NATALIA

As much as Nat wanted Cason to stay home away from the new threat that was Duke's rage, she knew it was the right thing to do to go after him and bring him home. She knew Mika would want him home and he deserved to say goodbye to her properly if they convinced Dean to burn her body. She looked up again when Cason came over to her and she listened to his words, reassuring her that he was going to come back. As he leaned in and kissed her deeply, she kissed him back, closing her eyes causing a couple more tears to fall before Cason pulled away and wiped away her tears. She let the feeling of his forehead on hers to linger as she looked at him, knowing the look he was giving her. “I know you will” she whispered to him, to show she did indeed understand the look he was giving her before letting him go and find Duke. When he disappeared, she let out a breath, hoping that Cason and eventually Esme could bring Duke back from the edge of whatever suicide mission he had bolted to. She didn't know Duke as well as the others did, but she still liked him and he always had made Mika happy, which made Natalia happy. He was also always so nice to her and didn't judge her for her outbursts. So she wanted him to come home.

She barely had a moment to register that Cason had momentarily popped back in the room when he had taken Esme to what she presumed was Duke's location. If he had come back for Esme then there was still hope that Duke could be brought back alive, so she forced herself to focus on the others left in the room and finally seeing that Dean let himself mourn and accept the facts. As much as he terrified her, she felt so sorry for him seeing him feeling this hurt and distressed. She watched as Dean just crumbled on Sam, crying uncontrollably into Sam's shoulder as he gripped onto him tightly, and Sam held him tightly in place, feeling glad that his brother was finally letting it all out. Nat glanced over at Anna as she spoke up about getting a bed ready for Dean so he could rest up, thinking it was a good idea. Dean needed to get this grief properly out of his system alone and not by sitting beside Mika's body in the panic room. “I'll bring the ice pack” she told Anna, wanting to help them get Dean upstairs. She unwrapped herself from the throw and got off the couch, power walking to the kitchen and opening the freezer to grab one of Bobby's ice packs he always kept in there with the frozen veg bags that Mika had always insisted he have. Any other time she would have grimaced at the frozen broccoli, but she didn't even give it a second glance this time. Her brother needed her and Sam and that's all she could think about right now.

Walking back into the room, she stood in front of both her brothers, looking up at Sam. “Let's get him upstairs, I'll help” she told him, getting a nod in response as she led the way to the stairs and up the staircase.

SAM

Sam kept a tight hold on Dean as he got onto his feet, seeing and feeling how unsteady Dean was on his feet. “I got you” he told him softly, letting Dean just take in all their other words. He knew that Dean would want to argue their requests but he also saw how much weaker Dean was after the fight with Duke and he just didn't have the energy to argue. Only able to finally agree to burning Mika's body. He held Dean close to him as Dean finally broke down, letting himself feel all the pain and grief he had been holding back these last three days. He let Dean just sob onto his shoulder, grip onto the back of his shirt, anything to just let it all out. “Let it out brother…I got you” he cooed before looking past Dean's shoulder to Anna when he heard her words break through the silence. “Thanks Anna” he replied, then glanced over at Natalia who offered to get the ice pack. He gave her a soft sympathetic smile to say thanks for helping, knowing how much she was scared moments ago, but still being able to be a sister to Dean.

He waited for Natalia to come back with the ice pack then when he thought Dean was ready to move, he began the slow careful walk towards the staircase and helped him up, letting Natalia always be two steps ahead of them both. He knew it would be risky taking Dean into Mika's room, but he also figured Anna would take care of any triggers for Dean so he could focus solely on resting up. Once at the door to the room, he paused for a moment so Natalia could open it for him, letting them in and he brought Dean to the bed, laying him down. He let Natalia step up and hand Anna the ice pack so she could play nurse. “Need either of us to stay with you to help?” Sam asked Anna, hating seeing his brother in such a state. He watched as Nat perched on the edge of the bed and took Dean's bloodied hand into her own without saying a single word. Just wanting to give him some kind of comfort as the baby sister. It brought the tiniest of smiles to Sam's face seeing Nat wanting to be there for Dean.

“Something tells me Nat wants to stay here” he remarked to Anna, with Natalia nodding and looking at them both. “I do…I wanna be here for him” she commented.

Dean cried quietly into Sam’s shoulder as everyone seemed to be preparing to get him cleaned up, around him. He barely even heard them as they spoke, through the roaring in his head as a lot of hard truths sunk in. Dean unwrapped his arms from Sam as he felt him begin to walk after a few moments, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as he tried to help his brother with his own weight. Dean was exhausted, and he was emotionally spent. He honestly felt like he was going to pass out from a mixture of lack of sleep, the fight, and finally getting his emotions out of his system. But he took each step slowly.

Anna stepped back into the bathroom, when she heard Nat and Sam bringing Dean up the stairs. She took an extra towel out of the small linen closet, and quickly wetted it under the bathroom faucet, before stepping back out into the room, just as they walked through the door. As she expected, the second that Sam lowered Dean onto the bed, Dean basically passed out, and Anna sighed sadly, dropping her shoulders.

“Poor guy.” She sighed, turning to look up at Sam as Nat picked up Dean’s hand and Sam asked if she wanted them to stay. Anna shrugged her shoulders, walking to the small dressing chair Bobby kept in the corner of the room, by the window. She picked it up, and turned it where Sam could straddle the back the way that he preferred. She sat it down on the floor and patted the seat, “Then why don’t we all stay for him. Until Duke comes home, I think we should focus on keeping Dean sane and resting…”

Anna didn’t like taking control of situations, especially after what had happened with Dean, but she couldn’t just let him bleed and suffer because she was angry with him. Whether he saw her as family or not, she was his family. Anna unfolded the towel in her hand and she stepped up to the bed, sitting on the edge near Dean’s head. She reached across and began cleaning the blood from his nose, forehead and cheeks. As she wiped the damp towel across his busted eyebrow, he opened his eyes and frowned, “Anna?”

“Shh. Be still. I’m gonna clean you up.” Anna stopped him, shaking her head. Dean scanned her face and his own melted into sadness all over again, but Anna shook her head once again. “Don’t even think about apologizing while you look like this. I want you in your right mind before you bother with groveling.”

Anna smirked softly, brushing the wet rag over the last of the blood near Dean’s ear. She gave his earlobe a slight tug, and shrugged her shoulders, watching as he seemed to almost smile before closing his eyes. Anna brushed the wet towel over his neck, cleaning up the drips of blood that had trickled down, and then reached across, handing the towel to Natalia.

“If you want to clean up his hands, I’m about to start working on his face. He doesn’t need stitches. A few butterflies and an ice pack and he should be alright. But he’s gonna sleep like a rock and be sore tomorrow. I would ask if we should undress him, but he looks like dead weight right now.” Anna explained. She reached her hands down and lifted Dean’s t-shirt up, brushing her fingers over his stomach gently, trying not to wake him as she checked for any sign of bruises or pain. Other than some bruising on his elbows, knuckles and probably his knees, he seemed pretty unharmed. “I think he’ll be alright until he can shower tomorrow.”

Anna opened the first aid kit, and she pulled a hand full of butterfly bandages and some ointment. She then started to work on Dean’s eyebrow, which seemed to be the worst wound.



Cason sighed and gritted his teeth so hard he thought they would shatter out of his mouth when Esme instantly uttered the words he was hoping she wouldn’t. Of course she wasn’t going to do anything he was asking of her. It was the way of practically every human he had come in contact with in this dysfunctional little self sacrificing mess of a family. He almost reached his hand up to choke her, but remembered that it wasn’t the way he handled his problems anymore. So, instead, he closed his eyes and let an angry sigh leave his nose as he contemplated his next words to convince her not to run the clock out on Duke, by arguing with Cason.

“Fine. Fine you can…” Cason paused, looking around as he tore his eyes away from Esme’s and attempted to find some way that she could go in with him safely. But the longer he scanned the building, he couldn’t find a single way to guarantee her safety. Her next words took him off guard, and he turned his eyes down to look at her once again, furrowing his brow at the mental image of Nat even getting herself into a situation like the one Duke was in. He didn’t even want to fathom the things he would do to get her out alive, and unfortunately, Esme had found his weak spot, “I would kill every single one of them in five seconds…and I would bring her home.”

He sighed, and glanced around the warehouse once again, pointing to the demons that hadn’t seen or heard them yet, perched around one of the entrances, “I’ll need you to fight your way in. I won’t be able to save you, if I’m trying to pull him out. So, don’t get overwhelmed or knocked down. Take out as many as you can, and meet me inside the door, quietly, in the dark, until I can take care of the rest. Mess this up and you die. I don’t know any other way to explain it to you…”

Without saying another word, Cason disappeared, and he reappeared in the warehouse, directly in front of the head demon. Cason stepped out of the shadows and Duke’s eyes instantly flashed with fear as he recognized him, and began to glance around for Esme. Cason snapped his fingers at Duke, causing his eyes to turn back to his, and Cason simply shook his head, telling Duke that he wasn’t stupid enough to have brought Esme with him…at least inside.

“Cason. I never thought I’d see you with my own two eyes again. Wow.” The demon in front of Duke called to Cason as he stepped into the light with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah. Lilith wants my head on a pike. We can skip the chit chat. I’m here for the Cowboy.” Cason quipped across the room, his voice echoing off the walls, almost as clearly as the laugh that followed.

“See, he came for us. I figure he’s fair game. The Winchesters would understand…and wait a second.” The demon released Duke, stepping forward while pointing the long silver blade in his hand at Cason. Cason didn’t flinch or move, still smirking, “Why would the Winchesters send a demon to pick up their strays? Which one of the hot little pieces are you rolling with, hmm? The blonde one? No. The tall drink of water? See last I saw, she was…”

Duke growled, and the demon chuckled as Cason’s eyes darted to Duke’s teary eyes and Cason shook his head.

“The sister? Oh…oh this is good. This is real good. Two Winchesters bedding down with demons. Won’t Hell just be tickled…” 

“You know. You always did talk too much, Sal. So, why don’t we get this overwith. You and me. I win, Cowboy comes with me. You win? Well, the Winchesters have a couple more bodies to burn.” Cason offered, holding his hands out to his sides. The demon spun the blade around his hand, causing Cason to watch every move of the bright silver. “What do you say old buddy?”

“Deal.” Sal growled, and rushed forward, swinging and missing Cason’s face by centimeters. Without missing a beat, Cason caught his hand, turned the blade with a crack of Sal’s wrist and shoved it through his sternum with a bright light and a scream from Sal’s burning body. Cason’s eyes widened, and he stared at the blade for a few seconds. Another weapon that could kill demons?

Footsteps alerted him that demons were moving in. So, he dropped Sal’s body and turned, slicing two demons throats before they could fully approach him. From across the room, he could hear Duke fighting his own battles, demons being killed. So, he decided to turn and back his way toward Duke. The mission was to get Duke out of here, not to kill every demon in the building. As soon as he and Duke touched, their shoulders bumping together, the demons stopped coming, realizing that they had no weapons to use against Cason and Duke both…who had weapons that could fully kill demons.

“Don’t you smoke out now…C’mon!” Cason screamed at them, but the remaining six demons began tilting their heads back, smoking out of their bodies with a chorus of screams. With a growl, Cason stepped forward, chopping one of their heads off. And then it was quiet as the bodies dropped to the ground around Cason and Duke. 

Cason turned to Duke, expecting him to just come with him, “Let’s go.”

“No!” Duke screamed out of nowhere, turning his exhausted teary eyes up to Cason’s face as he pulled the knife out in front of his body, pointing at Cason’s chest.

“Duke…I promised them I would bring you home, and I will bring you home, one way or another. I don’t want to hurt you.” Cason explained slowly, and Duke simply chuckled. Cason held the blade out in front of himself, and dropped it to the sandy floor at his feet, holding his empty hands up. “I don’t…want to hurt you.”
“Well that’s the mistake right there, ain’t it. I’m DONE losing people. I’m DONE runnin’. And I’m real sick and tired of bein’ saved…” Duke choked out, his voice rising as he spoke and distraught tears falling down his cheeks, over his nose and off the tip of his chin. Cason nodded and kept his hand out toward Duke.

“I know. As a demon, you’re not gonna believe me, but I know. I know that right now, this feels hopeless. You just lost the one person who believed in you, no matter what. She was the one person who never pointed out your faults, she never picked you last, even when it came to Dean. I know…” Cason attempted to explain, stepping forward slowly. He placed that outstretched hand on Duke’s shoulder, and Duke reacted immediately, stabbing the knife into Cason’s stomach with a sob. Duke quickly removed the blade as Cason sparked a few times and stepped back with a gasp, holding the open and sparking wound.

“NO! You don’t get to talk about her!” Duke screamed, rushing Cason. He tackled Cason to the ground and pointed the knife down at Cason’s face, trying to force the tip into his eye socket. Cason grabbed both his hands, resisting as they both growled loudly, Duke’s growls a sob of mixed emotions. Cason almost managed to flip Duke, but in the process, Duke buried the knife deep into Cason’s shoulder, causing Cason to scream, echoing through the warehouse as he sparked, his skeleton showing behind the brilliant gold. Duke removed the blade and held it in his hand, so tight that his knuckles were white.
Duke leaned back, beating at his forehead a couple of times as he growled out a regretful sob and Cason took the opportunity, throwing a heavy punch that landed against Duke’s temple, knocking him almost completely out. Duke slumped over onto the dusty floor, the knife still clutched in his fist as Cason gasped for air, growling between ragged breaths. This felt nice and familiar…

Duke groaned, rolling onto his back as Cason rolled over onto his stomach, standing from the ground as quickly as he could. Now on his feet, Cason stepped away from Duke, trying to put some distance between himself and Ruby’s knife while his wounds began to slowly heal.

