety on his gun, before approaching Esme carefully. He didn’t know if it was his place to comfort her, or if she would even accept it, but it was in his nature. “I said I deal…but I wish you didn’t have to.”

Duke stepped in front of her, and without expecting anything in return, he wrapped his arms around her, bringing his left hand up to massage the back of her head as he pulled her into his chest. He took a deep breath, echoing her own breathing as best he could to help her calm down, “And you don’t have to face all that alone…as long as I’m around, alright? I know you don’t know me, and it might be inappropriate for me to say, but I got you…”

All Roads Lead To You

Dean

Dean tilted his head, as if to say ‘touche’ when Esme explained that basically a lot of hunters were the bolting type. She would know just as well as anyone how to handle someone with a hair trigger. He just worried, because of how easy it was to get attached to Duke, and to worry about him for months. He always seemed to limp back home, mostly in one piece, but Dean didn’t worry about him any less, every time he left.

He turned fully in his chair as she stopped again and was once again tempted to stand up, kiss her, pull her back in and try to convince her to just lay around all day. He had expected her to want to. But she was asking him to relax…and to possibly relax with her, something he couldn’t refuse if he tried.

“I’ll be out in a bit. I just gotta check on Bobby in the garage.” He replied to her, making sure that his smile conveyed that he wasn’t upset or irritable at all. He just wanted to hold her close for a while before she ran off. He closed his newspaper and stood from his chair, taking his dishes to the sink, before hearing her call from the living room. He smiled with a chuckle, “If Bobby doesn’t sucker me under a hood, I won’t. Take it easy out there, you hear me?”

Duke

Duke had reset all of the cans, pans and mannequins that he could find the pieces to by the time he heard the front door open. He tilted his cowboy had back a bit, and glanced toward the door, watching Esme closely as she took the steps. The last thing he wanted to be responsible for was her hurting herself worse, especially when Dean seemingly didn’t throw too big of a fit toward her hanging out with Duke.

“Well hey there sweet pea!” Duke called out to her as she approached him. He could tell that she was completely winded, and probably a little worse off than she would ever admit to the boys. He stepped away from the last of the mannequins, and walked over to his bag, grabbing his pretty silver .45 pistol that Bobby had given him for his birthday. Bobby said it was from some sort of card wheeling and dealing. Either way, Duke was obsessed with the gun. He pulled the magazine and checked to make sure he had fully reloaded it, right as Esme spoke up. A bright smile appeared on his face, “I figured you would have to tie him to the chair to get him to let you come outside. Either he’s feelin’ sweet today, or he’s needin’ his precious alone time and had to decide which was more important…hoverin’ and being weird or takin’ some time to himself like a princess.”

As he joked with her, he nearly winced at how mean he sounded. But Dean was like his brother. There wasn’t much they held back from one another, and seeing Dean super possessive and worried was a new one. He wasn’t even that way with his ex…the ‘big one’, as Duke called her.

Esme’s next question took him off guard and although he kept the smile on his face, he looked up across the yard, contemplating things for a moment as he squinted in the sun. He really did just want to spend some time with her, get to know her, and smooth things over, but she had been so open with him, he almost felt obligated to be the same with her. He glanced down at the gun in his hands, and pulled his slide, loading a bullet into the chamber, with a soft shrug.

“I’ll be honest. I mostly just wanna get to know you, I guess. I don’t see no harm in makin’ a new friend while I’m around.” Duke stared with another shrug, and then he thought about it for a moment and sighed, “And since Dean decided to bring up my back in the kitchen, I might as well trauma dump that while we shoot. You are my shrink, after all, and you’d be one of three people who I’ve ever talked to about it. Sore subject and all…”

Duke laughed awkwardly, and then chewed at his lip and pointed his gun at one of the mannequins, specifically aiming at its heart before shooting. He hit what he was aiming at with a deep breath, “I’ve been with Bobby since I was seven. Werewolves. They um…they killed my parents…”

He paused, aiming for another of the targets, double tapping it like it was second nature. But his hand was a bit shakier and he lowered the gun, offering the targets to her as he continued the simple but not so simple story.

“…and apparently they used me as a fun toy for a few hours. I don’t remember much, other than the look on Bobby and Rufus’ face when they figured out I was alive.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke tried his best to not give into the overwhelming emotion of someone telling him not to say ‘sorry’ when he felt like he was bothering the whole group. He felt sorry. He felt sorry he was an inconvenience. He felt sorry that he wasn’t lifting Esme and Dean up the way he tended to, relieving some of the tension. He was sorry that he had died, and scared them so bad.

But he had to accept it for now. He sniffled as Esme laid her head on his chest, reaching a hand up to just pet the back of her head, frowning when he felt the dried blood in her hair. He would have to look at that when they got back to Bobby’s.

