[h2]Esme[/h2]
Esme continued to watch Duke from where she sat. She saw his shoulders relax and was well aware of how hearing his nickname from her affected him. She could never have imagined him waking up without her at his side would cause him to feel this much fear. She could understand a little, but not this much. It made her feel awful for falling asleep against Sarah and not putting up more of a fight to get back to the RV. Sending him into a state of panic and fear was one of the last things she ever wanted to do to him. Esme’s gaze was soft as she watched him limp towards her, eyes never leaving him, then they softened more into a look of apology as she saw the tears in his eyes. She had made Duke feel helpless in his physical state. If something had happened, there was nothing he could have done to come after her or help her. This made her feel even more awful as she kept her eyes on him. Tears stung her eyes for how awful she felt for putting him through all this, especially for what was to come later in the day. 

It wasn't until Duke was standing next to her did she noticed that he had opened some of his wounds, but before she could say anything about them, he spoke. “I’m sorry, I….” Esme was cut off by him stumbling in the grass and falling to his knees, and she held out her hands to catch him. Before she knew it, he had her caged in and then leaned her back into Sarah, causing her to gasp lightly. Then, after scanning her face, he kissed her. Closing her eyes, Esme kissed him back just as deeply and worked her arms around him to hold him close. Through her kiss and embrace, she did her best to convey she was sorry for scaring him and that she was alright. When the kiss was broken, she opened her eyes and looked up into Duke's face, taking in his question. She sighed softly as she removed one of her hands from him and reached for her jacket, and grabbed it after Sarah pushed it into her hand. Digging into a pocket, she pulled out a bandana. She did all this without losing eye contact with him. Esme then gently took care of the bleeding wounds as she spoke softly.

“I didn’t mean to sleep out here…. I woke up last night from dreams and couldn’t go back to sleep. I didn’t want to wake you, so I went out for some air.” she told him as she continued to tend to his bleeding wounds. “I then went to the…. The panic room. I felt I needed to. I got worked up and scared Bobby in the process. I left the panic room and needed a way to release it all without waking anyone. So, I came out here and beat the hell out of some mannequins until I could barely lift my arms. I had planned to come back to the RV after I caught my breath. Cason found me out here, and we talked a bit, and Sarah forced me to lie against her and rest. Things got so calm with her curled around me, I fell asleep against her.” Bringing up her free hand, she brushed his hair from his face before cupping his cheek and rubbing it gently with her thumb. “I’m okay.” Esme then pulled his face back to her, kissing his forehead before kissing him deeply. She then wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer to her.

Esme didn’t want him to feel what the day would bring just yet, she just wanted him to feel the relief of having her there in his arms and the love they both shared for each other. She also wasn’t ready to feel all the emotions that the day would bring once she pulled herself away from Sarah. However, she knew they couldn’t stay here forever and would eventually have to get up and face the day's events.