“I’m…I’m taking…” He inhaled a breath, barely able to fully breathe in, and then spit some blood onto the floor. “I’m t-taking you home.”

“No…” Duke groaned, slowly rising to his knees and then his feet. He stumbled, but stood on confident feet as he squared up. “Kill me. Let’s go.”

“I’m not going to kill you and I don’t want to hurt you, kid. There’s a girl who is likely about to walk through that door and she would…well…she wouldn’t survive that. I’m done losing people too....”

Duke punched Cason across the face, breaking his nose instantly, which Cason reacted to by punching Duke in the stomach, doubling him up before connecting an uppercut to his chin, knocking him completely back like a tree falling in the forest. But as soon as Duke hit the ground, he rolled onto his stomach, coughed, and began to rise again, causing Cason to sigh and roll his eyes.

“Stay down. I’m not going to kill you, idiot.” Cason groaned, standing over Duke. Duke swiped the knife from the ground as he stood to his shaky legs and turned to swipe it at Cason’s throat. Cason tilted his head back and the blade barely missed but somehow ended up lodged in his thigh, straight to the bone. With a growl, Cason started to reach for the blade, trying to take control, but Duke grabbed it first, twisting and pulling it from Cason’s thigh. Cason reached out, catching Duke’s wrist and snapping it with one flick of his own. Duke cried out, the knife slipping from his hand. Cason caught the knife, and quickly pulled Duke to his chest, jamming the tip of Ruby’s knife into Duke’s chin, small drops of blood pouring down the sides.

“The next round? I’ll break both your legs. You’re human. That arm’s gonna take long enough.” Cason growled in Duke’s ear, his eyes black and his head holding Duke’s still on the tip of the blade. Duke whimpered, trying to pull away, but Cason’s other hand reached around, caging Duke to his body, while putting pressure on his broken wrist. “Stop it!”

“Just k-kill me!” Duke cried out, nudging his own chin against the tip of the blade, but Cason turned the blade, pressing the sharp edge against his throat instead. Cason nudged himself a little closer to Duke’s ear, and softened his voice.

“I’m not going to do that. You have people who love you…still. There are people at that house who are depending on me to bring you home. I know this hurts. I know that everything in your body is screaming at you to run away, to do something stupid. But would your sister want you to tear yourself apart and get yourself killed because she died? We…will kill Lilith.” Cason almost cooed in Duke’s ear, feeling the poor guy nearly melting in his arms from grief. As he felt him relax, he kept the knife in place, but loosened his grip on Duke’s broken arm, “I will stand there with you…side by side if that’s what you want. I will hold her, while you drive this blade through her heart. But I will NOT let you die…here. I will not kill you and I will not let you continue down this path, because they need you. Esme…needs you. As much as you’re angry with your brother, he just lost the love of his life.”

“They don’t need me. They got each other.” Duke whimpered, now nearly limp against Cason’s chest. 

“And they don’t need another loss. None of them. Dean barely made it out of that room by the skin of his teeth. Your sister…she died. Sam fried half his brain killing Alastair and may be hanging on by a thread. Anna is trying to take care of everyone and hold them together. You’re the only one…the ONLY one that managed to come out of this situation fully…human and whole with someone on your side. I’m bringing you back as close to that as I can. I have to, man.” Cason whispered to Duke, and for the first time, Cason heard an emotion come out of Duke that wasn’t just rage screams and growls. He whimpered, and then a sob broke from his chest, deflating him as Cason loosened the hold on his neck. Cason shifted his arm, wrapping his arm around Duke’s neck to hug him to his body, “There you go. Esme?! A little help?!”

“I don’t know what to do…” Duke sobbed, and Cason nodded against the side of his head.

“I know. And that’s where the others come in. Let them…let them help you. Come back with me, and let them help. I got you…” Cason cooed to him, and even though Duke wasn’t entirely sure why, he tilted his head back on Cason’s shoulder and just cried, no more fighting. Cason sighed with relief, and just let him for a few moments before shifting his body to drape one of Duke’s arms over his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist. The poor guy was almost limp with exhaustion and grief. But at least he was going home, and Esme wouldn’t have to burn his body along side of Mika’s…

Esme watched Cason after she had spoken what she felt she needed to. She wasn't surprised by Cason gritting his teeth and sighing angrily. She knew refusing to stay outside in the shadows would piss him off, but she didn’t care. Her main focus was getting Duke out, back home, and patched up. Then, once home, maybe she could get him to talk to her. She knew getting him to talk to her would be challenging, but she knew he needed to instead of bottling all his emotions. When Cason began to tell her she could go in too but paused to look for a safe route for her, Esme looked too, seeing there was no safe way for her. That was why she felt the need to bring up the alternate situation, feeling it was the only way for him to see it from her point of view. As he replied, Esme nodded softly. “Exactly.” she said softly. She finally felt they were on the same page in a way. She hated that she had to use Natalia as an example to get through to Cason and not fight her to help him get Duke out of the warehouse.

When Cason pointed, Esme looked to where he was pointing, seeing the demons perched around an entrance that hadn’t noticed or heard them yet. She nodded as Cason spoke, then looked at him, giving him a look that said she understood. She knew it was entirely accurate, even if it was a bit harsh. Esme would fight her way into the warehouse to the best of her ability, knowing there was no way she would get in unscathed. After Cason disappeared, Esme looked back to the demons perched by the entrance again and sighed heavily. She could make out at least four demons from where she stood, but that didn’t mean there weren’t more, just out of sight. Esme pulled the two knives she had on her, then quickly and quietly made her way over to the demons, keeping to the shadows as much as she could. Once on them, she sprung on the first demon, shoving one knife into his back, piercing his heart, and twisting it before pulling it out. The body hit the ground with a thud. The other demon turned around in surprise, then narrowed her eyes at Esme. “Well, look what we have here, boys. The last Stirling.” one demon chuckled.

“I’m a little surprised you’re still alive after what I’ve heard going around.” the demon said as he took to his feet. Esme narrowed her eyes at the demons, but they soon widened as the one speaking stepped out of the shadows, and she saw his face. She knew this demon from her asylum days. “Venrik.” she nearly growled, her eyes narrowing again. “I thought you died that night.” Venrik laughed loudly, tilting his head back as he did. As he laughed, Esme adjusted her stance, then locked eyes with him when he looked back at her. “I barely made it out when those two buffoons showed up to save their sister.” Venrik told her. “It’s such a shame they also didn’t find you that night. Maybe things would have turned out differently, and you wouldn’t be so broken.” Venrik smirked as he saw the anger coming to Esme’s face. “Shut up! You, Vladin, and Morana should have died that night instead of running like cowards, but they both got what was coming to them!” she growled. “I killed them both!” Venrik laughed at Esme again and shook his head as he looked at her. As he laughed, Esme glanced at the other demons. They hadn’t moved a single inch.

“Oh, Pet…. Wait, that’s not right. What was it they called you?.... Oh, right. Little Dove.” he chuckled. Esme gritted her teeth and tightened her knife grip upon hearing the pet name Valdin and Morana had given her. Venrik grinned from ear to ear, seeing how the pet name affected her. It showed that she hadn’t forgotten about what had happened to her and hadn’t gotten over it. “Did you really think it was only myself, Valdin, and Morana you had to worry about from your days in the asylum?” he asked with a wide grin. A look of confusion came across Esme’s face as she thought about the demons that always loomed over her in the asylum. She couldn't remember any other faces other than Valdin, Moranna, Venrik, and occasionally one called Caellum. Venrik chuckled at her confusion before speaking as if he had read her mind. “Other than Caellum, there was one more. I'm not surprised you don't remember him. Every time he came to check on your progress, you were either unconscious or completely out of it. He was in charge of everything, and it was his idea to use you for the experiment.” Venrik grinned. “He’s going to be thrilled you’re still alive to finish what he started.”

“And I’m sure he’ll reward me handsomely for taking you to him.” Venrik grinned brightly as if he had hit some good luck. Before Esme could ask for a name, Vinrik nodded his head toward Esme, and the two demons with him charged her. She narrowly dodged the first demon, but the second landed a punch to her jaw, sending her stumbling back a few steps. Regaining her footing, Esme swiped at one demon, catching his cheek with her knife. He cried out in pain as the holy water and salt-soaked blade burned his skin. “Thrilled, huh?” Esme responded with a laugh as she sliced through one of the demon's shoulders. “Perhaps, but you should know I won’t go without a fight.” “Oh, I do know, Little Dove. I wouldn’t expect anything less from someone who runs around with the Winchester’s pet cowboy.” Venrik said as she watched Esme fight. After a moment, Esme plunged her knife into the heart of one demon and twisted it, but before she could remove the blade, the other demon tackled her to the ground and pinned her down after a scuffle, disarming her. He smiled down at her face triumphantly, but it faded as Esme grinned back.

Esme looked into the demon’s face as she projected fear onto him. She watched as the fear overtook him, and as soon as his grip on her loosened, she rolled and placed her hands on his face, melting it as he screamed. Once the demon was dead, Esme took to her feet and faced Venrik again with a glare, who grinned at her. “Well, would you look at that? That’s something we weren’t expecting you to do after everything.” he said in faux surprise. “What else are you capable of?” He whistled, and a large handful of demons appeared out of the shadows and surrounded her, but she held her ground. ‘I wasn’t expecting to fight this many, but I also wasn’t expecting to run into him either.’ she thought. Reaching into the inside pocket of her jacket, Esme pulled her collapsible bo staff, gave it a flick, and expanded to its full length. “Come and get me!” she called out to the demons as she spun the staff in front of her. She took a fighting stance as they charged her three to four at a time. Esme fought to the best of her ability, aiming at their heads mainly, but several got in hits on her.

Her eyes took on a lavender glow as she fought, and her body began to emit heat. She could feel Venrik watching her intently, taking in everything she did so he could relay it to whatever demon wanted her. “That’s right, fellas, rough her up but not too much. Ryker doesn’t want her too broken.” he said from the sidelines. ‘Ryker. That’s who wants me.’ she thought. “He’s not getting me!” Esme growled from the middle of the demons around her. Pressing a button on the staff, a blade popped out on one end, a modification she had made during her three days in the RV with Duke. Twirling the staff, she cut the necks of a couple of demons and cut the hands off a few others. Without missing a beat, Esme stabbed a demon in the heart, then flung their body into another. It took several long minutes to defeat all the demons Venrik sent after her. The bodies that lay at her feet and around her were either decapitated, stabbed through the heart, or had their faces partially melted and stabbed through the heart. Esme turned to Venrik, looking disheveled with a feral look in her glowing eyes and breathing heavily.

“Alright, Venrik! Enough games!” she growled at him. “If you want me to go back to him!.... Take me yourself!” Venrik stood from where he had been sitting, his eyes shifting to black as he pulled out a long, shiny silver blade. It was unlike anything she had ever seen, and she wondered where a demon could get such a weapon. Venrik saw her looking at the blade, and he twirled it in his hand. “This is a little something from those feathered assholes. When they die, they drop them, and these sweet little beauties can kill anything.” he chirped. Without another word, he charged her. Esme narrowly missed his attack, but the blade slid across her cheek, cutting it and causing her skin to sizzle as she gasped from the pain. “What the hell!” she growled as she spun to face Venrik. “Hmmm, interesting. Very interesting. Looks like you’re allergic to angelic weapons.” he said, smiling brightly. Esme and Venrik charged each other, making blows one after the other to each other's stomach, face, and ribs. She lunged and embedded the blade on her staff into his shoulder, causing him to cry out. Esme took this chance to go after the knives she had dropped earlier in the fighting.

As soon as she had picked them up and turned to charge Venrik, he had thrown the angel blade at her, and it pierced her right shoulder as soon as she turned. Esme cried out and dropped to her knees, gritting her teeth as the blade burned her. She reached up to pull the blade from her shoulder, and it burned her hand. As Esme fought with the angel blade, Venrik pulled the staff from his shoulder and walked over to Esme, placed his foot on her chest, kicked her backward onto the ground, and stood over her triumphantly as she hissed in pain. “You ready to give up yet, Little Dove?” he sneered down at her. “Never!” Esme growled. Bending down, Venrik picked Esme up by her jacket onto her feet and looked into her face. “Give up. You have nothing left.” he told her. “I have plenty left!” she growled with a grin. Esme’s eyes began to glow brighter, and the heat from her body intensified, burning Venrik. Without warning, she headbutted him and then jammed a knife into his stomach. As he cried out, she could hear his skin sizzling from where her head had hit his face. “I told you, I’m not going back to him!” she growled.

Taking hold of the hilt of the angel blade, she grit her teeth as it burned her, then pulled it from her shoulder with a scream. Esme then plunged the blade into Venrik’s heart. Letting it go, she stepped back as he screamed and sparked before his body fell to the ground. Esme stood there momentarily to catch her breath and took in the scene before her, hardly believing she had done all of it. But on the bright side, she had one less demon from her past to worry about. Esme then collected her knives, tucked them away, and then collected her staff, folding the blade back into it and collapsing it. She tucked it back into the inside jacket pocket and then returned to Venrik’s body and looked at the blade sticking out of his chest. It baffled her that the angel blade burned her like iron burned demons, but why didn’t it burn them? Pulling a purple bandana from her pocket, Esme wrapped it around her burnt hand and tied it. Esme then pulled her gloves from her pocket and put on the right glove, putting the other back in her pocket. Using her bandaged hand, she pulled the blade from Venrik’s chest and placed it in her right hand before finally walking to the door and going into the warehouse.