4 hours later

At some point, Duke had dozed off. Images that were oddly familiar had brushed through his mind, the entire trip. Old memories of laughing, and running around in the sun…Working on cars with Dean…Esme’s face behind a tall champagne flute at a party…The day Dean showed up at Bobby’s when he was a kid and changed his life…

Then Esme’s voice jarred him from the memories, and he frowned, inhaling a sharp breath of air as he opened his eyes and looked up at her. He could feel the warmth of her hand on his face, and for a moment, he assumed it was just another memory, but why would she be so busted up in his dreams?

“We’re at Bobby’s…” Duke rationalized, watching her face for a moment, before glancing out the window as he sat up straight with a soft groan. He reached up and ruffled his hair, before gesturing for Esme to open the door. He was ready. He was ready to be home. He was ready to see Bobby and the house, and to have a beer. He climbed out of the car behind Esme, feeling a little straighter on his feet as he stood up and stretched. A small smirk teased the corners of his mouth as he looked down at Esme and reached for her hand, “I need a beer.”

Dean and Cason

Dean had fallen into silence as soon as Duke seemed to doze off. He probably would have snapped at anyone who made much of a sound, while Duke was sleeping. He could barely believe he was sitting in the backseat, and if he needed rest, it was the least they could do for him. But as they pulled onto Horseman way, and Bobby’s metal sign passed over the Impala, Dean took a deep breath.

For the time being, they were safe. Duke was safe. Nat was safe. They were all safe with Bobby.

He pulled into his usual parking spot, the house looking like a beacon in the middle of the night, even though it was dawn. He opened his door quickly and stepped out, stretching his back and legs as the others began unfolding themselves from the car. He smirked as Mika began making plans for the morning, and Dean had to nod in agreement.

“A drink sounds like heaven, right now.” He agreed, hearing Duke seem to echo his own response with what he could almost hear as a smile. His heart hammered for a moment with relief to hear that tiny hint of a smile in his voice. He turned to Mika, as all of the doors closed, and nodded. “Go on. We’ll all make it in.”

But then Dean was alerted to Sam pulling up behind them, and he turned just as the lights of Duke’s truck went off. He didn’t even know how to look Anna in the eyes. It was going to be awkward, no matter how they sliced it.

Cason stepped out of the car behind Nat, quickly grabbing her hand as she reached back for him. He wasn’t the slightest bit excited to be back at Bobby Singer’s house. Nor did he figure Bobby would be too happy to see him. But there was no way he was leaving Nat’s side. He nodded as Nat asked if he was ready to go in, shrugging his shoulders, “I’m as ready as I’m gonna be. Just check…check before I walk in. Bobby tends to keep devils traps in front of his doors. I’m not really in much of a mood for that conversation…”

Anna

Anna slept hard on their way to Bobby’s. She didn’t even dream. A lot of it might have been the coming down from the demon blood, but either way, she felt like crap and passed out. As Sam shook her shoulder, she jolted awake, but didn’t flinch, turning to look at Sam with confused eyes. After a few seconds, she realized where they were, and realized that Sam had called her a pet name, which was more of a reason for her to try and smooth all of this over with him, since Cason was alive…and Dean was the one at fault for her anger in the first place.

Cason.

Anna quickly sat up, wiping her face with her hands and then with a struggle, due to soreness and stiff muscles, she opened the door and quickly jumped out. As soon as her boots hit the gravel, she took off in a sprint toward Cason, which caused Dean to raise both his hands and take a few steps backward. She didn’t even look at him, running straight to Cason and stood in front of him, gasping for air.

“Hey sunshine…” Cason smiled, and Anna threw herself onto his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck. He caught her with his free arm, smiling over at Nat in an attempt to not let her in on what the whole scene was about.

“I thought you were dead! How did you…how…”

“I have tricks up my sleeve. You know that. How about this…” Cason muttered against the side of Anna’s face as he peeled her arms off his neck. “Why don’t we get some rest, and then we’ll talk, alright? It’s good to see you mostly in one piece.”

Cason pointed out with his hand open that Anna had torn a couple of her stitches, and now her arm was open and bleeding. Anna glanced over at it and then shrugged her shoulders, “It doesn’t hurt. But my head does.”

“I know. We’ll figure that out too. Let’s go inside, alright?” Cason spoke softly, like speaking to a child. Anna nodded, her eyes full of tears as she stared at him. She didn’t really want to leave him, but it was evident that Nat needed his attention, and she had Sam. She awkwardly nodded at Natalia, and then stepped away from them, crossing her arms and walking past Dean, on her way back to Sam.

“Anna! Hey…can we talk?” Dean called to her, stopping her in her tracks for a moment. She glanced down at the gravel, grinding her boot into the rocks and then shook her head.

“No. We’re done, Dean. You and me are finished.” She said simply, no hint of emotion in her voice as Dean pressed his lips together, giving a long and disappointed nod. He didn’t try again as she stepped away from him and over to Sam, wrapping her arm around Sam’s elbow.

