[h2]Esme[/h2]
Esme saw Duke frown at her two-part answer. She knew that he was worried about the same thing she was, that Mika being back wouldn’t last. It kind of felt like a temporary fix just to mess with them, or if they didn’t do as they were told, she’d be gone again. This wasn’t something she wanted to think about, but it was there nonetheless. She shoved it to the back of her mind, not wanting to give the thoughts the light of day and wanting her thoughts to remain positive. Esme couldn’t bring herself to think about Mika dying again and how it would affect Duke, Dean, and the others. When Duke spoke, it pulled her from her thoughts, and she looked into his eyes, nodding to his words. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.” she responded with a light smile. She followed his gaze as he looked at Dean and Mika, then the rest of the room, noticing the others had left the room. Leaving herself, Duke, and Bobby in the room with Dean and Mika. “Yeah, I think it’s best if we do the same.” Esme returned her gaze to his eyes as he pulled her arms from around his body and slid his hands into hers. As he walked backwards, she followed. 

She smiled warmly as he kept eye contact with her and guided her steps to the back door. She followed him through the back door and was blinded by a bright light. When her vision cleared, Duke was no longer with her. Esme found herself standing in a large bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. She had a full face of makeup, her hair done nicely, and was in a towel. Something felt off, but before she could determine why, there was a whine behind her. She turned and looked at the large dog behind her, a black Northern Inuit Dog with amber eyes. “I’m alright.” she spoke softly, as she reached out and petted its head. Esme then crossed the bathroom and walked out, looking over at the bed when she heard snoring. “He’s still asleep.” she grumbled. Walking over to the bed, she slapped it. “Dean! Get your ass up, we're going to be late for work!” she yelled. She then headed to the closet to get dressed. As she searched for her outfit, she spoke to her dog, who followed her into the huge closet. “Sarah, go make sure he’s getting up.” Sarah barked and trotted out of the closet and over to Dean’s side of the bed. 

Sarah barked once before jumping up and planting her paws in Dean’s back and shoving him to get him up and out of bed. Meanwhile, in the closet, Esme had found her outfit, a smoky gray pant suit with a white button-up blouse, and was putting it on. Once dressed, she sat on the chair in the corner and put on her black heels. Picking up her towel, she walked out and straight to the bathroom to hang up her towel to dry. On her way out, she took another look in the mirror, made a few adjustments to her hair and outfit, then walked out. Esme crossed the bedroom and then walked out the door, headed downstairs, and to the kitchen to get coffee. Once in the kitchen, she made quick work of grabbing a cup of coffee that had just finished brewing, then grabbed a bagel and tossed it in the toaster. While it toasted, she grabbed the cream cheese from the fridge and set it on the counter, then took a sip of her coffee while she waited for her bagel to toast. 


[h2]Rosie[/h2]
Rosie sat in the backseat of the car, poring over her notes in an open folder on her lap. She grew increasingly irritated as her driver fought his way through traffic. She should have been with Natalia at the concert thirty minutes ago, but the traffic was so heavy they were almost sitting still. Rosie was half tempted to flag down one of the passing bikes or motorcycles that went by. Before she could completely convince herself that it was her best option, the traffic began to move at a somewhat decent pace. Her driver weaved through the cars at opportune moments, then detoured after coming across a traffic officer who opened a barricade for them. They made their way through a parking lot, around more traffic, and then around to the back of the concert building. As the car came to a stop, Rosie gathered her papers, shut the folder, and shoved it into her bag. By the time she had done that, her door opened and she stepped out of the car. “Would you like an escort in, Miss Rosie? It looks like it could be pretty hectic in there.” her driver asked. Rosie softly shook her head with a small, warm smile. “Thank you, Braden, but that won’t be necessary. I’ll be fine.”

Braden chuckled and nodded his head. “I know, but I still wanted to offer. I know you’ll push your way through, and if anyone steps out of line, you’ll give them a “what for.” Rosie nodded, laughing herself. “You’re damn right I will.” she replied. “But if you want to park the car real quick and come with me for backup, be my guest.” “Oh, no. I’m leaving that all up to you. I don’t want to get mistaken for someone who upset you.” They both laughed for a moment, then Rosie put her bag over her shoulder and walked to the door. After showing her credentials, she was let in, and she made her way to where she was supposed to meet Natalia almost an hour ago. She was making her way down the corridor when a woman came up to her and told her that Natalia and her bodyguards were held up in a room waiting for security to control the press. “What? Where the hell is the security we asked for?! They should have been here hours ago!” Rosie said angrily. “I’m sorry, I know they should never have gotten into the building, but security is on the way.”

“They better be! Now take me to where Nat is!” Rosie demanded. “Yes, Ma’am, but it’s going to be difficult getting into the room.” the woman said, a little stress showing in her tone. “You leave that part to me. I have ways of getting through a crowd.” Rosie followed closely behind the woman down the corridors and to where the crowd had gathered to catch a glimpse of Natalia. She sighed heavily in irritation as she looked at the crowd. The chatter coming from the crowd was almost deafening. “Alright, people, move it or lose it!” she yelled over their voices. She then began to push her way through, as she continued to tell people to move. When it got to where no one would move, she pulled out her air horn, held it over her head, and pressed the button. That did the trick; they all cowered and covered their ears from the loud noise. Releasing the button, she pushed on through the crowd, that was until she was stopped by a tall man, who tried to try his luck in sweet-talking her to let him talk to Natalia. When he failed to get the answer he wanted, he tried flirting and getting a bit handsy. 

He failed miserably again and ended up getting a knee to his groin and a fist in the face. With the man on his knees, Rosie closed the distance between herself and the door. She knocked on the door a couple of times with her fist. “It’s Rosie! Let me in!” she called through the door, putting the air horn back in her bag. Once the door was opened for her, she walked in and sighed heavily. Rosie straightened and smoothed out her outfit and her hair before looking at the three in the room. “The people here are seriously slacking on the job. I was told security is on the way, but I’m not sure how much I believe that.” she said, mostly talking to the two men. Her eyes then fell on Natalia. “You alright, Nat?” her tone held a mixture of concern and irritation. As Rosie stood there, she brought her right hand up and lightly massaged it and her fingers with her left hand.