After Esme walked in, she kept quiet and kept to the shadows. The only thing alerting to her being there were her glowing eyes. She could hear the fighting going on as soon as she entered and instantly knew it was Duke and Cason fighting before she saw them just up ahead of her. Esme walked closer, stopping at some old shelving, and leaned against it just as Duke stabbed Cason, causing him to scream. She winced as his scream echoed through the warehouse as he sparked. She watched as Duke pulled the knife from Cason’s shoulder and held it tightly in his hand, then watched as he leaned back and beat his forehead a couple of times as he sobbed. Esme hated seeing him like this, and it caused her to grip the angel blade tightly in her hand, then tighter as she winced when Cason punched Duke’s temple, almost knocking him out. It took everything in her not to run from the shadows to him as she saw Duke slump over onto the floor. ‘Come on, Duke. Stop fighting him and just come home.’ she thought. Esme’s glowing eyes teared up when Duke told Cason to kill him.

She looked down at the floor and shook her head, wishing she hadn’t heard him say that and not wanting to watch the fighting anymore. Esme closed her eyes tightly and gripped the blade tighter as Cason responded to Duke. ‘I’m already here, and you’re right.’ she thought, sighing silently. She winced at the next blows they landed on each other but didn’t open her eyes until Cason broke Duke’s wrist and he cried out. All she could do was watch and listen with teary eyes as Cason continued trying to get through to Duke. ‘Come on, Duke. Listen to him.’ she thought. Esme’s eyes teared up more when Duke told Cason to kill him once again. Those tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the floor. She lifted her left hand to her aching chest from Duke's emotions, watching as Cason moved the knife from Duke’s chin to his throat. Cason’s next words to Duke made her see him in a different light, and she was thankful for his words to Duke. However, Duke’s response caused her heart to drop. “That’s where you’re wrong, Duke. Without you, I don’t have much of a place in this group.” she said barely above a whisper.

She sighed softly as Cason spoke to Duke again, and Duke stopped fighting and sobbed in Cason’s arms. Esme felt like she could breathe a little better now that Duke had stopped fighting and finally let himself cry. When Cason called to her, she pushed herself off the old shelving and stood there a moment, watching the two and listening. Esme hoped that Duke would let her and the others help him. After carefully dabbing her tears with her bandaged hand, she walked out of the shadows and towards the two men, the glow in her eyes slowly fading as she got closer. She looked up at Duke with soft eyes, even though she wanted to kick his ass for the worry he put her through. “He’s right, you know. You need to let us help you.” she said softly. “And if you can’t let everyone help, at least let me help you.” Esme looked at Cason and gave him a look of thanks before looking back at Duke. “But first things first. We’re getting you to a hospital to get looked over before we go home.” she told him, her tone saying she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“I’ll get myself looked over as well. If my ribs aren’t cracked, they are severely bruised from the fight I had out there.” Esme then stepped up to Duke's other side, put his arm over her shoulders, and put her arm around him. “Let’s get out of here. I’ll explain what happened once we’re patched up and home.”

NATALIA AND SAM

Anna taking charge of looking after Dean, cleaning him up was somewhat a relief to Sam and Nat. As much as both wanted to help, they both were still grieving themselves and dealing with the reality that they just witnessed Dean fight it out with Duke in such a brutal manner. The siblings also didn't know exactly how to help Dean when he was practically a shell of his former self through this loss he was feeling. Sam looked over when Anna came back into the room and pulled the corner chair out for him, Sam went over and sat on it, leaning his arms on the back of it, whilst Nat stayed put exactly where she was. It felt weird to him being in Mika's room under these circumstances and as he sat there, he remembered how it had actually been a long time since he was last in the room. He'd come upstairs and knocked on the door plenty of times, even leaned his head in to check on Mika in the past, but it had been a very long time since he was actually in the room. Glancing around he noticed how Anna had hid the direct memories of Mika, mostly the photos and he sighed. The room felt so empty despite having four of them in it. It didn't feel right being in here without Mika telling them it was okay, even though Mika had considered it also Dean's room. This was their sanctuary and space to just be them, it strangely felt like he was intruding.

As he let the girls clean Dean up, Sam let himself go down memory lane as he thought about the time when he was a kid and he came up sheepishly, to ask her for advice.

A little knock on Mika's door came echoing through the music she was playing as she sat on her bed sketching for old time's sake whilst cuddled up to Dean. They both knew that knock all too well, “come in Sammy” she called out, causing him to open the door and step inside. “What's up kiddo?” She asked him, “can I ask you guys something?” Sam asked nervously, making Mika put down her book and pencil, glance at Dean and then at Sam. “Sure you can. You know you can talk to us about anything” she replied, gesturing for him to climb onto the bed and sit with them, much to Dean's disgruntled reaction.

“How…umm…how do you talk to girls?” He asked, barely looking up at either of them but aware that they looked at each other and smiled before looking back at him. Mika just reached out and grabbed him, yanking him to between herself and Dean, cuddling him as Dean and she started to give him some advice whilst also making it comical so he lost his nervousness.

He snapped out of the memory when he heard Dean's groggy voice questioning if he was seeing the right person over him. He couldn't help but smile sadly as Anna spoke to Dean, telling him not to apologize now whilst he's in such a state. As Anna handed the cloth to Natalia, he fell into more memories of being in the room and being looked after by Mika, tears threatening to spill down his face silently, making him wipe his face.

Natalia took the cloth from Anna, noticing out of the corner of her eye how Sam was forcing the tears away whilst in his own little world. She didn't have memories of being in the room like Sam did, the only ones she had were of her trying to convince Mika to get out the room during the four months of Dean in Hell, or coming in to check Mika was ready to head out on a hunt. “Okay” she replied to Anna as she began to gently wipe the blood off of Dean's knuckles and hands, seeing where he was grazed and bruised but glad he wasn't in a worse state. “I just hate it's taken him to get to this state before accepting the reality. Not surprised, but hate it anyway” she sighed. “It was hard enough trying to get through to Mika when Dean was in Hell in this room, and I never thought I'd be back in here tending to him this time round” she continued to say. A part of her wanted to climb onto the bed and just hug her brother, to give him comfort as he slept from the exhaustion that had finally taken over him, but she also knew she needed to be available for whenever Cason and Esme got back. Not only that, someone had to be mentally available for when Bobby got back from the shops and eventually will have to begin the process of wrapping Mika's body up. Once she had finished cleaning up Dean's hands, she stood up and took the cloth back to the en suite bathroom, cleaning it of Dean's blood before draping it over the side of the bath to dry.

Walking back into the room, she sat back beside Dean on the bed to keep watching over him and being available in case Anna needed her help with anything. ’at least he's okay now…’ she thought to herself and hoped Cason was having any kind of good luck with Duke. “I just hope the others are getting through to Duke, I hate seeing these two in this way” she commented. “If anyone can get through to him it'll be Esme and Cason.” Sam replied flatly as he continued to watch over Dean and the girls. He felt like a bit of a loose end in the room and with the added memories constantly coming in and out of his mind, he almost couldn't handle being in the room anymore. “I'm gonna go grab us some drinks” he said, forcing himself to stand up and leave the room, heading downstairs. Although he had every intention of coming back upstairs with some drinks for them all, he also wanted to finally pluck up the courage to go visit Mika's body, now that Dean wasn't keeping her from the rest of them.

Walking into the kitchen first, he headed to the fridge and grabbed three bottles of beer, opening them all, leaving the caps on the counter top and then forced his feet to lead him down to the basement. Making it downstairs, he paused at the panic room door before making himself step inside, seeing her body on the makeshift bed, a lump in his throat forming. He walked over to the chair that Dean used to sit on before everything escalated and looked at Mika, tears falling down his face, his jaw locking up as he tried to not completely break down. “Guess it's my turn to say goodbye huh?” He shakily said, lifting one bottle up and taking a swig. “Sorry it took me so long…Dean kinda didn't let any of us come down to see you until now. I miss you so much Meeko. Everyone does…” he sobbed. “Duke has done a runner…but Esme and Cason are getting him back, they know you'd be so mad at him right now” he explained, “Dean is upstairs finally resting and accepting you're…well…down here” he said with a sigh, wiping his face but the tears kept falling. “I'm so sorry I didn't arrive sooner to stop Alastair from doing this to you. I'll always carry that guilt” he finally admitted, “I know Duke blames himself but it's my fault, not his and I wish Dean took his grief out on me, not Duke” he continued to sob.

“Tomorrow morning we'll give you the Hunter's Funeral you deserve, but I wanted to spend some time with you on my own before then. I love you and I'll always miss having my big sister around. I promise I'll look after Dean and Nat for you. Make sure they're safe…” he said before letting himself fall quiet.

Upstairs, Natalia could t help but notice how long it was taking Sam to get three drinks. “He's taking a long time” she remarked.

Anna pinched the wound on Dean’s forehead together and she placed the two butterfly bandages that she had stuck to her fingers across it, basically stitching him up. She brushed his hair away from his face, as his mouth fell slightly open and he began to snore, the exhaustion and upset obviously knocking him out cold. For the first time in days, he seemed relaxed and at peace, but she couldn’t imagine what he might see inside his mind while dreaming. She was honestly afraid he would startle awake at any moment, but as she brushed her fingers through his hair, he continued to sleep and she let her shoulders drop with a sigh.

She sat back a bit, wiping her hands on her jeans and then turned to glance at Sam. He was a mess, and there wasn’t much she could do to help him, either. At the moment, all of them were barely hanging on by a thread and supporting each other came in waves of strength…then breaking down…then more strength. She nodded at Nat’s words, having just had the same thoughts herself, “Yeah. I think his body just kinda…gave up. I’m hoping this is a turning point for him. And I really really hope Duke is okay. I can’t even imagine what’s going through his head after all of this mess and then hitting Esme?”

As Nat entered the bathroom and then came back into the room, Anna could feel that Sam was thinking about leaving the room, for one reason or another. She was a bit worried for him to be alone, even just for a few moments, but she also knew that pushing him too much could cause him to run, just as fast as Duke did. Ruby was still out there, after all. So, when he mentioned that he was going to get a drink, Anna turned and she watched him closely for a moment, but then she nodded, “Okay. Come right back, though, okay?”

As Sam left the room, Anna sighed and brought a hand up to her forehead, leaning over and just breathing. The tension was still high in the house, and until Mika was laid to rest, she couldn’t see any other way for them to coexist. She sat in silence for a bit, just listening to Dean’s labored breathing and her own heart thumping wildly in her head from the demon blood that seemed to be roaring like the wind.

But then Nat spoke up and Anna snapped back to reality and turned to look at her, before glancing toward the door.

“He is taking a while…” She remarked back, before standing carefully from the bed. She stopped in the center of the room, pushing her hair back from the sides of her face before turning to Nat and holding a hand out to her to make sure Nat heard her, “Can you um…can you watch him for a bit? I think he’s gonna be out for a while, but I’m also a little worried he’s going to wake up scared half to death, if he’s dreaming. I’m going to go check on Sam…”

After a moment, she turned and walked out of the room, jogging down the stairs. She turned and glanced through the kitchen, not seeing Sam there, and her stomach dropped. She knew exactly where he was. He was in the panic room. He was with Mika. That could either be a point of closure for him, or it could be the thing that ripped him apart. She slowly approached the basement door, taking each step to the basement with care so she didn’t potentially startle him. As she turned to step into the open panic room, she stood against the door and sighed. He was sitting there, in that chair that Dean had sat in for days, and he mirrored his brother’s pose, nearly identical. He was quiet, and he seemed to be trying to come to his own terms, but Anna could tell from his body language that he was absolutely defeated.

“Sam?” She whispered, the quiet of the panic room causing even her quiet call to echo a bit, “Do um…do you wanna take a walk? Maybe get some air? I can um…I can help you get her ready in a bit, if you want. Let me help.”



Cason winced as Esme came into view. He had warned her that he couldn’t help her out there, but seeing her looking a bit worse for wear all over again did bring a sear of burning guilt into his mind. He shook the feeling off, as they had more pressing matters to attend to in that moment, and he nodded as she gave him the look of thanks that he never would have asked for. He was bringing Duke back mostly out of a sense of pride toward the women of the group, especially Esme and Natalia. Any other time, he wouldn’t have cared what happened to the cowboy.

Duke shook his head at first, refusing to look Esme in the eyes as Cason held him, but after a moment, he sobbed softly and he nodded his head at the proposition of going to the hospital first, before anything else was addressed. Duke was exhausted. He was spent. All he wanted to do was sleep, or die…he wasn’t sure which. Cason scooted him a little closer to Esme, “I’m sorry I couldn’t be out there with you. But we’re bringing him home, and from the sounds of things, you don’t sound….that hurt. But we do need to talk.”

“I thought you said you didn’t bring her…” Duke barely managed to get out of his mouth as he took a staggered step forward, and leaned his bodyweight completely against Cason. Cason lifted him a bit as Esme stepped under his other arm and Cason moved his arm up, giving her room to help carry the poor guy.

“I gave you a look that said she wasn’t inside. She wasn’t inside. She was outside. Whatever happened out there isn’t technically my fault.” Cason quipped to Duke, as he started walking toward the door. Duke tilted his head weakly and he smirked. “I’m a demon remember?”

Cason glanced up and over at Esme, smirking at her to try and lighten a bit of the mood, now that the worst of the danger was over. It was what Duke would need, and if Cason knew anything about the idiot in his arms, bringing back his nature was going to be the most important part of keeping him sane and around until they could say goodbye to Mika.

“I’m going to willingly ride in that stupid truck.” Cason said as they walked through the door and out onto the lot. “In fact, I’m going to drive that stupid truck. Lucky for me, you left it running.”