Bobby

Bobby stood from his desk, closing the book he was reading. He glanced down at his watch as he heard the rumble of vehicles driving onto the lot, seeing that it was almost 6 am. He had made a point to take a nap on the couch while they were on their way, and was already on his second cup of coffee by the time they showed up.

He stepped into the kitchen, grabbing a six pack of beer from the fridge. He sat it on the table, and then went to the cabinet, pulling several glasses to sit next to them. Around that time, Mika opened the front door and Bobby smiled, “I’m in the kitchen, kid.”

Bobby grabbed some ice trays from the freezer and tossed them on the table, before walking out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his pants, “Well, you look less like Hell than I expected…”, he teased Mika, before walking over to give her a hug. He wanted to rip her apart for not calling sooner, but for now, he would settle for a hug.

“How bad are the others?”

All Roads Lead To You

Dean

Dean shook his head as Duke left the kitchen and walked out the front door, a sight that he was unfortunately used to any time he tried to give Duke advice. He turned his hand over as Esme picked it up, giving her hand a little squeeze as she confirmed that he had attempted to give her space. He looked up at her and matched her smile, but his own fell briefly when she mentioned that she might have had too much space. Dean wondered if this was her way of telling him that she felt like he was avoiding her, which was far from the case…or at least he thought so.

He narrowed his eyes and snapped from his thoughts when she spoke about Duke ‘trying to help her work through her emotions’. That sounded like a classic Duke move. Emotions were his favorite door into someone’s heart. He had a habit of making people fall in love with him…just by talking to them.

“I don’t want to hover…” Dean grumbled, as he softened his face, and scanned her face for her feelings toward the situation. He tried to read whether she wanted him to come out to the shooting range or not. He was trying to just get an idea of what was expected of him, something he wasn’t exactly good at reading with people, but was trying to learn.

Her lips against his cheek made him smirk, and nod at her declaration of being okay. At least there was that. She was okay. Would it be so bad to let her hang out with Duke? If anything, Duke’s positivity might be good, after whatever had happened the night before…which he needed to press her on, himself. He looked between her eyes as she stared into his, swallowing heavily at the honesty he saw there. As she leaned in to kiss his lips, he nodded softly, “Okay. I’ll probably be out there in a bit, after I get dressed. Just…don’t get too attached to Duke. He’s friendly, but he’s a bolter.”

He kissed her back, tempted to pull her onto his lap and keep her in the house somehow, but she seemed adamant about going out. He just had to give her a warning, a warning that Bobby would have slapped him for. Duke had broken Bobby’s heart a million times by running off with no calls or signs of where he was going…and yet…Bobby didn’t allow them to talk about it.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya listened to Sam’s conversation with Dean, raising her eyebrows as it seemed that Dean was asking about her and Sam being close to one another. She rolled her eyes at the jealousy she could feel oozing from the chattering on the other end. Dean was terrified of losing Sam, in some way, not that Anya would ever leave this place…if she was close to Sam.

She smirked as Sam called Dean out on his jealousy, and then watched Sam hang up the phone and lay it to the side. She looked back up at him with a soft sigh, and reached back for her own phone. Her heart dropped as he said that the lead was nothing special, but she held it together, placing a hand on his chest as she typed with her other hand.

“Well. Then we keep working until we find something, right? I don’t mind sticking around.” She pressed play, and turned her eyes up to Sam’s with a small smile, reassuring him through her own disappointment. As she watched his face, the timer on the oven dinged, causing her to flinch and press against his chest to scoot him back. She climbed off the table, dropping her phone on the cutting board on her way by, and walked over to the oven, grabbing a glove and popping it open. She pulled both trays from the oven and let it close, before turning back to Sam. She sat the trays on the cutting board and then picked up her phone, typing again, “Maybe he will calm down over dinner.”

Dean

Dean turned to Lexi as Sam hung up on him, holding his phone out with an incredulous scowl on his face. He couldn’t believe that Sam wouldn’t even give him the chance for a rebuttal on this. But when Lexi called him out, he narrowed his eyes, realizing that he was in this alone with his feelings. Any other time, he would have fought tooth and nail to prove that he was right, but he was starting to see that not only was he out numbered, but that they may have a point about his paranoia.

Dean took Lexi’s hands as she reached for his, and snarled his nose a bit at the mental image her words brought up. He didn’t even want to think about what Sam would do with someone as seemingly sweet as Anna, alone…

But her last words about the situation caused him to tilt his head with raised eyebrows. She was right. It would be hypocritical of them both to tell Sam not to shoot his shot, when they had been in Hell all day keeping their hands to themselves. “You’re right…” he muttered, as she let go of his hands.

