[h2]Esme[/h2]
Esme had watched Duke drop his shoulders after she had made her assessment, but she didn’t like how he answered. She wished he would stop saying he was fine when he clearly wasn’t. That’s why she continued to speak about what she thought happened, and his squint in frustration and words in response confirmed that. “Knowing him, that does sound like something he’d do, but at least you’d be able to get it all out without him interrupting you. Then, as soon as he starts to tell you all the reasons he’s not wrong, you slap the tape back on his mouth.” she said in all seriousness. Esme’s eyes never left Duke’s face as he sadly shook his head and looked over her head before looking back into her eyes. His following words caused her to knit her eyebrows together and shake her head. “Like hell, it’s not my problem. It’s you and be now. We go through things together now, not alone.” she told him sternly. “I do know how this goes, and you both may say it’s fine, but it’s not. It shouldn’t be fine…..” She broke off her words when Duke sighed, cupped her cheeks, and pressed his forehead to hers. 

Duke’s words caused her to tear up. Closing her eyes, she nuzzled her forehead against his, staying silent momentarily while his words echoed in her mind. This was the first time he had ever asked her to run away with him, and it hit her hard. It brought a lump into her throat, but she refused to cry in front of Bobby’s house with Duke. She had done enough crying. It was her turn to stay strong for Duke. He had seen her cry enough since he returned to her. She wished the same. Esme wanted to run away from it all, but she knew, just as Duke did, that it would follow them since they were both targets to use against Dean to lure him into a trap. Opening her eyes, she looked into Duke’s, bringing her hands up to rest on the side of his neck, and rubbed her thumbs against his jaw. “In a heartbeat, Bright Eyes.” she told him softly. “I would go with you to the ends of the earth and further…. But you know as well as I do that now is not the time to run off and leave all of them with what’s coming.” 

Esme pulled her head back just enough so she could look into his face, a warm, loving smile resting on her lips. “But with both of us wanting to get away, we can go for a walk or a drive into town and get a bite to eat and spend some time together.” She then softly kissed his nose. “That should give us a chance to relax and clear our minds.” She pulled back a little more and noticed Duke’s hat on the porch swing just behind Duke, causing her smile to grow slightly. She looked at Sarah after hearing the leaves and gravel under her paws. After silently getting Sarah’s attention, Esme motioned towards Duke’s hat, and she trotted over to get it. Esme turned her eyes back to Duke, lifting her right hand from his neck and lovingly brushing Duke’s hair away from his face with her fingers. “Will that work until we can find a good time to run off for a while?” she asked sweetly. About that time, Sarah trotted over with Duke’s hat. Without taking her eyes off Duke, Esme took Duke’s hat from Sarah and placed it on Duke’s head with a warm smile.

Her warm smile suddenly became mischievous as she looked into his eyes. “If none of those options strike your fancy, we could always find a spot to do a little skinny dipping.” she said with a twinkle in her eyes. Esme hoped to at least get a little grin out of him from the suggestion. If it didn’t, then she knew she would have to work even harder to get him to really smile. After she said it, she was reminded of a time when Duke had brought it up to her and Dean after a night in a bar in a drunken state. They had found a spot, but Duke was the only one that had stripped down completely.