“I had…I hot-wired it.” Duke muttered with a soft scoff, Cason quickly bringing his free hand to Duke’s chest as Duke stumbled between them. He nodded with his own chuckle and shrugged.

“Well, that gives you something to fix while you’re moping around the house.”

At the hospital

Cason sat in a chair in the corner as the team of doctors and nurses in the tiny town hospital worked on both Esme and Duke. He tried his best to brush off the nurses, but had to deal with their looks of disbelief when they realized that all of the wounds on his body that showed in his ripped clothing were healed. Not a scratch existed, outside of some smeared blood from the initial stabbing. As Duke lay there, the nurse next to him wrapping his wrist in a cast, he glanced over at Esme and he sighed.

“So, how long are you gonna hate me?” He asked her bluntly, his tired voice hoarse and weak. He still wasn’t sure he was in his right mind, as everything in him wanted to resist going back to the house. But he did know that he had messed things up with Esme, at least on some front…and judging by her nose? He had really…really messed up. "I didn't know...I didn't know it was you that grabbed me. I didn't. I would never lay a hand on you."

Esme had looked over at Cason before stepping under Duke’s other arm and shook her head at Cason’s words. She wasn’t expecting an apology from him, but she did wonder what he wanted to talk about and if it was the same thing she wanted to talk about. Knowing Cason, it was probably something completely different. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I knew this wouldn’t be a cakewalk when I demanded you let me help.” Esme told him before Duke spoke. She sighed softly as she adjusted her grip around Duke as Cason answered, which made her smile tiredly and almost laugh. When she caught Cason smirking over at her, Esme kept her smile and shook her head lightly, realizing that Cason was trying to lighten the mood a bit. She was glad that Cason was trying to lighten the mood, knowing Duke would need it. Getting Duke back to his usual self was one of her main goals. If Esme couldn’t do that, she knew that she would more than likely lose him, and that was something she wouldn’t be able to come back from on her own. Duke had become her weakness, and she knew if Ryker and the other demons knew, they would use him against her.

Esme knew things would get difficult during and after saying goodbye to Mika, but she was still grateful that they wouldn’t be burning two bodies. That would be far too much for the group to handle. It was already hard enough having lost Mika. Before the three walked to the door, Esme had slipped the angle blade she was still holding into her belt and placed her hand on Duke’s chest. As they walked through the door and into the lot, Esme looked over at Cason as he spoke about how he was willing to ride in Duke’s truck, then said he would drive it. She softly laughed, but it faded as Duke spoke about having to hot-wire his truck to start it. “Instead of just keeping your keys, I should have removed the starter.” she said softly. Esme wasn’t sure if that would have kept this from happening, but it would have at least given her more time to get to him before he ran off and got himself into this mess. However, she would have also never run into Venrik and learned the name of the demon that started the experiments on her in the asylum.

Then again, did knowing his name really help her out now? Esme had no idea where Ryker was or what he even looked like, and who was to say she could kill him if they ever found him. There was also the possibility that he’d learn she was alive if he didn’t already know, come for her, beat her, and start the experiments all over again. The thought of having to go through all that again scared the hell out of her.


Esme sat in a chair beside the bed Duke lay in. She had two nurses tending to her shoulder after a small fight getting her jacket and flannel off. When they finished with her shoulder, they moved to her burnt hand. After they removed the bandana from her hand, she shoved it into her jacket pocket while she told them a story about what happened when they asked her. Esme spouted a bit of nonsense in her tired state, and they all seemed to buy it for the most part. Probably thinking she was internally struggling by how calm she was acting and staring off at nothing in particular while they tended to her wounds. Esme had barely glanced at Cason as the nurses wanted to look him over, which she usually would have smirked at. Esme had receded into her thoughts, going over everything that went on and what she had learned, causing her to tune out everything the nurses said and did to her. As her thoughts drifted to Ryker, she grew uneasy, and it was her turn to want to run even though she didn’t know his whereabouts. She didn’t want the others, especially Duke, to get tangled up in this part of her past.

Part of her wanted to run and draw this threat away from the group. Esme didn’t even want to call Sassy and tell her about it, even though she knew the woman needed to know and be prepared for whatever could come their way. She was pulled from her thoughts with a sharp intake of breath at Duke’s voice. As he spoke, she looked down at her hands after she realized the nurses working on her were gone. His words made her sigh heavily and close her eyes. Esme knew Duke felt like he really messed up with his actions, especially by punching her in the nose. “I don’t hate you, Duke. But you’re lucky I was worried about you. Otherwise, I’d be kicking your ass right now.” she said tiredly. What I do hate is how you let everything bottle up until it comes out in one giant explosion. I hate that you won’t talk to me before it gets to the point where you….” Esme cut herself off as she grabbed her jacket off the arm of the chair, carefully swung it around behind her, and draped it over her shoulders. Opening her eyes, she looked at the nurse, who was finishing up with Duke’s cast.

When the nurse finished and told them they should be discharged soon, Esme nodded before the nurse left the room. Esme looked at Duke with tired eyes. “To the point where you feel you have to run and find something to take your emotions out on or find something to kill you.” she finished with some difficulty. She turned her eyes back to her lap, fidgeting with the bandage on her hand, her hair falling to cover her face. “I know you thought it was Cason that grabbed you and that you’d never lay a hand on me, but you did because you bottled your anger. You can’t keep this up. It was Dean and me this time. Who’s it going to be the next time you lose control? How far will it go before someone can stop you if I can’t use my empathy or I’m not there?” she told him. Esme refused to let the frustrated tears welling up in her eyes fall. She looked up from her lap and looked at Duke, her tired, teary eyes holding worry for what could happen. “And if you ended up getting yourself…. Before we could get to you. I wouldn’t survive that, Duke.” Esme let out a shaky breath and fell silent.

NATALIA

Nat's thoughts about Duke echoed Anna's. Part of her wished she could respect Mika by helping Duke herself in some way. Look out for the man in Mika's memory, knowing how close the two were. But she also knew the best person to do that was Esme and in this situation, Cason. She trusted the both of them to bring Duke back so he could actually say goodbye to Mika and get some kind of closure that he rightly deserved, especially now that they had calmed Dean down enough for anyone else to go down to see Mika's body. It still felt so wrong to think of Mika as just a body in the basement and not the woman who kept them together. She didn't think it would ever feel right thinking about Mika in the past tense. She still wanted to go rogue and find a way of bringing her back, but she also knew how much quicker Cason would stop her from doing so. She also knew that right now Dean needed her more, just as Sam did. They needed each other.

As Anna agreed that it felt like Sam was taking a long time to get a drink and to come back like Anna requested, Nat felt like she wasn't being paranoid. She looked up when Anna got up off the bed beside Dean, knowing what she was thinking of doing. So when she asked Nat to watch Dean, it was the easiest request she could oblige. “Of course I will. Sam needs you, I got Dean” she replied, letting her go downstairs, whilst Nat moved over to the side of the bed and perched carefully beside Dean's sleeping form. She carefully took Dean's hand, not wanting to wake him up despite him seemingly being in a deep sleep. “Oh Dean…I wish I could take all of our pain away…I wish I could bring her back to you” she whispered, rubbing his hand with her thumb. “I know I give you way too much shit, but I wouldn't wish this kind of pain on you ever…” she continued talking despite him being asleep, feeling it's the only way she had the courage to even say it. “You've had to deal with far too much in such a short amount of time, but I'd like to think I know Meeko would want us all to do whatever it took to make you happy again. I could almost hear her complaining about how we're all moping around and not remembering the good times” she sadly smirked.

She could almost hear Mika giving them a real lecture for being so depressed in her head, ‘what you moping about for? I didn't stick around and give y'all amusing memories just to forget them the moment I'm dead’ Nat assumed Mika would say. Looking up from Dean, she glanced around the room and saw just how much Anna hid away for Dean's benefit, thinking how different it made the room feel, yet it still felt like Mika and Dean's little haven to Natalia. There was still the odd traditional sketch stuck on the wall that she recognised as Mika's work. A mixture of recent sketchings and ones that were much older, judging by the natural tanning of the paper. She never realized how much mythical related things Mika drew over the years, even way back before Nat was even on the scene, until now. She recognised one piece that was stuck to the wall as Mika's back tattoo design. “Hard to think that she won't ever use all these set supplies anymore…you know, when you were gone and she actually got out of bed? She was always at that desk drawing or painting…her grief into every single stroke…think it was the only time any of us ever saw her leave the bed. You're both so alike. But I know, giving her the Hunter's funeral will give us all closure and we're all going to help you through it…we just need the other three to come back first…” she sighed.

She knew Dean wouldn't be hearing her but she felt like if she didn't talk she would be overwhelmed with worry about the others. She hoped that Cason and Esme had got to Duke and they weren't too late, she knew the group wouldn't cope with another death so soon. Yet she also hoped Cason was safe as well, deciding that she would just assume no news was good news for her own sanity.

SAM

At first Sam didn't realize that he had been gone longer than he intended to be. He did want to go back upstairs so as not to worry the girls, but he didn't know when he would get another chance to actually see Mika before she got wrapped and burned. He didn't notice Anna had come down until she quietly spoke his name, making him look up and across at her. “Sorry for keeping you waiting…” he apologized, lifting his beer bottle to his lips for a moment. “I just…I didn't know when else I could get down here” he explained, feeling like he had to give justification for his actions like some kid who was going to get in trouble for walking off. Then she asked about going for a walk and getting some air and as much as he didn't want to leave Mika alone, he knew Anna's suggestion was probably needed. “...yeah, I don't think I can do it alone when the time comes” he agreed, standing up and leaned forward, placing a kiss on Mika's forehead as if to say goodbye. He then moved towards Anna, wiping his face of any rogue tears that may have been rolling down his face and took Anna's hand. Silently, he reluctantly went back upstairs with Anna and headed outside via the back lot, not wanting to go out the front door. He wasn't in the mood to go for a walk down the main road and risk seeing anyone who knew him.

He didn't want to have to explain why he looked so defeated and upset, knowing it probably was hard enough for Bobby to do. Sam could only imagine how hard it must be for Bobby to hide his grief from his face when being out in town, something he was even impressed Bobby could even bring himself to do. He even wondered if anyone had actually properly checked on the man, he felt guilty for being so washed up in his own grief that now he thought about it, he never checked on Bobby. Getting outside, the cold air hit him instantly, making him take a deep inhale of breath before exhaling. “It still doesn't fully feel real in a way, when we were kids, I always thought Mika was completely indestructible like Dean. She survived a wendigo attack, no one should have survived that…so I got convinced she was this…superhero or something” he told Anna as he tried to hold it together, finally being able to actually talk somewhat. “I know every hunter risks dying every day, but…I truly thought if she could survive a wendigo when she was a teenager, a demon would be no struggle for her. It doesn't feel right the world took her away from us” he said. “I still remember when she convinced Dean not to beat my ass for following you into that cabin when we were kids and not be bored in the motel nearby” he reminisced. “She always was team you, even back then. Saw us just as kids who wanted a moment of normalcy” he told her.

He hated talking about Mika in the past tense, it didn't feel right or just. If he hadn't killed Alastair in the moment, he knew he would have gone on a hunting spree with Duke to find him and kill him himself. All Mika ever tried to do when she was alive was to keep her family together, despite the rocky past she had with Dean. They always found their way back to each other, and even when she wasn't around, she still checked in with Sam via texts or phone calls, used to check how his university studying was going when they all had separated. He wished more than anything that he could just fix things, and he still couldn't fully shift the guilt for not getting to that warehouse quick enough. “Dean isn't going to be okay for a long while after this is all done…” he sighed.

Duke turned his head from Esme to look at his broken arm that was being worked on as she spoke up finally. He could tell that she didn’t really want to look at him, but that she was also lost in her own thoughts. Any other time, he would have hovered, but he wasn’t sure he had it in him, after everything he had done and dealt with that day. He couldn’t help the small smirk that lifted the right corner of his lips, barely raising his cheek when she mentioned that she felt the need to kick his ass, but was too worried about him to act on it.

Of course she wanted to take a bunch of that frustration out on him. He had put her through, what he could only assume was, hell that night. But then the conversation turned toward heavier things, like his bottling of his feelings, something that had always been a problem for him, and had always been a sore spot for Esme.

After a moment, he opened his mouth to speak, to defend himself, but the nurse was manhandling his arm, smoothing out the bandaging on the thick cast that was going to put him in a weird spot with hunting for the next six weeks, all because of his temper. He had no one to blame for that, but himself. He hissed in pain as she rolled his arm over without asking him, but then announced she was finished and left the room.

Duke reached down with his good arm and pushed at the lever to lower the bar on the bed he was tired of laying in. He then sat up and slung his legs off the side of the bed, placing his hands in his lap as Esme continued speaking, but not looking at him. He watched her face closely, his own calm and willing to listen, for once. He sighed, flexing his hands as she finally looked up at him, and her words sunk in. What was supposed to be a simple conversation with Dean had turned into the worst and most brutal fight they had ever had. He had physically hurt Esme in the process and then ran off, like always, as if putting himself in danger would somehow help the situation and make amends with Esme…as if she wanted him dead for making a mistake.

“I know…” He said quietly, frowning as he battled with the tears that he was too tired to fight back. He didn’t shift his gaze from hers just to keep her from seeing those tears, instead, he kept his gaze solid and fixed, with a lot of effort. “I um…I know things are out of control. They have been for a while. I don’t…I don’t know how to fight that, really. I never have. I quit tryin’ a long time ago, and maybe it’s my next step, you know?”