With a deep breath, he took in her suggestion to try and relax when they got back, get to know Anya and try to vibe with the situation. He mulled it over in his brain, raising his eyebrows as she kissed his cheek. He turned to look at her once again, fighting the urge to kiss her in his hypocrisy, as he stared into her eyes and matched her smile with a smaller one of his own.

“Fine. But I’m gonna keep an eye on her.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna nodded along with Sam. She was more than excited they were all okay. There wasn’t much reason to still be upset, other than the principle of trying to kill Cason, after all the help he had provided, against Hell’s wishes. Cason had risked his entire existence to keep her safe, and then stayed…when he didn’t have to. He had gotten close to the Winchesters, and not run away when things were the worst for him. But he was alive, and she couldn’t wait to see him again…and if anything, thank him for helping her stay alive, while they waited for Sam.

The thought of the demon blood still in her system crossed her mind, as she thought of Cason. She wondered if they would end up drying her out again, something she wanted to absolutely refuse, or if Cason would give her more blood. She was drawn from her thoughts by Sam speaking up about another text.

“Wait. We’re going to Bobby’s?” She started, deciding not to fight him on it just yet as the rest of of the text hit her. Duke was roaming around on the highway after being skewered? Duke was practically dead when they were in the barn. There was no way he was just up and walking around, unless…”Duke is the murder victim. That means one of us is probably the murderer. Damn. Yeah we gotta go. They’re probably sending out every cop in the state to find him and whichever one of us they think…killed him.”

She had trouble finishing that sentence, but she sighed in unison with Sam and nodded her head, “Yeah. Let’s…let’s get to Bobby’s, I guess.”

Dean and Cason

Dean was relieved, when Mika finished the phone call with Bobby. Bobby seemed more excited for them to show up than they were to get there. Bobby’s was a safe space. Some of them would have to sleep on the floor in the living room. They would likely have to deal with Anna’s demon blood situation. And it sounded like at least one or two of them would end up in the RV. But they could figure all of that out when they got there. At that moment, they just needed…to get there. Dean glanced back at Duke once again as Esme called Duke’s name.

He sighed, not wanting to watch anymore. He wanted to talk to Duke alone, when he wasn’t stuck in an impossible to understand situation, when he was home, and safe.

Cason simply wrapped his arms a little tighter around Natalia. The whole situation and vibe jarring him, as he thought about how close Nat had actually come to dying in that asylum. He wasn’t the least bit excited to walk back into Bobby’s booby trapped hell hole. But he knew Nat would be safe there. He knew that Bobby would do everything to keep the ones he considered his ‘kids’ safe. That was good enough for Cason, even if the house was rigged to literally bite his ass.

“He’s gonna be okay…” Cason whispered in Nat’s ear, as she nudged Duke. The guy honestly seemed like he needed space that he couldn’t have, but also seemed like he would melt away if he wasn’t touched by someone he trusted. It wasn’t an emotion Cason would wish on his worst enemy.

Duke

Duke nearly flinched when Esme pulled her arms from him, his brain telling him to reach for her arms, to hold her as close to him as he possibly could, but then her hand came to touch his face and she said his name. He closed his eyes tightly, at the soft touch, until she asked him to look at her, which he opened his eyes and turned to do. He followed her eyes, his own eyes darting between both of hers as she spoke to him. Duke took a deep breath, not moving as Esme pushed his hair from his face and he began to shake his head.

“I don’t want that…”, He started, but he pressed his lips together and stopped resisting, and conceded with a soft nod. He didn’t want any of them going out there and trying to find anything. That never ended well for anyone. They ended up digging up bad crap every single time that they went for answers. He honestly just wanted to try and soldier his way through whatever the feeling in the pit of his stomach was. But he knew Esme was stubborn, and she would do whatever she had to to get the info she was looking for. Taking another deep breath, Duke scanned her eyes and nodded once again with a soft smile. “Okay.”

He closed his eyes, furrowing his brow as Esme pulled him in and kissed his forehead. It felt so real. He just couldn’t decide if all of this being real was a good thing or not. But the hug drove home the point that this was…in fact…real. He wrapped his arms around Esme, holding her so close to him that he was afraid of breaking her in half. His nickname settled in the pit of his stomach, and made him wish that he could just take her and run away. No more fighting. No more hunting. As rare as it was, they could get out. He knew better, but the wish was still there.

“I love you…” He whispered into Esme’s hair. He sat there silently, just hugging her for a while, her words, punctuated by ‘just rest’ causing him to sigh. He could feel that his general demeanor was making people uncomfortable. The biggest of them…Esme. He was always the one who brought things back to funny. He was always the one who laughed his way through mortal injuries and impossible situations. He was always the one who managed to come out of traumatic experiences with a bright smile on his face and not a trace of sadness. But this felt different, and he felt guilty as hell for not being the person they needed…that she needed. He pulled back from her just enough to slump down in his seat, his knees bumping the front seat of the Impala. He leaned his head back, but tilted it so that Esme could snuggle up to him if she needed to. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna glanced over from her peering around like an anxious prey victim, as Sam let out a sigh of relief. The mission had gone well, to get Nat back. She could already tell, by that sigh of relief. But that didn’t change the fact that they were down a man…and a demon, and now they were stuck waiting around to be able to leave this stupid town.

