[h3] Duke and Anna [/h3]

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 Duke narrowed his eyes a bit at Anna’s demeanor, noticing that she seemed a bit withdrawn from Esme, and although she looked up at her and nodded with a polite smile, she didn’t seem to want to make eye contact.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.

[h3] Cason and Dean [/h3] 

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.