Duke paused, turning his eyes up to the ceiling, as he tried to find the next words he wanted to say. He wanted to push it all down again, to bottle it up and focus on her wellbeing, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he was reminded that she was hurt…because of him. Her nose was bruised, and probably broken because of him. So, he sighed and turned his eyes down toward hers again.

“I think I’ve always just tried to be whatever people needed me to be. I’ve never been anyone’s first choice. I always screw up. I always let people down and then? I have to rely on the people I let down to save me…from monsters, myself, judgement, life?…all of it. I don’t know how to break that cycle and with Mika…” Duke paused, taking a shaky breath as all those fresh emotions bubbled up in his chest and he felt overwhelmed and nauseated all over again, “I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to just move on, not from this. But you’re all I got left, Esme. I r-ran off because you’re all I got left and I can’t tell if you’re havin’ trouble lookin’ at me. I can’t tell if that nastier side of me is too much, and I’m gonna lose you all over again. I wouldn’t survive that, either…”



Anna shook her head as Sam apologized for taking a moment with Mika. Having him apologize wasn’t her intention, at all. She just wanted to make sure he was alright, and wasn’t off somewhere crying alone, for fear of showing that emotion to either of the girls…specifically the two that would support and love him through it. But she nodded her head at his explanation of why he was in the basement, not that he needed to explain. Anna frowned sadly as Sam leaned forward and kissed Mika’s forehead, her stomach cramping painfully at the thought of helping him wrap her body for the funeral. She knew she had to be tough for him, because it didn’t seem that anyone else had it in them, and the last time she had seen Bobby, he wasn’t even looking any of them in the eyes. He had buried himself in work.

Anna sighed as Sam wiped his tears, once again trying to hide them from her, but she reached her hand out and took his, letting him lead the way as they left the panic room and walked back up stairs. As they walked out the back door, Anna nearly gasped at the feeling of the cold damp air ruffling her hair and she pulled herself a little closer to Sam’s side, just staying close as he started to speak. Was he actually going to get this off his chest? Was he actually going to open up about how he was feeling about the way things happened? It was something Anna wasn’t sure he would ever be capable of.

But as he spoke, Anna stayed quiet, and held his hand a bit tighter, just letting him talk. She glanced down at the gravel as their shoes crunched against it, and sighed, thinking back to the first time she had ever met her little family, way back when she and Sam were kids. Mika had come to her full defense, as if she was the best thing Sam had ever found, even though they had just met. Mika seemed more worried than anyone about Anna running off, and it was something she always held close to her chest, especially when they met again.

“She always seemed to be the most reasonable of the two of them. Maybe that’s why they worked so well.” Anna spoke softly, the past tense hitting her in the chest as well as she thought about Dean, and the pain that she couldn’t even imagine. She could only assume it was a similar but more intense feeling to the one she was experiencing in the barn, when she wasn’t sure if Sam was coming for her, or if he was even alive. “I think that Dean will have to take his own time, maybe even alone, before he will process things. This is a shock to his system. I can tell by the way he was speaking to me…all of this is going to hit at once, and I don’t think it’s going to hit him in violence, like Duke. I think we’re going to have to worry about him just…sitting around, stewing, not eating, drinking himself to death.”

Anna stopped walking, and pulled herself to stand in front of Sam, reaching up to place both her hands on his cheeks. She scanned his eyes, brushing her thumb across his lower eyelid to remove a stray tear that refused to fall, “But you…you have to take care of yourself. You have to talk to me. Let me take care of you. You do so much to make sure everyone is safe, and that I’m okay, and that I am sane, at the very least. Let me? Let me take care of you. Don’t shut me out. If you just want to lay in bed and be? We can do that. You want to break something? I’m sure Bobby wouldn’t mind, but let me help you through this. I’ve got you.”

When Duke looked at Esme, she looked into his eyes, holding his gaze just as he did hers. She saw the tears he was battling just like herself, not hiding them from her. She had somewhat relaxed internally because, for once, he was calm and willing to listen as she talked. As Esme looked at him, she could see that her words were getting through to him, and he confirmed it when he said he knew. Having Duke acknowledge her words and admit that things were out of control felt like a breakthrough moment for her and him. Even Duke saying it was maybe his next step felt like another breakthrough. And even before he said it, Esme knew he didn't know how to control his temper. It was also something she wanted to help him learn to control. She needed him to understand that he didn't have to deal with all of this alone anymore, and he needed to let her in instead of shutting her out because he was afraid of how it would affect her. Esme watched as Duke paused and looked at the ceiling, seeming to find the next words he wanted to say to her.

She took this moment to reply softly to him. “I think it would be the perfect next step.” Esme continued to watch him, focusing on his face intently. She could tell he wanted to bottle everything up and focus on her well-being. That was who he was. When Duke sighed and looked back at her, Esme looked into his eyes and listened to what he had to say. She did not attempt to interrupt him, but her tired features softened, and her eyes saddened as he spoke. Duke was telling her everything she had suspected, and it broke her heart to hear it out loud. But his finally opening up to her was another step towards making their relationship work and become closer than they ever were in the past. Esme had always wanted this from Duke, and now that she finally had him opening up to her, she hardly knew what to say as her mind was racing with so many things to say to him, having Duke feel like second best and a burden wasn’t something she wanted him to think or feel. Duke was far more than second best to her, and she had always been in his corner.

Esme ran a hand through her hair, signing heavily, and closed her eyes briefly. Duke's words echoed in her mind, and she thought about how she wanted to respond. Esme stood from her chair with a wince, unable to stay sitting any longer. Taking a few steps away from her chair, she turned and looked back at Duke, her expression soft, her tired eyes sad and teary. “I don't think, I know you have. In the moment, you have always been what you thought others needed or wanted you to be. You've even done it with me when you didn't have to, and I never expected it of you.” she told Duke softly. “You don't always have to be what you think others need or expect. You are allowed to show how you truly feel. And I wouldn't call it screwing up. You just…. Tend to let your heart override your head. As do I.” Esme fell silent, stepped closer to Duke, placed a gentle hand on his, and squeezed it gently. “I know…. I know you're afraid of losing me because of what happened today…. And that nastier side of you is a bit much being an empath, but it will take more than that and getting hit in the nose to push me away.”

Esme softly rubbed her thumb across the back of Duke’s hand as she looked at him. She brought her bandaged hand up to her tight and achy chest. “And I know how much you're struggling with…. Losing Mika. The whole group is struggling. No one is expecting you to move on quickly. It’s going to take all of us time to get to a point where it doesn’t hurt so much, but we’ll never really move on fully. But you don’t have to go through this pain alone. I’m here, and I want to be there for you like you always were and still are for me. Let me in. Talk to me. Please, Duke, don’t shut me out anymore because you’re afraid of how it will affect me. We’re not just a couple. We’re a team.” The tears Esme had been fighting back spilled from her eyes, down her cheeks, and off her chin as she sniffled.

SAM

As Anna held his hand a bit tighter from what he was saying and from the cold, he kept her close, as close as he possibly could without making it difficult for either of them to walk around. He had spent so much time out here in the impala the last three days, he thought he would have been sick of it by now, but after the brutal fight between his brother and Duke? The air was exactly what he needed. It wasn't like he could be of any use upstairs as Dean slept and he knew Nat wouldn't leave his side, even though she'd be the only one awake in the room. Honestly, he was glad he could give Nat the time to just be with Dean like a normal sibling for once. He also got the feeling Nat needed it as much as anyone to focus on something until the others came home. Anna's words made him nod, she was right. Mika may have had moments of extreme jealousy and being a bit of a hot head, but when push really came to shove, she was the more reasonable one out of her and Dean and always kept him on the straight and narrow. He could also hear in Anna's tone how talking about Mika in the past tense was just as difficult for her as it was for him and it made him not feel so alone in that feeling.

“I think you're right. She was always his other half who could centre his mind.” He replied, sniffling to try and not cry all over again, even though it was rapidly becoming more impossible by the minute. He then listened to what else Anna had to say and she was completely right in her assumption. Sam had absolutely no idea how Dean was going to get over this situation. He could see it now almost, Dean retreating into himself exactly how Mika did when Dean got killed and sent to Hell by Lilith. It was hard enough trying to get Mika to eat during those four months, he was certain that between himself, Nat and Bobby, they threw away more food that had been left to go rotten than bringing back empty plates to the kitchen. Hells, he was certain he took down more empty alcohol bottles than he did plates and something told him that Dean would go down that exact same path. “He's going to do all that…exactly like she did when he died. Only knowing Dean, it'll be even worse. They both completely self-destruct without each other… So yeah, we're gonna have to keep a close eye on him” he replied.

As they continued their circuit of the lot, more and more thoughts of how the group was going to change drastically from now and back to how it all went down at the warehouse and his chest started to really cramp up at all the thoughts and at Anna's words about him, pausing their walking in the process. He looked down at her as she spoke, her eyes fluttering closed for a brief moment as she stroked under his eye. Her words broke through the mental wall he had attempted to put up in his mind and that's when he just broke, letting the tears well up and fall down his cheeks, sobbing as he just let his head drop onto her shoulder. “I should have focused on her first… I could have saved her…but now…now…” he began to sob, unable to even finish his words as he gripped onto Anna, finally letting her in properly. He just sobbed, feeling a large personality of his family had just been ripped from him. Things just weren't going to be the same anymore and he wasn't sure if he even wanted to see what life was going to be like without Mika in it. Yet he also knew he wouldn't ever do anything stupid because he had to fight for Anna. For Natalia.

It took a good few minutes before Sam could slow and calm his sobs. Lifting his head from her shoulder, he wiped his face with his forearm and sighed to steady his breathing back to a normal pace after his heart had been racing from crying so much. “I uhh…I want to go back inside and start wrapping her body, but I need your help to do it” he said to her, willingly asking for help. He knew Dean could never do it if he was awake and after the fight, if the others succeed in bringing Duke back, Duke probably couldn't handle it. So it was up to him and Anna. “But I want to give Duke the chance to say goodbye as well…he deserves that much if Esme and Cason manage to get him home alive” he added before making himself gain the motivation to head back inside.

Once inside, he headed back downstairs into the basement, taking each step slow and steady until he reached the last step and then the ground. Walking over to one of the storage units, he opened the door and pulled out some white sheets and ropes which Bobby always had for exactly these kinds of situations. The very action made him take a big gulp as he tried to keep his composure before heading into the panic room. His hands shaking as he put the sheets down on the chair he sat on earlier. Clenching his fists and opening them in a repeated action to try and stop the shaking in his hands, he looked between Anna and Mika. “I…I don't know if I can do this…” he told Anna.

He knew he had to, between him and Anna there wasn't anyone else and he felt like it wasn't fair to expect Natalia to do it, but it was still now proving too much and all too real that Mika was gone. "I know it has to be us...but...it's all feeling too real now Anna...I've really lost my sister- haven't I?" He spoke, looking at her with teary eyes.

Duke was a little surprised when Esme not only kept her gaze on him, but she stood from her chair and her gaze wasn’t judgmental or angry. It was the same caring look that she always seemed to give him, when he was hurting. She always was one that he felt he could run to, when he was particularly upset and Mika was in the wind. It wasn’t like Dean would ever hear him out. As she spoke with care, and understanding, as if she knew him like the back of her hand (she did), Duke sniffled and he couldn’t help but nod, as if she was backing him up to some invisible stranger who was judging him.

He flinched, only slightly, when she picked up his hand and squeezed, explaining that she wasn’t going anywhere, and that his fears were unfounded. This wasn’t the same situation, in any way, to the last time they tried to be together. He wasn’t a ‘part’ of a relationship with her…she was his. That part was hard for him to grapple with, no matter how many times she told him.

“That’s good to hear…” He whispered as he glanced down at his hand, and her thumb brushing his skin in such a soothing way. Mika’s name caused his chest to clench roughly, and he let out a quick and anguished breath, struggling to contain the emotions as Esme pleaded with him to just stay open and to not bottle things up, something they had always fought over, in one way or another. The idea of being open, and what felt like a never-ending wave of grief and tears being his every day just didn’t stick in his brain as a good thing. It felt like willing torture, just feeling everything all at once, and not pushing those feelings down. It was like he would never stop crying, or wallowing…

“I can’t promise that I’m gonna do a good job at that. It’s all so…raw.” Duke’s voice broke as he turned his teary eyes back up to meet Esme’s. He took a deep breath and tilted his head, “But I-I think it’s probably a better idea to at least let you know I’m not doin’ great than to start fights. I don’t know how many more hits to the head I can take…”

A tiny smirk threatened the corners of Duke’s lips and he shrugged, “But thank you for not leavin’. And I’ll meet you halfway. You let me keep you sane by not worryin’ about me constantly, and when I feel like I’m gonna kill someone, I’ll at least tell you about it. We can make that decision together.”

Cason cleared his throat suddenly and Duke flenched, not turning his head to look at him, “As much as I hate to break up whatever this…breakthrough is, you’re being discharged and we should probably head out. Nat’s probably freaking out.”

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here. Heard anything from Dean?” Duke asked softly, pulling his hand away from Esme’s to wipe a stray tear from her chin, and her cheek.

“No. No news. So, you might wanna let me take the lead on things when we get back. C’mon.”



Anna half expected Sam to break, just at the simple touch and request of letting someone take care of him, but when he did, her heart still plummeted into her feet. She watched his face and shook her head as he explained that he believed he could have gotten to Mika before Alastair had ever killed her. She didn’t think that was true at all. The whole situation was very hopeless and it was a miracle that Dean had made it out alive, “Sam…”

But then he stepped forward, leaned and his forehead fell onto her shoulder. With their height difference, Anna was a bit afraid that he would just topple them both onto the gravel, which she would have happily taken, if it meant that he could actually depend on her. What was another bruise when Sam was hurting this bad? She brought her hand up to tangle in the back of his hair and she buried her nose in the smell of his shampoo, crying with him for a moment. She didn’t know what to say. So, she said nothing.