“Good…” Anna nodded, genuinely happy that Nat was safe, but exhausted. But then his next words completely stopped her heart for a brief second, as her eyes went wide and she turned to him, “What? Cason’s alive?!”

She turned back to stare at the console in front of her as tears welled up in her eyes. This whole thing had worked out. The principle of what had been done was still going to linger in the air…for a while. But Cason was alive. As far as Anna knew, they were all alive, somehow. Against all odds, they had all survived such a hopeless situation.

“Wait. Cason is with Dean? I can’t imagine that is anything but Nat twisting arms. Dean tried to kill him. If not for the optics, Dean wouldn’t have left him, he would have killed him.” Anna grumbled, although her breathing was quick and overwhelmed as she grappled the the news, and the confusion of it all. “But at least they’re alive. Now hopefully Duke pulls through and we can all get the hell out of this town.

Duke, Dean and Cason

Dean lifted his eyes to meet Esme’s as she gave him a look that he echoed. He truly couldn’t believe that Duke was sitting there, whole, in his car. It was odd, still, to see Duke and Esme so close, even if he had felt like they would end up together, if they ever found themselves close enough. They had been huddled up close and cozy ever since Duke had stumbled onto their little family, and part of him was just happy to see both Duke and Esme happy…even if it was awkward after all these years.

Duke tried to ignore the looks he was getting, as he pulled his elbow tighter to his body, holding Esme’s arms to him as she wrapped up on his arm. So, it was true. He had died. Like…dead dead. The way Mika was staring at him. The way Dean was staring at him. The way Esme was clinging to him for dear life. He had died, and the world he had seen after passing out in the Impala must have been Heaven.

“Yeah. It’s like you’re all looking at a ghost.” Cason followed up Nat’s comment, and Duke sighed and gritted his teeth for a second before holding his free hand out.

“Because they feel like they are. I mean…I did die, right?”

Dean tensed suddenly, and tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

“No. No you didn’t. The people at the hospital just made a mistake is all. We…we will figure it all out, alright? But I don’t want to talk about it right now. I just want to be glad you’re with us, man.” Dean stopped the conversation cold. Duke nodded his head, his hair falling into his eyes as he looked down at his lap, staring at the dried blood spatters on the denim. “Alright?”

“Alright.” Duke responded, his voice small and unconvinced. Cason glanced between all four of them, narrowing his eyes. If Duke was alive, and Esme, Dean and Mika didn’t expect him to be…something brought him back. He didn’t dare mention it, as Dean would have likely broken his nose, whether Nat was on his lap or not. But he had his questions that he would be trying to find answers to later.

“Let’s figure out where we’re going from this place. Do we know of any place that’s near us?” Dean asked Mika, trying to help shake her out of her shock, as well. But Cason spoke up and Dean shrugged his shoulders at the answer that came back.

“Sioux Falls is four hours Northwest. Doesn’t your…Bobby live there?”

“Yeah. Meeko, what do you think. Bobby’s?” Dean answered, and Duke suddenly broke his own silence.

“Call him. Let’s go home. Safest place I can think of.” Duke murmured, trying not to drive any sort of conflict. He didn’t want any conflict, while he was still processing his own humanity or…whatever. “I mean, if you guys want to…”

“That sounds great Duke. Really. Now, rest, dude. Snuggle up with your girl. Get some rest. You’re home. You’re safe with us. We got you.” Dean reassured Duke as he glanced back and saw the light that he loved so much about his other half…just missing. Duke wasn’t acting like Duke. Even on death’s door, Dean had never seen him this dark, scared and quiet. No teeth glaring in the headlights on the road, as Duke smiled. No bright blue eyes twinkling. He was just…a shell. “Don’t you forget it, alright? We got you. I’ve always got you.”

“Yeah. Thanks…” Duke muttered, forcing his best polite smile before dropping it and turning his eyes back down to the blood spatters on his jeans.

All Roads Lead To You

Duke

Duke shrugged off Esme’s apology about forcing him into the RV. At least in the RV he had more space to himself, and he didn’t have to deal with Dean’s mood swings. It was his little slice of heaven that a lot of nights, he chose to sleep in, whether they had company or not.

He was happy to see her laugh, though. Her laugh lit up the entire room, and was music to his ears after the time she had had the night before. He didn’t know her very well, but he knew that she had to be a good person. Bobby kept her around and she was close to Dean, who rarely held onto anyone. In fact, Dean rarely stayed in one place long enough to hold onto anyone. So, Duke wanted to get to know this girl better…or perhaps for worse.

