[h3] Dean [/h3]

Dean nodded at Mika, taking in her words, and Esme’s look of dismissal.  He turned and stepped away from Duke and Esme’s door and back over to Mika, “I know.  I just haven’t seen her that beat up in a long long time.  But, then again, he was always the one to patch things up when I lost my mind over injuries.”

He shrugged, and gave a small smirk before walking into his room with Mika.  He walked over to the table, and sat down across from Mika with a huff, running his fingers through his hair, before dropping his hand on the table and shaking his shoulders of the sudden stress.

“So, we’re headed to talk to this woman.  Do we have any idea what to say to her about why we’re there?  I mean, from what I gathered, dude opened a fresh bucket of candy and ended up with a throat full of razors.  Kind of hard to explain to a grieving widow.”, Dean explained, trying to take his mind off what had just happened.  He was more than excited to see Duke, after all this time, and he had a million questions.  However, the circumstances of Duke showing up were less than ideal, and he wanted to help, against his better judgement.  

But they had work to do.

[h3] Annabeth [/h3]

Annabeth watched Sam check the parking lot suddenly, as if he saw someone he knew, or a welcome addition to their little group.  She couldn’t help but smile, when he turned and warned her about the new guy being super flirty.  She shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t mind a little flirting once in a while.  Might be refreshing.”

She smirked playfully, teasing him with the idea of someone else flirting with her, but her smirk fell when he mentioned Cason and Esme.  Of course Esme had ended up worse off than Cason.  He had a strong self preservation gene in him somewhere, and somehow always ended up just fine, while the humans around him ended up hurt, or dead, it seemed.

“Well, I hope she’s okay.  After what she did back at the house, and to help me through the angel attack, I would hate for anything to happen to her before I could return the favor, you know?”, she said softly, playing with the hem of her shorts nervously, “But we really do have to let them handle it.  I’m sure Nat will be waiting for us, and while I would love to stay in this room with you, and enjoy the peace and quiet of a boring night, that’s not going to happen until we take care of this.”

[h3] Duke[/h3]

Duke smiled softly at Esme’s permission, and he gave one quick nod, scanning her eyes, as her hand came to rest against his arm.  It was then that he began to realize he could have lost her, back at the warehouse and he wouldn’t have even known.  It was his fault, for not contacting her sooner, just to check in, or to stay close.  He quickly pulled his lips back into a smile, “Well, the only difference between this and old times is that you’re locked up in here with me…alone, bout to be naked.”

He laughed, a bright smile spreading across his face as his eyes shined toward hers.  He brushed his thumb across her cheek gently and then stood, removing his hat and tossing it on the dresser behind him.  He turned back to her, and bent back down, “Raise that good arm for me.  I’ll try to be gentle.”

Duke gently raised her good arm and pulled the sleeve of her shirt off of it, pulling it loose and snaking it over her head, before peeling it slowly away from the stab wound on her shoulder.  When it finally came loose, he was gritting his teeth, feeling her pain for her almost as he pulled the shirt from her wrist and sighed, “Not too bad.  Worst part’s comin’ though.”

He lowered his hands to the bandana around her leg, picking at the knot gently, “So, you remember that Vampire nest back in Toledo?  I was all out of it and busted up, and we got trapped in that storm cellar.  I figured I was gonna die, and I was out of my mind, and no one really knew where we were…”

The bandana finally came free and he winced, but quickly sighed with relief and tossed it on the floor, moving his hands to the blood t-shirt that actually covered her wound, “I remember what I said back there and um…I just wanted you to know.  It wasn’t my place, and if I hadn’t been so banged up, I never would have gone down that road.”

He pulled the t-shirt free, and quickly placed it back against the wound with his hand as it began bleeding again.  He honestly didn’t know why he was admitting to her that he remembered his death confession after all this time, but with her being so banged up, he just felt the need.  But the words played over in his head.

[h3] 2003 [/h3]

[i] “In case I don’t make it out of here, there’s somethin’ you need to know.  Just…shut up and let me say it, alright?”, he winced and pressed his hand tighter against the stab would on his abdomen, scrambling to sit higher on the wall.  

He licked a bit of the blood from his lip and sighed, “I want you to be happy, and all that.  Like, don’t push Dean away.  He’s trying.  But, since I’m not gonna get out of here any time soon, just know that I have loved you since the day you showed up, all pissed off and ready to fight.  You’re gonna be alright…”[/i]