After what seemed like a century, Anna could feel Sam begin to relax, and then he lifted his head and she stared at his face, following his eyes as he quickly snapped himself back into that tough exterior, despite his puffy red eyes. His request for her to help him with Mika’s body was no surprise, even if it seemed like a whiplash decision after the tiny breakdown of his emotional walls, “Alright. I’m with you, okay? Let’s just take it one step at a time. We’re not done here…”

She took a deep breath, letting Sam lead the way back inside. She simply stood near him as he gathered things, allowing him to process the situation as slow and steady as he needed to. As she followed him into the panic room, she expected him to get hit with reality pretty quickly. They were performing funeral rites for someone so important to all of them, especially Sam, Dean and Duke. She took a deep breath, watching Sam peel the sheets open, and state that he was having issues. Stepping forward without a word, Anna grabbed both of Sam’s hands, picking them up and turning her eyes up to his.

“Let me help. Even if you can’t do this, we can.” She said simply, her voice shaky. She continued untying one of the knots, until everything was ready to begin the heartbreaking process of wrapping Mika’s body, the reality of the permanence hitting Anna in the chest, all of a sudden. And then Sam spoke those same feelings out loud, but with the most heartbreaking words behind them.

“I wish there was something I could say that would make this easier, Sam. I do. I wish she was here to tell you some wise words about picking yourself up, but honestly? I have nothing. This is something we have to get through. She would want this. She would want us to be at least tough enough to do this…for her.” Anna explained gently, trying her best to not sound callous and removed, but stoic and mature, the way Mika would be with him, “You’ve lost her, but you haven’t lost what you learned from her. This…this is one of those lessons. Letting go…”



Cason stepped out of the truck as he parked it, reaching down to separate the wires that kept the truck running. Unfortunately, the cowboy wouldn’t be going anywhere until Bobby could get into the electrical systems to fix what he broke, but it wasn’t like any of them would be going anywhere for a bit anyway. He popped the lock down and closed the door, not even bothering to turn around to the other two at first, but then he remembered that he had said he would go in first.

“I’ll go in and see how things are and then text you. Stay put, both of you.” He called back to Esme, as he walked toward the front door of the house. As he stepped in, he noticed that the entire house almost sounded empty. There as still puddles of blood all over the living room floor, and smears on the wall near the stairs, but everyone else seemed to be gone, or in other parts of the property. He heard movement in the basement, assuming it was probably Dean, up and around and downstairs.

“Hello?” He called out, walking toward the stairs, before taking them two at a time to walk up and see if anyone was in the bedroom at the top of the landing. As he reached the top of the stairs, he pushed the door open, holding his breath, as his eyes fell on Natalia, sitting with Dean. “Well, if you aren’t the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen…”

He turned his eyes away from her only briefly to pull his phone from his pocket, after seeing Dean sound asleep on the bed, harmless. He quickly shot a text to Esme, giving her the all clear.

"Dean's out like a light. If you guys want come in, seems safe."

Esme watched Duke grappling with what she had told him, like always. No matter how many times she pleaded with him to let her in and share his feelings and thoughts with her, he wouldn’t or couldn’t. It was one of the main reasons she worried about him so much, even back in the day, and was even the cause of most of their arguments. But she was determined to get her words through that thick skull of his and to make him see she was there for him through everything. She was there for the good and the bad and wasn’t leaving him because he lost himself to grief. However, if she were honest with herself, she should be listening to her own words. She wasn’t the greatest at sharing or expressing her own emotions or troubles with anyone, either. Esme often kept them bottled up inside until they finally exploded from her, and that had recently become quite dangerous with her new powers presenting themselves. Like Duke, Esme had only let out a small portion of her emotions to others and bottled and suppressed the majority of them, either out of fear or not wanting to burden others with them.

The only person she had truly been open with was her mother, but after she lost her mother, she never truly opened up to anyone, not even her godmother, to whom she felt she could tell anything. There were a couple she would open up to, but they had fur and four legs. So did they really count? Maybe and maybe not, but that didn’t matter to her; she hadn’t seen them in quite a while, since it had been some time since she had been home with her godmother. She would have to find time to go and visit. She had been away for far too long as it was. Esme also needed to call her godmother and update her on everything that had happened recently. Which she knew would worry her, but also knew she would possibly be able to find some answers to the many questions rolling around in her mind. Some of those answers she was still waiting to hear from Cason, hoping he had found out a few things. Esme was desperate to know if he’d had a chance to find out anything or heard anything from other demons. However, there was a part of her that wondered if she wanted to know the answers. Could she mentally handle the answers with no way to talk to her parents?

When Duke responded to her pleas, Esme sighed inwardly and nearly closed her eyes before he looked into her eyes. “I know.” she said before he continued. She wasn’t expecting him to be good at it, especially with it being new to him. She just wanted him to talk to her and not run off when things got to be too much to handle. A slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as he spoke, and she nodded. “You’re welcome, but I couldn’t leave you even if everything inside me was telling me to.” she told him honestly with a small sniffle. “And halfway sounds good. Knowing that much will help my sanity a bit.” She wanted to say more, but Cason suddenly clearing his throat caused her to flinch; she had momentarily forgotten he was there while trying to get through to Duke. Esme sighed heavily at Cason’s words, but also nodded in agreement. Her eyes briefly closed as Duke pulled his hand from hers and wiped away her tears as he replied to Cason. “Yeah, that might be for the best.” she replied to Cason with a sniffle.


Esme had stayed quiet the entire ride back to Bobby’s, secretly watching Duke and staying in tune with what emotions she could feel coming from him. Halfway through the ride, she had reached over and taken his hand in hers, just waiting to have something to hold onto and feel that he was there. These close calls of losing him were weighing heavily on her mind, as well as the loss of Mika. As soon as they passed under the sign for the junkyard, Esme’s chest grew tight and achy, making it a bit difficult to breathe. When Cason parked Duke’s truck, she didn’t move; she continued to stare out the window and didn’t attempt to get out. The closing of the door somewhat snapped her back to reality, and she only nodded to Cason’s words, then looked at her and Duke’s hands and intertwined fingers. After a moment of silence, Esme shifted to look at Duke, then carefully pulled herself into his lap, bringing his good arm around her and resting his casted arm in her lap. She then leaned into him, resting her head softly on his shoulder and her forehead resting against his neck without saying a word, just like she did back in the day when either of them needed to be quietly comforted.

She could still remember the times he would pull her into his lap and hug her tightly to his chest whenever she and Dean would disagree about something, and she’d storm off and sit somewhere. In this case, she wanted to feel his arms around her, hear his breathing and heartbeat in her ears, as well as be a comfort for him. As she sat in his lap, she could also remember the times she had pulled him aside and pulled him in close to keep him from bolting, which sometimes worked but not every time. Esme took a breath and slowly let it out as she nuzzled her forehead against Duke’s neck and held his good arm around her. It felt like hardly any time had passed when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Without moving too much, she pulled her phone from her pocket and opened the text that was from Cason. She typed a quick one-handed response and hit send. “Alright, thanks.” She then tucked her phone back into her pocket. “ Cason said Dean is out cold if we want to go inside…. If anything, we can just go in to get cleaned up.” she told him, in a voice just above a whisper. “Unless you just want to use the bucket tonight.”

Even if Dean was out cold, she wasn’t entirely sure he would want to go into the house or not after everything that had happened that night, which she couldn’t blame him. She, on the other hand, preferred the shower over the bucket. There was only so much you could do with a towel and a bucket of water, and there was no way she would feel clean enough to sleep only using them tonight. Whatever he chose, her mind was set firmly on the shower, even though she didn’t want to leave him alone for any length of time.

NATALIA

Nat didn't move the entire time Sam and Anna were gone, doing who knows what. She had no idea Sam stepped outside and broke down or that Anna followed him out before coming back inside to wrap Mika's body. She just stayed beside Dean's sleeping form in Mika's room, so she could at least be there for him if he woke up from a nightmare or something. She didn't want her big stupid brother to wake up alone. Now wasn't the time to be the typical almost twenty four year old, now was the time to grow up and be mature, even though she was worried sick about where everyone else was. She checked her phone a few times in the silence to see if there was an update from Cason about Duke but there was nothing still, and there was no shouting or messages from Anna to have help with Sam. It didn't matter how many times she told herself ‘no news is good news’, the worry for everyone else only grew in the pit of her stomach. “I wish I could help you more Dean…” she sighed, watching over him, feeling the exhaustion starting to hit her.

As she sat beside Dean, she folded her arms across her chest and began to close her eyes, only to force them open time and time again right up to hearing Cason's voice by the door which made her look up. “You're back!” She quietly exclaimed, suddenly waking up a bit more, not wanting to wake Dean, but quickly got up off the edge of the bed she was on beside Dean, and walked over to him, pausing for him to text Esme, then hugged him tightly. “Is Duke safe?” She asked, pulling her head back just enough to be able to talk with him. It was then she looked him over to see just how much damage he took from Duke's self destructive rampage. “Are you okay? You look like shit” She then asked, finally laying her eyes on his, not letting go of him. She didn't mean to say he looked like shit, but her tired brain wasn't quick enough to stop her filter from just blurting it out. “Sam stepped out but I've not seen or heard him for a while, Anna went to find him. I couldn't bring myself to leave Dean. He's an idiot but I couldn't risk him waking up alone…especially in here…” she explained, unable to stop talking for a moment whilst not knowing Sam and Anna were in the basement.

SAM

As Anna walked up to him to try and help him with Mika's body, he forced himself to listen to her words otherwise he knew he would just break all over again and be in the corner being utterly useless. He never imagined her death would hit him so hard, they all knew being a hunter had its risks, but the longer this went on, the harder it seemed to get. He could hear the shakiness in Anna's voice and it was becoming more clear that she was struggling over this situation just as badly, but her determination to remain strong for him was admirable. As she spoke again, he looked at her to truly listen as she hit the nail on the head about what Mika would have probably said to him at that moment. He knew as well as Anna did that Mika would have told him to pick himself up and get what needed to be done, done but that doesn't mean his grief was utterly invalid. He also knew Anna was right and this is what Mika would want, over the years he had heard Mika say plenty of times how she always felt she was living a life she wasn't meant to have, that she was given another life she was thankful for but there was always a part of her that felt wrong for still living when others didn't. He knew of how whoever the young girl was who had died in her place had haunted Mika. “You're right…she had said to me plenty of times she wanted this if she died…” he said to Anna. “I just didn't think it'd come round so soon…” he sighed, keeping his breathing as slow and controlled as he could muster to get through this process.

Wrapping her body took longer than he thought it would because it felt so different than just preparing any other Hunter's body. It still felt so wrong to him, even though he knew it was the right thing to do. It also felt wrong as they were doing it without Dean, but he also knew Dean probably couldn't muster up the courage to do this himself, even if he wasn't all battered and bruised from Duke's onslaught. He hadn't even noticed a good hour had passed since they first decided to come down stairs to begin this process until he heard Cason's voice call down to the basement, having now returned. Yet he was so emotionally drained, he didn't even have it in him to reply by calling up to him. He heard Cason's faint footsteps move away from the doorway to the basement and he figured he was just going to find Natalia, not checking to see if it was safe for Duke and Esme to come back in. He eventually stepped back two steps when Mika's body was mostly wrapped, only her face being left unwrapped for anyone else to say goodbye. Looking down at her, he couldn't help but think she looked somewhat serene in a way that baffled his mind. “Seeing her like this makes me think she'd think of herself as some fantasy protagonist in one of her books or something…” he commented, remembering how when they were kids she was such a big reader of fantasy romance novels and classic literature. He could almost hear her voice in his head quoting some kind of literature that would match the situation at hand. He didn't know what that quote would be, but he was certain if she was still alive, she would have quoted something.

“Tomorrow will be better. It might be only a foot more than today, but it will be a foot longer that you can run.”

Duke rode back to the house pretty quietly, only letting out the odd sniffle here and there or a groan at certain bumps. When the sign for the junkyard came into view, Duke let out a shaky sigh. On one hand, he was home, and felt as if he could relax. On the other hand, he knew that there was a lot of tension and potential judgement inside those walls. There was even a small possibility that Dean was worse off than expected, which was a whole other issue…even if he had an angel on his shoulder.

As the truck stopped and Cason stepped out, Duke didn’t move. He simply stared forward, completely zoned out and reliving the scenes from earlier in the night. It almost didn’t feel real, any of it. It felt as if he had been outside of his body, through all of the grief and anger. He turned his face, just watching Cason step into the house, half expecting an explosion to throw Cason back out into the gravel. Luckily, Duke was pulled from his intrusive thoughts by Esme turning to him and climbing into his lap.

Duke took a deep breath, tightening his hold on Esme’s body as she wrapped his arms around herself. Neither of them needed to talk, during these moments. Everything that needed to be said, was said through touch. He felt oddly calm at that moment, even though the whole world was still crumbling into pieces around him. Everyone probably hated him, or at the least were afraid of him after his outburst. But Esme was there with him. She wasn’t afraid of him. His hands, that had done so much damage that night (including causing a broken wrist), Esme trusted. She trusted him not to hurt her, and to keep her safe.

Taking a deep breath, Duke leaned his cheek against the side of Esme’s face, tightening his arm around her to just listen to her breathing for a few moments until her phone buzzed in her pocket. As Esme pulled her phone, Duke leaned his head back a bit to give her room, and he stared through the windshield for a moment, letting her respond to whatever ‘bad’ news Cason was giving. But then, her voice brought him back to her and he contemplated her words. Memories flooded his mind of bathing in buckets, something that he rarely asked her to do with him, due to the cold water from he garage. It was miserable, especially in the winter.

