[h2]Esme[/h2]
It felt like a minor accomplishment after climbing into Duke’s lap and getting a surprised chuckle from him before he wrapped his arms around her. Other than surprising the hell out of him after telling him what she was capable of doing, Esme found it hard to surprise him. In the past, she knew she surprised him a couple of times when he realized what lengths she was willing to go to during a case to keep everyone alive and get it done and how much of a beating she could take before finally collapsing. So when a little action like climbing onto his lap surprised him, Esme couldn’t help but feel like she had accomplished something. When Duke gave into her kiss and returned it while pulling her close, she slid her arms around his neck and smiled behind their kiss.

[h3][u]Two and a half hours later[/u][/h3]
As Esme lay next to Duke, with her head on his shoulder and a hand on his chest, she drew her own circles on his chest to keep his mind at ease as her gaze was fixated on the curtains that covered the windows. At his nuzzle, she took a silent breath, feeling that having the conversation with the others was returning to him. She nuzzled him back and cuddled a little closer. That talk was also on her mind, it was slowly creeping in to disrupt their moment of rest. She did her best to push it from her mind and continued to stare at the curtains, watching the dim colors of the sunset peeking through them. But just as she started to feel completely relaxed again, she saw the headlights of a car flash through the curtains, followed by the sound of a car pulling in. 

After the door slammed, she unknowingly held her breath as she listened. At the two separate knocks, she involuntarily flinched and released the breath she was holding as Duke groaned. “So it would seem.” she answered his grumble with a sigh, starting to feel uneasy. Esme felt the same way Duke did, but every time she thought about leaving, something pulled her back in, or something would happen to make her stay like getting kidnapped. The longer she lay there, the more uneasy she became. It wasn’t what she felt coming from Duke, but from what she felt coming from the rooms on either side of them. Duke’s voice breaking the silence almost caused her to flinch. She sighed heavily before answering him. “The sooner we tell them, the better…. But…. It seems those two came back with a lot more than they left with,  judging by what I feel coming from the rooms.” 

Esme could feel her chest tightening up and just wanted to pull the blankets over her head and hide herself away a little while longer. She knew telling them about her glimpse into the future was going to make things all the more difficult for the group to get through, and be paranoid about everything till that day came. Sighing heavily through her nose, she kissed Duke’s cheek and reluctantly sat up in the bed with a hand on her chest. “We should definitely warn them we’re coming instead of just going over. I think it would be safer that way.” she said, trying to hide the discomfort from her voice. “I’ll leave that to you while I put myself together mentally and physically.” Esme then pulled herself out of the bed to get herself ready for the big talk. Running over how she should tell them over and over in her mind. 

After getting dressed, Esme went and sat on the edge of the bed, gritting her teeth, and looked over at Sarah, who was curled up in a corner of the room. “Sarah?” she called over to the Hellhound. Sarah’s head popped up before she took to her paws then walked over to Esme and sat next to her, putting her head on Esme’s lap. Closing her eyes, Esme placed one hand on the hound's head, the other on the hound's neck. “I'm going to need your help too during this.” she whispered. “Emotions are extremely high in both of those rooms. I know I’m going to struggle to keep my own in check being in a room with all of them. It’s highly likely I’ll lose control…. I need you to stick close without making yourself known to the others….. Could you do that for me?” Sarah lifted her head and nuzzled Esme’s cheek softly.

Esme had her answer. Smiling softly, she hugged Sarah for a moment, then opened her eyes as she let her go. She was already feeling better having Sarah so close to her; the pain and tightness in her chest had settled, and she felt like she could breathe again. Standing from the bed, with a hand resting on Sarah, she looked over at Duke to ask him something, but the frantic knocking on the door and Dean yelling for Nat caused her to jump. She knew that tone. “This can’t be good.” she said, her tone holding worry. Esme almost ran to the door, then pulled it open and stepped out with Sarah at her side. “What’s going on!” she asked Dean.