[h3] Dean [/h3]

Dean settled in on the couch as Mika continued to process even being alive. He could tell that there were a lot of emotions bubbling under the surface that were threatening to explode. That was something Mika would normally never let out in front of the rest of the group, and was, in itself, worrying. Dean pulled the blanket back, not asking permission, and pulled it over himself. He wrapped his arms around Mika’s legs, and pulled them into his lap, while shaking his head.

“No. No apologizing. There’s a lot. It’s a lot.” Dean explained, taking a deep breath, before pulling Mika’s body into his, rubbing her arm to warm her up, “But it’s not your fault. I want accept an apology because you’re here. You’re alright.”

As he looked around the room, he noticed that everyone was hovering, either with their eyes, ears or just in general. No one really knew what was appropriate in this situation. They had a million questions, but didn’t know if they could ask them. They were worried about Mika, but were relieved she was alive. They didn’t want to leave her alone, but didn’t want to crowd her…even though they were.

“Hey Cason?” Dean called out to Cason, who was standing with Natalia. Cason had just reached an arm around Nat, rubbing his hand up and down her back, but he raised his eyebrows to acknowledge Dean, “Why don’t we try to give her some space. Maybe get the bathroom ready for a shower?”

“Alright. We can go run some bathwater, and grab some towels.” Cason shrugged, pulling Nat with him, as Dean turned his attention back to Mika, but then to Sam and Anna.

“Let’s just make sure we aren’t gossiping too much, yeah?” He met Sam’s eyes, tilting his head to tell Sam that if anyone else was going to have conversations about deals or Mika’s resurrection, they needed to take them outside. He turned his eyes back to Mika and took a deep breath, “Now. We have some room, and I want to make sure you’re good. Do you feel anything? Remember anything?”

[h3] Anna [/h3]

Anna scanned Sam’s face when he said that he didn’t make a deal. She didn’t honestly think he had, but seeing the honesty in his eyes as he spoke was a relief. They weren’t looking down the barrel of the ‘going to hell’ shotgun all over again. It seemed, at least for the moment, that everyone was safe. The group was back together, fully, and okay.

“I believe you.” Anna whispered, clearing her throat before following his eyes back to Mika and Dean. Dean’s scolding them caused Anna to take a deep breath, but she nodded. They shouldn’t be putting more thoughts in Mika’s head than were already there. If anything, they should all give her some space. Anna turned her eyes back up to Sam’s face and she pulled her arm from him, crossing her arms, “M-maybe we should go gather Mika some clothes or something? Something useful other than just sitting here staring at her like she’s a zoo animal…”

Without saying much else, Anna tapped her foot a few times and then nodded her head toward the stairs, “C’mon.”

She walked up the stairs with Sam behind her, reaching for the doorknob of the bedroom, once she was at the top. As soon as she opened the door, and stepped through the threshold, suddenly they were no longer in Bobby’s house. They were standing in a bustling office. Anna glanced down at her body, feeling as if something had changed, but as she ran her hands down her crisp white button up shirt, she turned to look up at Sam with a bright smile.

“Follow any closer, Ranger Smith and we’re gonna stick together like glue!” She giggled with a southern drawl she didn’t previously have. Sam was now dressed in modern western gear, a gun belt strapped around his waist and a large white cowboy hat sat on top of his head. 

[h3] Cason [/h3]

Cason turned with Nat and walked toward Bobby’s room. Maybe getting Mika into a warm bath would settle her down enough for the group to have a conversation about what had happened. It was all moving so fast that Cason worried Mika would be the one to bolt as soon as she could get her legs under her.

“Maybe a bath will give her time to…quietly process things. I can tell she’s more than overwhelmed. More overwhelmed than any of us…apart from Dean.” Cason grumbled, as he pulled his sleeve over his hand and opened the bedroom door. The second he stepped through, camera flashes nearly blinded him, and for a moment he was confused. But he quickly snapped into character, another, taller man barking orders next to him. The orders were jumbled at first, becoming more clear as Cason looked over at him.

“Cason! I said we need to hunker down for a bit. C’mon.” The man barked at him, dragging Nat with him as he opened a door in the cement corridor they were walking through. As soon as they were behind the door and it closed behind them, the southern guy shouted and took a deep and aggressive breath, “That was crazy, right?! I mean, we need to wait for security at the venue to clear them out or they would have eaten her alive…Jesus. It’s gettin’ harder to do this as a two person team.”

“You could say that again…” Cason grumbled with a frown, his mind buzzing with the feeling that something wasn’t right. But when he turned to Nat, he noticed her hair was a bit messed up from the chaos in the hall, and he quickly stepped over to her, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “You alright? They didn’t touch you, right?”

[h3] Duke [/h3]

Duke could tell that Esme was practically basking in the quiet in her brain, and he felt proud of himself for being the one to put it there. He just let her bask in it for a bit, before she finally answered him. Part of her answer caused him to chuckle softly, as he shrugged. The other part of her answer caused him to frown and his stomach to dip. He didn’t want to think about the fact that this may be some temporary fix to just mess with the group. They could be bringing Mika back to life, only to kill her the second someone stepped the wrong way or didn’t follow orders. He refused to entertain the thought very long when he was just getting his mind back.

“How about…since it seems like Dean doesn’t want to give anyone any room to ask any questions, I steal Mika away here in a little bit and I ask her all those burning questions myself. And we go get some air? Just me and you? Might be nice and quiet.” Duke smirked at the end of his recommendation, turning to glance at Mika and Dean. He looked around the rest of the room, noticing that he, Esme and Bobby were the only ones left other than Dean and Mika. “Besides, it looks like everyone is trying to give them some space.”

Carefully, Duke pulled Esme’s arms from around his body, sliding his hands down to her hands, as he walked backward, guiding Esme’s footsteps. Sarah followed close behind her. He kept eye contact with her the entire time, until he pushed himself through the back door and suddenly a phone rang. Duke jolted, as if he had been electrocuted. Esme was gone, and he was sitting on the edge of a desk in what looked like an office.

“Jace, did you hear me?” Anna’s voice called out.

“Hmm?” Duke raised his eyebrows and glanced down at her, now seeing his best friend on the planet sitting in front of a computer, his cowboy hat next to her.

“I said do you want to get some lunch or do you want to wait until we head home?” 

“Hell, I don’t know. Sam, what do you got goin’ on this evenin’? Wanna come over for some BBQ?” He teased, calling out to Sam while waggling his eyebrows at Anna. Anna’s eyes went wide and she slapped him in the chest for the offer. She had been crushing on Captain Smith for over a year. Inviting him over…was war.

“I will kill you. The house is a mess, Jason…” Anna hid behind her computer screen, trying to hide the red in her cheeks.