“You never were much for the bucket.” Duke whispered with a bit of a strained voice. He smirked a bit, thinking about the water fights over the years but then shook his head, “We should probably take a shower. It’ll at least get all the grossness off without leavin’ a stain on the concrete.”

Duke scoffed, and surprising himself, he pulled his good hand away from Esme’s body, and reached for the door handle shoving the door open. Scooting to the side with her still across his legs, he turned and dropped to the ground, carefully sliding Esme down his body and onto her feet.

“I just gotta figure out not gettin’ my cast wet…and how to approach the others. I’m sure none of them want to see my face right now.” Duke grumbled, quietly closing the door behind them. He didn’t even want to think about the basement. He didn’t want to think about how Bobby would react if he saw him. He just wanted, for once, to let Esme help him through the worst of the awkwardness…and to survive the night.



Cason’s head seared the second that Natalia acknowledged his voice, a feeling that he could only assume was his own relief in seeing her okay and at least in one piece. Or maybe it was relief in seeing the excitement on her face when she stood from the bed and approached him. Cason wrapped his arms around Nat, as she hugged him tightly and began asking questions.

“Duke is alive. He’s in mostly one piece at least.” He answered, and then he followed her eyes down to his own body, noticing the holes in his clothing, and all of the blood that he had honestly forgotten was there. The wounds were mostly all healed, other than a bit of surface damage from Ruby’s knife. “I am also fine. Duke didn’t exactly come back willingly, and it was better me bringing him down than Esme. Not that I think he would have ever hurt her. I didn’t want to take a chance. He was trying to fight a barn full of demons with a knife…”

As Nat began to just spill her guts, Cason was made aware of the fact that she had likely been alone for a while, with her thoughts. It caused his stomach to cramp, that he had left her alone after everything that had gone down and how upset she had been, even if she had wanted him to go after Duke. He could see it in her eyes that she needed to be anything but alone with all of this.

“Alright. Well…take a deep breath. C’mon.” He almost whispered, bringing both his hands up to Nat’s cheeks. Tilting his head forward, Cason pressed his forehead to hers and scanned her eyes, encouraging her to close them and breathe with him. “Take a deep breath. I’m here. I’m right here.”



Anna didn’t say much else, letting Sam work through his emotions through his own words, without any input that might walk them backward. To her relief, Sam began working with her to wrap Mika’s body, and seemed to hold it together. As they finished, Anna flinched, hearing Cason enter the house. She thought about calling out to him, just to let him know they were okay, but as she crossed her arms and looked down at Mika’s body, words escaped her.

Then Sam spoke up, and Anna turned to look at him, flicking a tear away from her cheek with one of her hands as she smiled softly, mostly a reaction to him saying something that wasn’t completely negative or heartbreaking.

“At least she would be able to see something good come out of all of this. Written into a book and sent off on her own terms…in a way.” Anna sniffled, turning her eyes back to Mika as the truck door quietly closing drew her attention to Duke and Esme returning.

“And it seems like the kids are home. I haven’t heard Duke’s voice yet, but I can’t imagine that Cason would come back with Duke’s truck if Duke and Esme weren’t with him.” Anna grumbled, shrugging her shoulders. The demon blood in Anna’s system was beginning to settle the room a bit, and she could suddenly hear Cason’s heartbeat buzzing as he talked to Nat upstairs. “I’m going to um…I’m going to go check on them.”

Reluctantly, Anna stepped away from the side of the bed and walked up to Sam. She picked up his hand as gently as she could and brought his knuckles to her lips, pressing a tight kiss there, before dropping his hand and jogging out of the room and up the basement stairs. As soon as she hit the night air, Anna took a deep breath and then let it out in pure relief to see Duke and Esme standing next to Duke’s truck.

“Oh my god, you’re okay…” She sighed, her voice barely above a loud whisper. “Both of you. You’re okay!”

As Esme waited for Duke’s response, she moved her hand to rest on his chest, and her mind momentarily drifted back to the times they had used the bucket to get clean. She could hear his voice echoing in her mind, telling her she didn’t have to use the bucket and that he didn’t want her to get cold with how cold the water was, and then somehow, a water fight would break out between them. It caused a slight smile to tug at the corners of her mouth. She was pulled back to the present when Duke responded to her. She softly shook her head as that smile tugged at her lips a bit more. “You’re right about that.” she said softly. She nodded to his statement, then almost clung to him as she felt him pull his good hand away from her. Esme wanted to stay like this just a bit longer, and it surprised her how quickly he reacted to her shower suggestion. When the door opened and the cool night air hit her, she shivered slightly. Duke then surprised her again, before she could slide off his lap, he scooted to the side, dropped to the ground, then slid her down his body until her feet touched ground.

Once on her feet, she wrapped an arm around him and looked up at him with a soft, loving smile. Reaching up, she placed her hand softly on his cheek. “Leave keeping your cast dry to me. As for approaching the others…. We’ll get through that together, but I’m sure they’ll be happy that you're alive and home.” she told him as she rubbed his cheek with her thumb. “Emotions were high earlier, things were said and done. If it hadn’t been you and Dean who fought, it could have easily been two of the others or even me.” Standing on her tiptoes, she pulled his head toward her and kissed his jaw softly. “And besides, if any of them have a problem and come after you, they’ll have to go through me first. I’ll kick anyone's ass who tries to lay a hand on you.” she told him matter-of-factly with a warm smile. Esme knew Duke knew she would do it too, because this wouldn’t be the first time she had done it. More than once in their past, she had stepped up and taken on fights for him.

This point in time was no different, except for the fact that they were now a true couple, and the link between them had grown even stronger than it was back then. “I know you’d do the same for me if I were in your position.” she added, letting her gaze and hand drop to his chest. Esme opened her mouth to say more, but quickly closed it when she felt someone drawing closer to them. She smiled softly when she realized it was Anna. She turned slightly to watch her come into view. “Anna’s coming.” she told him softly. Esme slightly tightened her grip around Duke just before Anna’s face came into view. She knew Anna was glad to see them both alive and okay, but she still wasn’t sure how close Anna wanted to be to her after seeing her use magic earlier that day. “Yes, we are. A little banged up and gross, but okay nonetheless.” she responded in a warm tone. Esme wanted to go and hug her to reassure her, but she remained at Duke’s side. She wanted to leave that choice up to Anna, since she knew she had freaked her out a bit. “How are you holding up, Anna?”

NATALIA

Hearing that Duke was alright and mostly in one piece was a massive relief to Natalia. She may not have known him as well as Dean, Esme or Mika did...or had, but she still adored the crap out of the man and knew over time he would probably become like a third brother or even an uncle figure to her if Mika saw him as a brother. She didn't want to lose him, just as she didn't want to lose any of their group now. Losing Mika was too much as it was, and she didn't think she would have coped hearing anymore bad news. These last three or four days were too much already. As relieved as she was that Duke was alright, she was more relieved that Cason confirmed he was alright, despite his look. "Of course he did...it's about the most insane thing he could do that would have made Mika absolutely go batshit mad at him for" she sighed in reply to hearing what Duke had gone and done. "He was lucky to have had you go after him even if I did miss you greatly and worried constantly" she told him honestly.

Then he told her to breathe and it made her realised just how much she had been rambling and probably with very little breaths in between. She let him grab for her cheeks, looked up into his eyes back and took a deep breath as she let her eyes close. She refused to let go of him but made her breathing match his to force herself calm down all over again. It was only in this moment that she truly realised how pent up she still was over everything, especially at the situation of Cason and Esme chasing after Duke. After a few deep breaths, she did calm down and get her breathing to a more natural slow rhythm, where she felt she could now reopen her eyes. "what would I do without you?" she softly smiled before taking a quick glance behind her to check on Dean then looked back at Cason. "I'm so worried about how he's gonna react when we actually burn Mika's body. I wish I could do more for him...even though he drives me absolutely up the wall" she sighed.

With that sigh, she rested her head against Cason's shoulder. "He's gonna probably hate waking up in this room later" she remarked, "but I'm genuinely glad you three made it back safe and the boys fight didn't send Duke into a successful suicide mission".

SAM

Anna's words did bring a very tiny sad smile to his lips. She was right, that would be how Mika would see this...or at least that's how he hoped she would. He missed that whole side to Mika's personality and now he was thinking about it, he realised he couldn't recall the last time he saw that side of her. In this business, it made so many lose the hobbies they all had when they were kids, if they were even lucky enough to have a normal childhood before becoming hunters. He missed Mika being the happy go lucky redheaded book nerd before this life consumed her. Glancing down at Mika, he still hoped that for whatever reason, she would just wake up and act like she wasn't ever dead but he knew that couldn't happen as it would have happened already if it was possible. He hated that it felt like only he and Dean were allowed to come back from the dead in their group. It made it all feel all the more wrong.

The sound of the truck outside made him also briefly glance upward before looking back down at what he had to do. "Okay, I'll finish up here" he replied to Anna's statement of going to check on Duke and Esme and possibly Cason. Like Anna, he could hear Cason's heartbeat which told him he had headed straight up to go to Nat, which he didn't blame him for doing. It felt like everyone in their group was desperate to cling onto those they bonded with as tightly as possible after seeing what losing that someone had done to Dean.

Letting Anna go, Sam stayed behind as he said he would, finishing up the wrapping of Mika's body but still left her face on show as he just couldn't just bring himself to cover her entirely just yet. He wanted to give others the chance to say goodbye to her face and not a piece of cloth if they wished to. Though he wouldn't be surprised if no one else could bring themselves to come down here, but he didn't even know if Bobby had come down here yet and out of them all, other than Dean, Bobby had the most right to say goodbye properly out of all of them. "I'm gonna miss you so much Meeko... I'll never stop trying to redeem myself for not getting there in time to save you." he sighed, lifting a hand and stroking her black and pink hair, smoothing it out down over her shoulders. "this family ain't gonna be the same without you, I know this much, but I promise we'll keep Nat and Anna safe and I'll make sure Dean doesn't kill Duke or vice versa for you." he spoke, feeling a couple of fresh tears fall down his cheek before they landed on Mika's cheek.

Wiping his eyes and her cheek, he took two steps back from the bed in an attempt to leave Mika's side, although it was incredibly difficult to do so.

Duke nearly pulled away from Esme’s touch, as the lingering guilt of the day struck him in the gut, with his boots crunching the familiar gravel. He knew that he had scared the hell out of pretty much everyone in the house. Hell, he still wanted Esme to run away from him, after he broke her nose, something he would never do on purpose…ever. He deserved the distrust and the anger, if that’s what was coming. He had turned an incredibly traumatic situation into even more trauma and anguish for everyone by almost killing Dean, breaking Esme’s nose, and then nearly getting himself killed…just to add to the pile.

Her hand brushing his cheek caused him to melt into her touch, much to his surprise. Any thoughts about running were off the table, considering Cason would likely bring him back…again, but this time in more pieces and without being nice or caring. He was also exhausted. Her words only made him melt further, as she made it clear that she wanted to take care of him, whether he liked it or not.

Duke didn’t fight her as she kissed his jawline, but an exhausted and amused laugh broke from his chest at the mental image of Esme battling everyone in the house for coming at him. She had to be just as exhausted as he was, at least mentally, but was still willing to fight the world for him.

“I definitely wouldn’t wanna see how worse off they would be in that fight, darlin’.” He chuckled, bringing his good hand up to catch Esme’s hand as it fell to his chest. For a moment, he felt better, lighter even…

Then Esme let him know that Anna was coming. Glancing over Esme’s head, he simply gave a polite nod, knowing that his appearance was such that Anna would likely still be afraid of him. But she didn’t seem to be, at all. She approached them both, awkwardly crossing her arms over her chest as Esme answered her questions. Duke narrowed his eyes a bit at Anna’s demeanor, noticing that she seemed a bit withdrawn from Esme, and although she looked up at her and nodded with a polite smile, she didn’t seem to want to make eye contact.

Anna did, however, meet Duke’s eyes for a split second. He gave a polite smirk, not sure how scary he looked to her, but as soon as she looked at him, she looked away, pulling a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I um…I’m alright. Sam…well…he’s not so good, obviously. I’m just trying to make sure he’s not alone.” Anna explained, glancing up at Duke, as if he was going to just fall apart at the simple mention of what had happened, even without saying the exact words. “I’m glad you’re both okay. I really am.”

“I’m glad he’s got you.” Duke muttered honestly, trying his hardest to meet Anna’s eyes. She simply looked around both Esme and Duke, and then met Duke’s eyes for another split second.

“Yeah. Well, Nat and Cason are upstairs with Dean. I think it’s pretty safe for you to clean up in their room, if you wanted to. And Duke?” Anna’s voice calling his name so softly caused Duke’s eyebrows to raise, and she continued, “Not a single person in this house is upset with you. Not one. Everyone is…not great, you know?”

Duke simply nodded, fighting the stinging tears that were coming up in the corners of his eyes as she reassured him.

“I’m going to go check on Sam. But can we talk later? I um…I just want to make sure we’re good.” Anna took a couple of steps backward, but her eyes raised to look Esme in the eye, finally.



Cason sighed at Nat’s continued worried voice, even if she seemed to be turning that worry toward Duke. Cason could tell that she was not happy he came back in damaged clothing, with blood all over him. It was an oversight he would have to remember if he was ever in the situation again. He didn’t acknowledge her worry, simply watching her take her deep breaths, and calm herself. As she opened her eyes, Cason allowed his shoulders to relax, and he pulled his hands down from her face to her neck, brushing his right thumb across her jaw.

