[h3] Cason [/h3]

Cason continued to watch Nat carefully, crossing his arms across his chest.  He didn’t want to sit down, in case he needed to grab her for some reason, but at the same time, he was tempted to lower himself to her level…even them out.  As she spoke about her reasons for asking him to stay, he furrowed his brow, a little more than confused.  But when she mentioned his actions being familiar, he took a long and deep breath, tightening his arms around his chest.

In truth, there was plenty of reasoning for his actions feeling familiar.  Hell, it all felt too familiar to him, as much as he had tried to keep her at arms length, just in case.  He thought back to how thin she was when he walked into the room to release her straps, just in case her brothers showed up…which luckily, they did.  He vividly remembered the look on her face.  The fear, but apparently, she didn’t remember it was well as he did.

He didn’t know what to say, but as she stood from the chair, he stepped back, watching her closely as she crawled onto the bed.  His name rang out in the room like a gunshot, and he turned his eyes up to her face…only to find that she wasn’t looking at him.  She was simply staring down at the bed, wrapped up on herself like a little girl.  The sight brought back even more flashbacks and he took another deep breath, releasing it in an aggressive sigh.

“I’m not um…going to explain much tonight.  Judging by how droopy those eyes are, I doubt you care.  But we need to have a talk, when you’re more at yourself, in private.”, he explained carefully, dropping his arms to his side.  He fidgeted with his fingers for a moment, weighing his options, before kicking off his boots, one by one with a sigh.  He shrugged his arms out of his jacket, and tossed it onto the table, before cracking his neck and stepping toward the bed.

Walking toward the bed felt like he was disarming a landmine, tentatively placing one knee onto the mattress, and watching it dip.  He stopped, watching Nat for one split second, before dropping his weight onto the bed beside her, his back leaning against the headboard.

“Um.  I don’t…really know how to do the whole ‘there there…life doesn’t suck’ bit.  It’s not in my nature to lie without there being gain, and all that…”, he started awkwardly.  He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders before reaching a hand over, brushing a piece of Nat’s hair from her face with the back of his fingers, “But I meant what I said.  No one will ever hurt you while I’m here.  I’ve killed bef-…I won’t let it happen.  You can punch me in the face.  You can tell me how horrible I am.  You can run away from me, and I’ll still be there if you call…”

Pulling his hand back, Cason made a grossed out face, and then chuckled, “And if that ever leaves this room, I’ll ruin your life.”

[h3] Anna and Dean [/h3]

Dean reluctantly listened to what Mika and Sam had to say, letting out an annoyed sigh at the sense they were making.  At the least Cason wouldn’t allow her to leave.  And if he tried anything, Nat would definitely kill him or at the very least make him wish he was dead.  But he couldn’t shake the feeling of Cason manipulating her out of his mind.  

He turned his eyes down to Mika, taking in the fact that Cason was honestly pretty gentle with Nat.  And she seemed to trust him.  Glancing over at Anna, he scanned her eyes for confirmation, and Anna simply shrugged, signalling that it wasn’t the worst idea.

“I um…Alright.  I’ll agree to the idea that Cason seems to be less demon-like when he’s around Nat. I don’t trust that this isn’t just another one of his tricks to get close to the women in this group.  He sees you guys as weak and you know that…”, he spoke up, and Anna frowned, raising a hand to speak which Dean waved away, “But we’re not far away, right?  Right?”

“Right.”, Anna spoke up, rolling her eyes.

“And we have more than enough manpower to take him if we need to, right.”

“Dean…”, Anna argued but Dean held a hand up again.

“Let’s…get through the night.  Mika usually…she usually has the sight when it comes to crap like this.  I can’t believe you’re trusting him, considering.  But, if you do…I’ll…allow it.”

“Allow it, huh?”, Anna murmured with a scoff, causing Dean to shoot her an annoyed look.  Anna simply rolled her eyes and glanced up at Sam, “Dad says we’re trusting him.  I think we should all get some rest.  What happened tonight isn’t the end of it.  I never is.”

[h3] Duke [/h3]

Duke also jumped as Esme flinched at his touch.  He wasn’t sure what made her react so strongly to touch.  He was learning about her all over again, at this point.  But he pulled his hand back to his own leg, and simply watched her face, trying to judge what she needed from him.  But it seemed she just needed to get some things off her chest.  He didn’t say anyting.  He simply listened, his eyes diverting every now and then to whatever area seemed to move with Sarah’s weight.  His stomach lurched every time he remembered she was there, but he knew Esme needed her.  

When she mentioned Toledo, Duke’s nose scrunched and his eyes became a bit misty as he drew in a deep breath.  He remembered that day a bit more clearly than he wished he did.  He was dying.  He knew he was dying and the only thing he could do was prepare her for his death, and let her know how he felt about here.  Neither of those things seemed to matter at the time, and yet they had ramifications that obviously were still being felt today.  

He tried to decide what to do with his hands as she explained everything, a single tear falling down one of his cheeks as she finally broke and covered her face from him, offically making him feel powerless, “Don’t hide…”, he whispered, unsure if she could even hear him.

But after a few moments, she turned, and his eyes left the far off place they were staring at, and fell on her face again, “I’m not going anywhere…”, he reminded.  He didn’t know what else to say in that moment.  He couldn’t promise her that she would be okay, this time.  He couldn’t promise her that he would stay forever.  Who knew how Dean would feel about all of this.

And like that, as he zoned out, she validated his existence.  He did help her.  He was what she needed.  But in the same moment, she mentioned stepping outside.  Duke instantly stood up straight, placing a hand on his hip to argue with her, but she offered him a place outside with her.

“I think um…I think a little air might be good for everybody.”, he drawled out, exhaustion lingering in every word.  He picked up his hat, despite still wearing only a towel, and slipped his feet in his boots, before following Esme slowly out the door.  As soon as he gently sat the door back against the trash can, he glanced to the side, seeing everyone in their meeting.  He was tempted to check on them, but wasn’t sure if he should leave Esme alone.

“Darlin’.  I’ll be right back.”, he muttered, stepping up to Esme.   He gently reached a hand out, brushing his thumb across her cheek, before placing an all too gentle kiss against the tip of her nose, “Don’t…Don’t go anywhere. Pretty please.”

He then stepped away from her, jogging over to the group with a firm grasp on the towel around his waist.  As he approached, he tipped his hat back on his head to see everyone clearly, “And just what the hell is goin’ on out here, y’all?  Seems like there’s some tension and…stuff.  Where’s Nat?”
Dean groaned at Duke’s appearance, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, and waved a hand at Mika for her to explain, “I’m not even going to ask…”