He laughed with her, raising his eyebrows as she told him that she might bring him things he couldn’t handle. There wasn’t much he couldn’t handle. He had been around this business since he was barely old enough to read, and a shotgun felt like a lead brick in his hands. Duke didn’t extend more of an invitation, only shrugging his shoulders in a suave and ‘brush it off’ sort of way until she thanked him.

“You’re welcome.” He beamed, his smile only falling a bit as she mentioned that he could talk to her as well. His mind went to the deep scars on his back, and the fact that he was walking around without a shirt…around a stranger. Hard conversations tended to try and fire up around the scars on his back. Those conversations would not be had any time soon…at least he thought.

“I’ll keep that in mind. You do seem like you’d be a good shrink. I might have to be careful my dark and edgy side doesn’t come out, if we ever have a session.” Duke teased, before turning and tossing all the guns into the duffel that laid open on the cushion of his kitchen table. He nodded at her suggestion to get moving and tossed the handles of the duffel onto his shoulder. “Sure! Just try not to make too much eye contact when you go in the house. Dean might never let you leave.”

Without another word, Duke passed her, turning his back to her as he jogged down the steps of the RV, out into the covered carport. He walked up to the back door, and swung it open with excitement, stepping into the kitchen. Dean was on his second or third helping of breakfast when Duke stepped in, causing Dean to raise his eyes from the newspaper he had laid out next to his plate.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Dean asked him, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m goin’ shootin’ with your girlfriend. It’s restful. It’s at home and she wants to hang out with me. So, read your paper and relax.” Duke beamed at him, passing him to walk to the fridge, retrieving two beers before kicking the door closed. “You wanted a day off.”

“And you’re going to run around, around someone you don’t know…half naked? I know you’re excited to prove yourself to her, but…are you okay?” Dean asked, with narrow eyes. Duke simply shrugged his shoulders and stood at the head of the table, before pointing the beers at Dean.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“And Esme, you good?” Dean called over to Esme, still with narrowed eyes. “I told him to give you space.”

Duke rolled his eyes with a sigh, and turned on his heel, walking through the living room and out the front door, a clear sign that he would simply meet Esme at the shooting range, rather than listen to Dean order people around.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna didn’t like the tension she felt in her chest, thinking about why a murder victim would just stand up and walk out of a hospital. Sam brought up exactly what she was thinking. There was a small chance it was their kind of weird, which meant demons, or ghost possession, or zombies. None of those options were things she wanted to deal with after barely making it out of a hunt alive, just a few short hours beforehand.

She simply nodded her head in agreement to his plan. She wanted to leave this place, at least until they met back up with the others. Hopefully Duke was still safe and sound, locked into whatever room that they had put him in after they patched him up. It would be easier to come back and bust him out, than to try and run in and save him, while he was unconscious.

“I think that’s a good idea.” Anna replied to Sam as he turned he engine over and pulled them out of the parking lot. As soon as they made it a couple of blocks down, Anna did a once over of their surroundings and then relaxed in her seat, rubbing her hands on her legs nervously. She glanced over and watched Sam text Mika, the first step in hopefully getting back together and getting the Hell out of this town…as far away from Missouri as possible.

“Hopefully they hurry. The faster I’m locked in a room with a gallon of salt in front of the doors, the better. I definitely need to…to process some things.” She muttered nervously, silently pointing out that she was about to be on her way back down from the demon blood high.

Dean

Dean let his shoulders fall as Cason finally agreed to get into the car and he watched Nat and Cason both climb in. Dean took a deep breath, placing his hands on his hips as he leaned forward a bit, giving his brain time to adjust to both being alive and relatively uninjured. But then Mika pulled her phone out and Dean raised an eyebrow at the message she relayed.

“Well that doesn’t sound like anything good. Could be nothing. Could be something.” He frowned, rolling through all the possibilities in his mind. Part of him thought of the possibility that the ‘murder victim’ could be Duke, but he chalked it quickly up to false hope and the refusal to believe that Duke was actually gone. The sudden memory of Esme breaking the news to Dean flew through his mind like lightning, and he brought a hand up to wipe his face. “I don’t know how else to tell you this…so I’m just gonna say it. Um…”

He broke his words off, and dropped his hand back to his hip with a shuddered sigh, tears welling up in his eyes again, “Duke um…Duke didn’t make it. Esme told me he um…he…well he didn’t make it.”

Dean let the news linger in the air, almost feeling like he was hearing it for the first time as well. Duke’s smiling face haunted the back of his mind, and the anguish of losing someone so good, a bright spot in his life threatened to wash over him like a wave. But like he had many times before, while in crisis, Dean shook himself out of it. He buried those emotions and cleared his throat.