Her words caused his head to flash and sear, and he swallowed heavily, but gave a small smile, “I honestly don’t know what you’ve done without me all this time, but you got me now, as long as you’ll have me.”

Cason followed her eyes back to Dean, and he sighed, looking over Dean’s face for a few seconds, before shaking his head a bit, “There’s no way to really help him but to be present, I guess. He’s gotta get through it. Everyone…in this house is going to have to get through it. I hate it, too.”

Cason brought his hand to the back of Nat’s head, and he stroked his fingers through her hair as she leaned against him. He watched Dean’s breathing as he lay there and he tilted his head, “And waking up is going to be the hardest part. I really don’t think that it matters where it happens. He’s going to wake up, and for a few minutes, none of it will be real. When it becomes real, it’s going to hit him the same. But Duke is okay, which he may not realize at first…is a good thing. And he still has you. He still has Sam. He’s not alone. He will need someone to remind him of that.”

As Cason finished his sentence, he winced, as Dean shifted on the bed. Dean groaned a bit, and his swollen eyes fluttered open, just staring at the ceiling.

“Just relax, alright?” Cason called out, letting Dean know he wasn’t alone. Dean groaned and brought his bruised arm over his eyes, his head pounding as if he had been hit by a truck. He couldn’t honestly remember much, other than Duke being aggressive, and he could vaguely remember the fight. Obviously…the fight hadn’t gone well.

“Where’s Duke? Did he run off?” Dean croaked out. Cason reached down, grabbing Nat’s shoulders and pulled her away from himself, just enough that he could nod toward Dean, gesturing for her to be with him, if he needed her.

NATALIA

Nat truly didn't know how she had survived or coped without Cason all this time, and in some ways she was almost glad that she had forgotten he was such a pivotal part of her survival before Sam and Dean came along as she had, for the last few days, realised that if she hadn't forgotten him, her mind would be in a much worse state and she probably wouldn't have survived as long as she had so far. She was reckless enough as it was, she couldn't imagine how much worse she would have been trying to find him if she hadn't forgotten him. It was moments like this that made her grow regrets in giving him such aggravation when they reunited, or in her situation, met again for the first time. As his thumb ran against her jaw, she instinctively leaned into his touch as she saw him take a deep gulp but smile whilst also not knowing what she's done without him all this time. "I'll always have you Cason" she confirmed before she took her glance back over at Dean to check on him.

Deep down, she knew Cason was right when it came to Dean. All they could do was be there for him and make sure he doesn't do a Duke and find ways to get himself killed on a hunt, but it didn't mean she liked that plan. She also felt like she needed to do more for Dean to prove she did forgive him and be a better sister to him. She listened to Cason's words about how Dean will no doubt be when he wakes up and she did think he had very valid points. Yet there was still a part of her that felt if any room in this house would affect Dean the worst, it would be this room he always shared with Mika. It may have been officially HER room, but Nat knew how much Mika considered THEIR room. She just hoped all the hiding of pictures that Anna did earlier would help matters. "I guess that's true..." she finally said, unaware that Dean was stirring awake as she was yet again not looking at him. It was only when she heard Cason say what he did, that she began to get an idea it wasn't her he was telling to relax.

She only turned to look at Dean when Cason pulled her slightly away from him and nod toward her brother. Taking that hint as it was intended, she turned round fully and looked at Dean before stepping over and perching on the edge of the bed next to him. "he did but he's back now thanks to Cason and Esme. He's alright by all accounts, but you don't need to be worrying about Duke right now" she told him softly. "I'm more concerned about you right now, how you feeling now you've slept?" she asked him, trying not to coddle him but also wanting him to know she was worried about him. She also knew that she would have to tell him that Sam was truly wanting to start the process of wrapping Mika's body and begin the set up for the hunter's funeral, even if she didn't know for certain that he had already begun that process. She just didn't know how to tell Dean that.

She just hoped Dean wouldn't put up another fight about it all and in the morning would just let the funeral happen with no arguments.

MIKA

In the dark, Mika remained close to the bird that still laid weak and dying beside her. She was feeling weak herself, the longer she stayed but the bird was her only source of any kind of warmth in this abyss of a place. The sounds remained with no obvious sign of a figure to go with said sounds, but the closer they got, she knew it would possibly not be long before they did see what was making those sounds. Hugging herself on the ground, she kept trying to keep Dean's face in her mind and thoughts, along with the rest of her family, hoping that none of them would break apart without her in their lives. She wanted them to look after each other and not fight, but she also knew her boys far too well for that to truly be a reality.

"I'm not sure I can keep holding on any longer...I'm so tired" she commented weakly. "Don't give up child...for I am here and I will not let you stay in this forsaken land. You don't belong here, I swore years ago to forever protect you and I will keep my promise" the bird swore. Mika couldn't understand what the bird possibly meant by her words because as she saw it, whether she belonged here or not, she was here either way and was never going to be back in the living world. As much as that realisation hurt her, she felt she had no choice but to accept it somehow.

It was at that point, the noises got too close for comfort and she knew she had to try and run all over again. "Get up my child..." the bird said, using it's wing to get Mika up onto her feet. "I'll be right behind you" it said, pushing Mika to start moving and that was exactly what she did...move. Every step was a challenge but she kept moving, trying to pick up speed but every time she did, she began to stumble. "I can't do this..." she whimpered.

Hearing Duke laugh at her statement before Anna showed up brought some relief to Esme. If she could make him laugh at a time like this, it showed her that he wasn’t too far gone mentally, like she feared he might be. His reply caused her to hold back her laughter a little. She could see herself positioned between Duke and the others, and fighting anyone who got too close to her or took a swing at Duke. She didn’t like the idea of taking on any member of their group, but she definitely would if she had to. Which made her slightly wonder, who would look the worse after a fight like that, and if any of them would actually take her on. She had quickly shaken the thoughts from her mind as Anna approached and spoke to them. Esme watched Anna’s movements and the way she avoided looking her in the eye, but at least she answered her question. She also took note of how she briefly made eye contact with Duke, telling her that Duke hadn’t scared Anna as much as they had thought. But her using magic and everyone knowing she was human seemed to hit quite differently.

Esme couldn’t help but let this bother her a little, even though Anna had every right to be wary of her. She sighed inwardly, just barely catching the words spoken between Duke and Anna. Her mind had begun to wander as she stood there. She knew Duke accepted her, and Dean had shown he did too, but what about the others? What did they truly think about her now that they knew? Esme was pulled back to the conversation when Anna addressed them both, and then her. She nodded softly after finally making eye contact with Anna. “He’s lucky to have you, Anna.” she started softly. “Of course, I’d like that…. And yes, we’re good.” Esme smiled warmly at Anna, doing her best to show she meant what she said. She would hate it if anything came between their friendship. In the short time they had known each other, she had grown quite fond of the girl. If they spent more time together, she could see their friendship blossom into a more sisterly bond. Esme didn’t turn back to Duke until Anna left to go back to Sam. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily as she shook her head.

“Looks like I was the scariest out of the two of us this time.” she said softly to Duke. “It’s a strange feeling having someone other than a demon be afraid of me…. I guess my actions at the warehouse affected her more than I thought.” Esme’s voice trailed off a bit at the end of her sentence. Opening her eyes, she looked up at Duke, a small, slightly forced smile resting on her lips. “I’ll explain later. Let’s grab some clean clothes and get cleaned up first.” She fully intended to explain everything to him, even if she was a little nervous about how he’d take the news, but she wanted to get the remnants of their bad night off of her first. Without another word, Esme took Duke’s good hand into hers and led the way to the RV to gather their clean clothes so they could take a shower. Other than wanting to shower, she wanted this night to be over; she also wanted to forget about everything that had happened the past three or four days, but that wasn’t happening. There was no way she could forget about any of it, especially the fact that they had lost Mika and the news she had received from the demons.

It was all etched into her memory, and the words of the demons continued to ring in her ears. There was no escaping any of it. Esme still wasn’t sure just how much of what they said she truly believed. She still needed to talk to her godmother about it all, but she was hesitant about that as well. She knew the woman would want to take her and lock her away from the world to keep her safe, just like she did after pulling her out of the asylum those years ago. When Esme and Duke were just feet from the RV, Esme let go of Duke’s hand and turned when she heard the sound of heavy footsteps quickly coming at them, and held up her hands in front of herself. “Sarah, slow down!” she said to the Hellhound. But it was too late, Sarah came sliding across the gravel and slammed into her. Esme hit the ground with a grunt and groan as Sarah landed on top of her. Sarah then proceeded to nuzzle Esme’s face as she whined, happy she was back. Esme groaned as she placed her hands on Sarah and patted her sides as she lightly laughed at the Hellhound’s affection.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry I worried you, girl.” Esme said in a slightly strained soothing tone. “Next time we go on a recovery mission, you can go with us.” she whispered to Sarah. “I could have really used your help tonight.” Esme then moved her hands up to Sarah’s head and scratched behind her ears and the top of her head. “If I had you there tonight, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up in such a rough state.” Sarah gave a light growl in response and laid her head on Esme’s uninjured shoulder and nuzzled into her once more. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next time.” Esme laughed softly as she patted Sarah’s head.

Duke watched the awkward interaction between Esme and Anna, and his heart hurt a bit. He could tell that something had happened between them, and he couldn’t quite place it, but Anna seemed shaken. As Anna turned her eyes back between the two of them, and then turned and walked back toward the basement, Duke reached his good hand out and ran the backs of his fingers down Esme’s arm. He tilted his head as Esme spoke, genuinely curious about what had happened in the warehouse. Duke could barely even remember the warehouse, and what he could remember made his stomach lurch painfully. Swallowing down the sudden wave of anxiety and grief, he took a deep breath.

“We definitely need to unpack what all of that means.” Duke muttered, forcing himself to match Esme’s smile. When she confirmed that they would talk about things later, Duke simply nodded, neither having the energy to force the conversation nor the want to make Esme upset after the night they had just gone through. Wrapping his fingers around hers as her hand slipped into his, Duke walked with Esme to the RV. She seemed lost in thought and at that moment, being lost in thought was a fear of Duke’s.

The gravel moving under Sarah’s feet as she ran across the lot caused Duke to turn, but as usual, he couldn’t see her. It was only confirmed to be Sarah when Esme fell to the ground, and began attempting to calm Sarah down.

“I swear, I’ll never get used to that.” Duke grumbled, shaking his head. He stepped around them both, and turned to take a seat on the steps of the RV. To his surprise, Sarah took a break, just long enough to stand and nudge Duke’s face, before turning her attention back to Esme, which caused Duke to freeze, “And now the Hellhound has decided she likes me. I don’t know what I need more…a shower or a stiff drink.”



Dean could barely move, because every time he blinked it seemed to hurt. He was almost afraid to move any of his limbs. He wasn’t sure if they were all still there. It was one of the worst fights he could remember having with anyone, even if there were parts he couldn’t remember at all. When Nat confirmed that Duke was okay, but had run off, Dean sighed and closed his eyes.

In the calm of being freshly awake, Dean wasn’t even angry with Duke. It was a strange feeling, going from being willing to kill the best friend he had ever had to feeling an intense guilt in the pit of his stomach. But Nat was right, he couldn’t really do anything to make it better when it was this fresh.

Dean carefully raised his arm and pressed it against his sore forehead, groaning quietly at the sudden movement.

“I um…I feel like I got hit by a truck. Actually, I feel like I died…again.” He sighed, and Cason crossed his arms and stepped forward.

“You got in a grief fight with someone who loves you. That tends to be a pretty brutal endeavor.” Cason explained, causing Dean to open one eye and glance at him, as if he was speaking out of pocket, “Don’t look at me like that. If you fight someone you hate, you want the fight to be over as soon as possible. With someone you don’t hate, it tends to be more…prolonged. You guys wore each other out, or it would have probably been a lot worse. Trust me. Duke was a lot easier to bring down when I found him, than I expected, and he still stabbed me. I had to break his arm. Oh yeah…by the way…I broke his arm.”

Cason turned and pointed at Nat as he confirmed that he hadn’t quite brought Duke back in one piece, but had at least brought him back alive and awake.

“And he’s still walking around. He had a lot of pent up rage going on, but he’s okay. So, don’t worry about him. What we should do is call your angel buddy and…”

“No. No angels.” Dean stopped Cason dead in his tracks, shaking his head. “Angels got us into this mess. No angels. I’ll be fine.”

“You’re in pretty rough shape, Dean…”

“I said no angels! Screw the angels.” Dean raised his voice, causing Cason to sigh and place his hands on his hips in frustration. But he conceded and simply gave a nod and a shrug as if to say ‘alright. Whatever you want.’



Anna stepped into the basement, crossing her arms the second she came across the threshold of the panic room. She just stood there for a moment, before deciding to try and move Sam, “So, Duke and Esme are back. Duke looks…alright, considering, but I think he broke his arm or Cason broke his arm? I don’t know. Either way, I think….I think you should get some rest. I don’t care where we go, but I think you should rest…with me.”

Seeing Duke and Esme together had given Anna a bit of bravery to attempt to ‘tough love’ Sam into taking care of himself. She didn’t know how Esme and Cason were able to bring Duke back, but Duke seemed, at the least, calm. Considering how he had left, it seemed like he would be okay. And Sam was the only one who wasn’t resting or taking care of himself.

“I don’t know if I’m willing to take ‘no’ for an answer.” She carefully muttered, kicking her boot against the dusty floor as she turned her eyes up to look at Sam, and hopefully sway him to find a car or a couch or even a patch of grass to relax on.