[h2]Esme[/h2]
Esme opened her eyes and looked over at Natalia, seeing her eyebrow raise at her admitting to damaging the Impala, giving a light laugh. She knew from what Natatia had seen from her since they met it was probably a little surprising to hear she’d take her frustration and anger out on Dean’s car. “I know, it's a little hard to believe.” she said softly. Natalia’s next words caused the smile to leave Esme’s lips and her face to soften into sadness for the woman. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she listened and felt what Natalia was feeling, then wiped away a few tears that rolled down her cheek. “I’m so sorry you had to hear them say that, Nat.” she started softly. “I won’t pretend to know what that felt like. I don’t have any siblings, but I can imagine it was quite painful. And with everything those two had been through, you can’t really blame them for being suspicious and cautious of you then.” she told her. “I mean, if I were told I had a sibling out there somewhere, I’d feel the same way. I’d have to wonder if the universe was playing some sick, twisted joke before finally accepting it.” 

Esme looked at Natalia and gave another soft sigh. “Look at them now, though. They love you. They would go through hell and back to make sure you're safe and alive. There’s nothing they wouldn’t do for you, even when they're upset. When Dean found out you were taken…. He was out of his mind worried about you.” Esme fell silent, watching Natalia, then followed her gaze to Sam and Anna, who appeared to be leaving for the night. She couldn't blame them with all the tension in the air. Esme didn’t know what happened in the house, but she sure could feel it wasn’t anything good. She knew how Dean could get and what he’d say when his feelings hurt. She turned her eyes back to Natalia when she spoke. She moved to sit next to Natalia, wrapped her arms around her, and hugged her tightly. “Don’t blame yourself for what happened. I’m sure Anna doesn’t blame you.” she said softly. “You should have been told what happened in the barn. Sure, Dean wanted to be the one to tell you, but we both know how long it would have taken him if he had ever done it. Dean doesn’t like confrontation and will do anything to avoid it.” 

Esme sighed and rubbed Natalia’s back comfortingly, resting her cheek on her head. “I’m glad she told you, but not for what came out of it. But we know she’s in good hands with Sam, and he’ll take care of her until Dean cools down. Then, we can all talk it over. If we can’t talk about it, we'll never get past it.” Esme hugged Natalia close until she felt her phone vibrate in her jacket pocket. Releasing Natalia after a moment, she pulled back and pulled her phone from her pocket, seeing she had a text from Duke. Opening the text, she read it, sighed, and put her phone back into her pocket. She didn’t want to leave Natalia, knowing how scared she was to talk to Dean, but she also knew the talk needed to happen. Looking back at Natalia, Esme placed a hand on her arm. “Dean is on his way out here to talk to you, and he’s more civil than he was.” she told her. “I know you’re scared to talk to him, but at least try to give him a chance to explain everything to you.” As she spoke, Esme looked into Natalia’s eyes, trying to get her to listen. 

“It’ll be okay, I promise…. If things start to go bad, you know Cason will step in. You should really give him a chance, though.” Esme told her. As she spoke to Natalia, she saw Cason stop Dean from the corner of her eye. She knew Cason was protecting Natalia from Dean. When Cason let Dean pass, Esme lifted her hand from Natalia’s arm and stood from the car. “If you need to talk afterward, you know where I’ll be.” she told her softly. Esme then stepped away from Natalia and her car, adjusting her jacket on her shoulders. As she passed Dean, she placed a gentle hand on his arm and gave him a small smile, silently telling him that Natalia was calm. “Be her brother. That’s what she needs. Nothing else.” she told him softly. Esme pulled her jacket tighter around herself as she walked across the lot to the back door, opened it, and walked inside. Her eyes quickly fell on Duke and Mika, and she stopped. “Cason and I got her to calm down. I just hope she’ll listen to what Dean has to say.” she told them. “She’s so scared of him hating her for what she did tonight.” Reaching up, she wiped away a few stray tears that were on her cheeks, which she hadn’t realized were there until now.