[h2]Esme Stirling[/h2]

Esme couldn’t help the smile that graced her features when Duke said he’d stick around a bit after she said she wanted him to. It wasn’t hard to miss how her touch and kiss affected him, and it made her hold back a laugh at how those simple actions affected him. A soft laugh escaped her at his comment about making sure she didn’t get killed trying to keep up with the Winchesters. Though it was true, one could easily get themselves into trouble trying to keep up with the Winchesters. It was still funny. Then again, she wasn’t a stranger to getting into trouble. Trouble seemed to follow the Winchesters around just as it did her. Even if she hadn’t stuck around or hadn’t followed Natalia back to Sam's room that day, she’d still run into many troubling situations on her own. They all appeared to be people that had unpleasant situations dropped into their laps, just flat out drew them in or even caused them some way. Yes, they would seek cases out to prevent the innocent from being hurt or killed, but some of them…. Just happened out of the blue. At least they did for her, anyway.

Before making a suggestion for plans, she had noticed how they had both taken a deep breath in unison, then his furrowed eyebrows after she asked. Yes, she was aware of how much it sounded like a date night, but what else could she do with a bruised face, a stitched-up shoulder, and a stitched-up leg? She was liable to scare many people if she went out looking the way she did, and she just wanted to relax for a while. Her smile grew at his excited nod and when he rolled back his shoulders, she even laughed a little. One eyebrow raised when he spoke about her car. It was as if he had read her thoughts. “Sounds good. You know my whole life is in that car.” she said in a joking tone with a laugh, even though it was pretty much true. Her car was her home, and the only one she could remember after her mother’s death. She and her father spent many a night sleeping in it when they couldn’t stay in a motel. He would take the front seat and she would take the back.

It wasn’t until he stretched out his leg and hit the lever to release the water from the bath did Esme realize just how cold the water had become. After he scooted her forward on the tub’s slick surface, she rested herself against her bend leg as he carefully stood and stepped out. Her focus went to the water swirling as it went down the drain as Duke grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. When she saw him hold out a towel for her out of the corner of her eye, she turned her head to look at him and was about to try and stand before he laughed softly. Her head tilted slightly to the side before he spoke, then she laughed softly as well. “Ah, so you remember that about me, huh?” she laughed as she joked. She tilted her head a little more in thought, then closed her eyes briefly with a small sigh that was followed by a warm smile that spread to her eyes. “I think the smart thing to do would be to have you help me up and then help me step out.” she said, looking up at him. “You know how danger prone I can be at times.” she added with a laugh.