“But we have to go. Mika, we gotta go. C’mon.” He croaked out, reaching out and grabbing her hand. He pulled her toward the passenger side of the car, opening the door for her as he sniffled, and helped her in before closing the door and glancing up at the sky for a moment. He then stepped around to the drivers side, and quickly got in, turning the engine over without hesitation. If he didn’t keep working, he would fall apart and if he fell apart, there would be no one to hold everyone else’s pieces together.

Cason

Cason draped an arm over Nat’s leg as she settled into the car, and Esme got into the car beside him. He took a deep breath, but then she admitted that she didn’t have the power to hurt him, even if she wanted to. He would have sighed in relief, if he believed for a second that her skin couldn’t hurt him, even with her calm and burned out.

He pulled Nat’s knee a little closer to his own, even though they were already scrunched against each other and he sighed, still keeping himself as far away from any open skin on Esme’s body.

Nat mentioning Mika’s text from Sam perked up his ears and he tilted his head to the side, “Normal human murder stuff or demon stuff?” He asked honestly, trying to figure out if maybe Sam was mistaken, or if it was supposed to sound as strange as it was. Either way, they couldn’t just go back to the hospital and he was tempted to poof himself and Nat out of the car, to some random hotel and then call ahead to Dean. Any reason to piss Dean off just a little more and clear the tension.

As Dean stepped into the car and pulled away from the field, onto the road back to town, Cason leaned forward, close to Dean’s ear and smirked, “You know, I could go ahead and get us a hotel room. I’ll take Nat with me.”

“I’ve already told you no. We’re not going to a hotel in St. Joseph. We’re pulling through.” Dean grumbled simply but Cason scoffed.

“With the shape everyone’s in? Just seems like you’d use the tools you have to get everyone safe.”

“You’re not a tool in my tool kit, asshat. You’re only alive because…” Dean cut himself off, and stopped, staring with a scowl out the windshield as he drove.

“Go on…” Cason teased him, and Dean slapped his hand on the steering wheel, tempted to turn around and deck Cason right then and there, but he rolled his eyes.

“You’re here because Nat’s here. Nat wants you around. Otherwise, I’d blast your ass back to Hell in a heartbeat.”

“Right. That’s the reason I’m still alive.” Cason teased some more, not able to help himself. Dean fell silent, gritting his teeth as he continued driving down that familiar road, trying his hardest not to incriminate himself before he was able to talk to Nat. Cason was pushing him on purpose, and would probably never let him live it down.

After what felt like forever, the town was in the distance, and the Impala headlights caught a figure in their beams. Dean squinted, trying to make sure he didn’t hit the poor guy, as the blonde man seemed disoriented and was walking as if he wasn’t sure where he was. He was wearing an open flannel and a pair of jeans, and Dean couldn’t tell if he was even wearing shoes.

“It’s a little early in the week for drunks to be walking down side roads in the middle of the night, ain’t it? Poor bastard. If we had room, I’d pick him up.” Dean grumbled, right as they passed the guy.

“Wait. That’s…” Cason started, but closed his mouth as they passed, frowning at the back of Dean’s head to see if he would recognize the guy.

Duke

Duke looked down at his hands, absentmindedly rubbing them together every now and then, and then placing one over his stomach as he carefully navigated the highway, just wanting to find a trucker or someone that could pick him up. He wasn’t sure why he was alone, but he was. He had to assume something had happened to the group, if they had left his body at the hospital. But had they? Was he even alive? The nurse seemed to think so. Had he actually died? Again…the nurse seemed to think so.

A familiar rumbling engine approached from his back, and Duke didn’t dare turn to face it. He couldn’t afford the false hope that somehow the group had found him, or at best…Dean himself. He tilted his head down and kept walking, the cold air biting his bare skin with every step.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna watched each person that ran by, checking them for injuries or any sign of demonic activity. Her hands were shaking as she placed one on Sam’s knee, trying to calm her heart before she had a panic attack over the idea of demons being around. She believed him, though. He would know better than she would, if there were demons trying to go undercover to kill them, or something.

“Okay. We’re okay…” She sighed, her breath shaky as she closed her eyes, hoping that her racing heart wasn’t transferring to Sam in any way, while she was touching him. A hand banging on the window nearly caused her to scream, as she spun around to see a security guard standing there, asking her to roll down the window. Anna scooted away from Sam, reluctantly, and with a shaky hand, she cranked the window down, just enough to hear what the man was saying.

“Ma’am, we’re putting the hospital on lockdown. Once those doors are locked, you won’t be able to get inside. So, if you’re planning to come in, you need to do it now.” The security guard ordered, as if reading from a script.

“What’s going on?” Anna asked in a small voice, her eyes wide as she looked around behind the guard. He stepped away from the truck, realizing she wasn’t going to come with him and pointed to the doors.

