[h2]Esme and Cason (Collab)[/h2]
As Esme stood at that door waiting for it to be opened, Sarah came over and sat on her left side so she was out of the doorway. Esme shifted her hand slightly to lightly brush the back of her hand over the hound. “Should have known you’d follow me into this.” she whispered to Sarah. When the door opened, Esme was half expecting Nataila to open the door and complain, and that was exactly what she did. She knew how Dean usually got everyone up and ready for the day. “I’m not here to tell you to hurry and get up from Dean.” she told her. It was when Cason spoke she even knew he was there. She had focused on Natalia benign right there in the doorway, she hadn’t even seen him.  “I’m actually her to you about something, Cason.” she said, looking over at him.


Cason approached the door a bit as Nat excused herself, sighing at the idea of being alone with Esme.  He nodded at Nat's supportive goodbye, waving his hand at her before awkwardly wiping his hands on his pants, and closing the door behind Esme.


"So, what did they send you to do?  Ask me to leave?  Hey girl!", he both asked a question and exclaimed as his face spread into a wide grin at Sarah standing on her hind legs, and wrapping her front paws around his neck.  He scratched behind her ears, and gave her kisses, before sighing and forcing her down, his hand still rubbing her back.

"They want me to leave, don't they?"


After Natalia excused herself, Esme let Sarah enter the room before herself. As Cason closed the door behind her, she turned so she could see him and properly listen to his questions and speak to Sarah. His affection towards Sarah was actually kind of cute in a way. She sighed heavily at his last question and thought about her words. “I know I’m the last person you thought would come to the door and want to talk to you.” she started. “But no, I’m not here because they want you to leave.” she added quickly as she looked at him. “They….. We…. We're hoping you’d be willing to help us with something that came up.” She paused to take in a breath, not truly knowing just how difficult it might be to get him to help her. She knew she hurt him when he found her with Duke last night.  “Anna ran away last night, leaving only a note for Sam. Since you know her better than all of us, we thought you might know where to look for her.” She just came right out and said it, not seeing any reason to beat around the bush.



Cason looked up from Sarah and narrowed his eyes as Esme began to speak, acknowledging the fresh upset of her brushing him off, and ending up alone with Duke.  But what piqued his interest the most, was the stuttering when preparing herself to ask for help.

He leaned his head back, nodding a bit as she finished, pressing his lips together in both annoyance and amusement, “So, ex-boyfriend stuff…”

He stepped over to the table, and slipped his feet into his boots, not saying anything for a moment as he picked up his jacket and slipped it over his arms.  As he straightened the collar, he frowned again, “No.”



Esme saw Cason’s eyes narrow as she spoke, which wasn’t anything she wasn’t expecting when she acknowledged she had hurt him. She watched his actions to her words, his annoyance and amusement quite obviously showing. She raised an eyebrow at his first words. What the hell did this have to do with ex-boyfriend stuff? She watched him closely as he said nothing as he put on his boots and jacket. His simple “No” caused her to anger slightly, but she kept her cool. 

“No, you don’t know where she is? Or, no, you won’t help?” she questioned. “Is this because of Duke and that’s why you’re refusing to help? I know I hurt you and I’m sorry for that.” She held back a sigh that was threatening to escape her. “We have a history, he helped clean and patch me up last night….. But I don’t know what I’m even explaining to you.” She turned slightly and crossed her arms over her chest.

She was trying to be nice about all this, but his simple “No” because she hurt his feelings had gotten to her. She took in a calming breath and slowly released it. If he was going to hold this over her, she could hit him where it really hurts. “Alright, that’s fine.” she said, breaking the moment of silence that fell on the room as she turned back towards him. “I’ll let Sam know…. I’m sure Natalia will be thrilled to hear you’re refusing to help when you're quite literally the only person who knows anything about her life. But maybe Sam will just…. Move on.” she told him.


Cason watched her reaction to his words, almost missing it as she kept her cool nicely.  Her not leaving told him that she was going to press this no matter how calm she seemed.  So, when her next question came, he rolled his eyes.

“No, I won’t help.  Why would I help any of you?”, he asked with a genuinely confused expression on his face.  But she cut off his next thought with bringing up Duke, stabbing him in the chest.  Heart or not, just thinking about the night before hurt his feelings, and he growled a bit under his breath, hoping she would stop explaining herself.  He didn’t want to hear it.  In all honesty, he didn’t want to look at her, or Duke…or think about any of it.

When she finally stopped speaking, he sighed in relief, checking his pockets for his money and knife, leaving the room in complete silence, until she spoke up again, and he stopped his movements completely, staring at the floor in front of her feet as she spoke.  The manipulation hit him so hard it almost knocked him off his feet, and he turned his eyes up to her face, glaring at her.

“Really?  That’s how you’re playing this?”, he asked through gritted teeth, “If I don’t help you on your little goose chase, you’re going to run to Natalia and what, get her to hate me too?  That’s just great.  I love it.  Fine.  I’ll help.  But I find her.  I relay the info.  I come back.  I’m out.  If that’s not enough for them, too bad.”
With the final snap of his words, he brushed past her, and walked out the door of the room, shutting it loudly behind him.


As soon as the words left Esme’s mouth she hated herself for it but she didn’t let it show. She felt that was the only way to get him to help them. She shifted her weight onto her good leg, her arms still crossed over her chest as she saw just how hard her words hit him. She didn’t react or try to say a thing as he spoke harshly to her in his fit. When he finished, she remained silent, letting him walk past and out the door. She flinched as the door slammed behind him, and dropped her arms with a loud sigh that echoed through the room. Stepping back towards the wall, she leaned against it, bringing a hand up and wiping it across one side of her face with another sigh. After a moment, she pushed herself from the wall, opened the room door, and left with Sarah at her side. 

She made her way over to Sam, Duke, and Mika, stopping next to Sam and placing a hand on his arm. “It’s done. He’s going to find her, then come back, and let us know where she is.” she told him in a softer tone than usual. Esme then gave him a small smile before removing her hand from his arm. Without another word to anyone, she walked away and headed to her’s and Duke’s room, the door still propped open by the trash can. Opening the door, she walked in with Sarah, crossed the room, and sat on the edge of the bed. Resting her elbows on her knees, she placed her face in her. “God. I feel like such an asshole.” she breathed into her hands. Sarah then came over and sat by Esme’s feet, placing her head in her lap to comfort her.