[h2]Esme[/h2]
Esme watched Duke go to Mika without hesitation. Once he had Mika wrapped in his arms, Esme’s legs grew weak, and she sank to the gravel and onto her knees. Sarah quickly moved her body around Esme to keep her from falling forward or back into the gravel. “Thanks, Sarah.” she whispered as she lowered herself onto the gravel and leaned into Sarah. She brought her hand to her aching chest, her eyes never leaving the moment between Mika and Duke. Her eyes slowly shifted to Dean when he moved and joined them. A tired smile came to her lips at the moment between the three. When Duke leaned back and let Dean hug Mika, her smile grew a little more. Esme closed her eyes and leaned more into Sarah, feeling the calm that came with being wrapped with her body. However, she could still feel Duke’s emotions strongly. The question of why she still felt them wasn't even running through her mind; she already knew why. She sighed heavily as she sat with Sarah. The feeling of confusion and relief to have Mika back was more welcoming than the sadness, loss, and grief that had been bearing down on her before. 

Esme opened her eyes when she heard Cason step away from Natalia. She watched as she made his way over to the men and Mika, taking it upon himself to get Mika into the house since both men and Bobby were in no shape to do so. Out of everyone, Esme felt that Cason was the best one to get Mika inside out of the cold. When Cason scooped up Mika, she stared past everyone, not noticing when they all headed inside. Her thoughts drifted back to everything that had happened before and after Mika’s fiery resurrection. It all still confused the hell out of her. However, the more the funeral played in her mind, the more the idea of Mika having a Phoenix attached to her made sense. She wished this were the case with her, having some sort of mythical creature attached to her, but she was sure she didn't. It was just something she felt deep down within her. Plus, was it even possible for her to be an Empath and something else? Yes, she knew she wasn't human, but what did that mean she was? She knew she was human before getting kidnapped by the demons from the asylum. What did they do that changed that?

The longer Esme sat there alone with Sarah, the more her thoughts got the best of her. They went between things about Mika,  things about herself, and things she had heard from the demons she fought and killed. How much of what she heard from those demons was true, she had no idea, but she was determined to find out if it was the last thing she did. Sarah, sensing something was off, nuzzled Esme’s face, but when she didn’t respond, Sarah nudged Esme’s side, then a little rougher when she didn’t respond. Esme came out of her thoughts with a flinch and a sharp breath in. Gathering herself, she noticed she and Sarah were now outside alone, causing her to sigh heavily. Sarah nuzzled her head into Esme’s stomach with a soft whine, and Esme placed her hand on Sarah’s head. “I’ll be okay.” she breathed. “I should get inside, too. I’m starting to get pretty cold out here.” With Sarah’s help, Esme got to her feet and headed inside, then found a place along a wall that gave Sarah enough room to stay by her side. Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned silently against the wall, watching as Duke and Dean hovered around Mika.