“A murder victim got up and just walked out of here. The suspect? Also gone. I don’t know what you’ve got going on. You look pretty busted up, but I suggest you get somewhere safe.” He finished, and turned to guide other people from the emergency bay into the hospital. Anna turned back to Sam, not bothering to roll the window up and snarled her nose in confusion.

“A murder victim? That doesn’t seem right…”

Dean

Dean shied away from Mika’s fussing, making her chase his face as she looked him over, and finally he pulled both her hands down, holding them to his chest as she commented on Castiel’s statement. He shook his head. There was no way that whatever the angels were wanting was anything good, especially if they needed him to be physically ready for the call. In his limited experience with the winged dicks, that usually meant they were sending him into an impossible situation, in false hope that he would come out alive. If he didn’t? They would just resurrect him and move on with their day. That much was apparent, now.

He pushed Mika back by her chest, gently, so that he could move to stand up. His legs felt like lead and his neck was so sore he could barely move it, but he was able to stand with a groan of pain.

“He wasn’t wrong about the soreness. Damn…” Dean grumbled, moving his joints around to make sure they were all still functional. His ears were still ringing, which he chalked up to surviving what was basically a nuclear blast. Dean looked over at Esme, cracking his neck loudly before turning his attention back to Mika. “I need to talk to her. I know…how you feel about all of it, and if you want, when all this is over, I’ll explain everything. I should have explained it sooner, but it’s complicated and messy.”

He reached down and picked up Mika’s hand, bringing her knuckles up to his lips with a soft kiss and a knowing look that he used often to tell her he was being 100% honest with her. He then pulled her close to him, and began walking over to the group.

Cason

Cason breathed a sigh of relief as Nat’s wounds seemed a lot less dire than before. She even sounded a bit better, other than being super cold in the fall air around them. Although a part of him wanted to question whether she was okay, all over again, like a record on repeat, he looked into her eyes and saw nothing but honesty. She was telling him the truth, and he didn’t have to worry about her for the next several weeks, due to the fragile human nature of her body.

The string of thoughts almost made him smile, thinking about the difference between them, and how fragile humans were. But he was drawn out of his thoughts by her hand wrapping around his and the kiss that came soon after. He furrowed his brow, closing his eyes as that pesky human emotion he couldn’t place burned the back of his brain like acid and he inhaled a deep breath through his nose, returning the kiss. As she broke away and thanked him, he shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t like angels. I definitely don’t like angels touching…those I feel compelled to keep alive.” He muttered awkwardly, not quite sure what to call Natalia in that moment. Suddenly, he whipped around as Esme spoke to him, his body language tense after the exchange they had shared in the asylum, before she went nuclear. He frowned at her, wondering why she was asking him about her life, as if he knew everything about her, just by being a demon. “I’m…I’m not sure, honestly. There was a deal? I can um… I can ask around some of my circles and see if anyone knows of anyone who has the kind of juice to turn a human child into a virtual nuclear bomb. But I’ve never heard of anything like this, myself. I will tell you, though, it’s above my pay grade.”

Cason stood for a moment, just trying to read Esme’s emotions as she seemed upset, and the last time she was upset, the boom happened. He held a hand out to her, speaking a little softer, “I promise you, I’ll find out whatever I can, but you need to calm down.”

As he got the words out, Dean scooted in, turning Esme carefully so that he didn’t hurt her any more than necessary. He then wrapped his arms around her gently, bringing one hand up to the back of her head as he hugged her. He didn’t know what to make of the ‘not human’ thing. He wasn’t even sure if he was afraid of her or not, but he did know that she was okay and he hadn’t lost her, “I’m glad you’re okay. Holy shit your head.”

He pulled his hand back and groaned as he noticed his hand was covered in aging blood, at least telling him that the wound was trying to stop bleeding. But moving his head around her shoulder, he took a look at the wound, “Did that happen on the way down? We need to get you somewhere and get you looked at…as soon as possible.”

“Alright. I’ll take Nat.” Cason said simply, turning back to Nat and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

“Whoa! Hold on. You’re not going anywhere with her until we talk. Get in the car.” Dean snapped at him, and Cason turned to look at him like he was insane. He wasn’t riding in a car. There was no way he was willingly riding in a car. But he also knew he wasn’t leaving Natalia in the hands of a bunch of sore, tired hunters, after the night they had just had. “Either get in the car, or we’ll meet you at the hospital.”

“Dammit…” Cason groaned, closing his eyes and putting a hand on his hip, as if it would make Dean feel any different. Dean simply raised his eyebrows and held out a hand, driving home his point with one look. “Fine. I’ll…ride in the damn car.”

With a huff, Cason opened the back drivers door and ushered Natalia in. It was then that he realized Esme would be sitting in the back with them, and he had just set himself up to ride in the center…between Nat and Esme.

“As if it couldn’t get worse.” He grumbled, sliding in next to Nat, squeezing as close to her as possible.