JustAnna

All Roads Lead To You

Duke and Dean

Duke glanced over at Dean when Esme stated that she not only didn’t want them to work on her car, but also that she didn’t want to deal with their fighting anymore. He tilted his head in a way that said ‘see what you did?’ And straightened his cowboy hat. Dean had always been one to give Esme space, if she needed it. Even when he was hovering over her injuries or wellbeing, he was still willing to give her air. He knew this couldn’t be easy for her, being taken care of, and basically being on house arrest while she wasn’t super mobile.

He watched her stand up and took a deep breath, going back to his food. But Duke wiped his hands on his jeans and slapped a hand on the table next to Dean with a knowing look, “You know you’re supposed to run after the girl when she’s upset and needs air…right? Don’t kick me or so help me I will beat your ass in this kitchen and apologize to Bobby later.”

“I’m not gonna kick you. She wants space. I give her space. It’s what keeps things…kosher.” Dean explained, gesturing with his hands to punctuate his statement. Duke scoffed and shook his head, standing from his chair suddenly. “Where the hell are you going?”

“I’m gonna go out there and I’m gonna talk to that girl. She seems like she needs an ear…” Duke stated simply, not smiling at Dean which weirded him out. He narrowed his eyes at Duke and leaned back in his chair, watching his best friend leave the kitchen, straight for the front door.

Duke stepped out the front door and carefully closed it behind him. He rolled his bare shoulders, and without making any more noise than necessary, he slowly stepped down the steps next to Esme and then sat down, not saying a word for a bit. After the awkward silence, he couldn’t handle it anymore and looked up from his folded hands, staring across the vast yard, “So, you wanna talk about it? What happened yesterday, I mean. You’re pretty busted up and I’m here if you wanna…talk about it.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna sighed, scrunching her nose to try to quell the tears as Sam said everything she could possibly want to hear. He was in the same boat with Hell that she was. He was chased by the same brand of demon that she was. His fate was basically written for him, and ended the same way as hers. As he finished, Anna’s breath caught in her throat and she wasn’t even sure she could get it back if she tried.

“You go down, then I’m going down with you.”

The words echoed in her mind a few times as she stared at him. She didn’t want him to die with her. She didn’t want him to die at all. She just wanted him to be safe, and to not blindly follow his brother but the idea that he would be careful if it meant making her comfortable made her heart flutter, her heartbeat breaking contact with his, which was rare when they were together.

Not only had he just admitted that he refused to live without her, and fully planned to ‘blaze of glory’ things to die with her, but he also admitted that she was the love of his life. That was something that seemed so petty in the moment, but to Anna…it was overwhelmingly open for Sam. It was the most open he had ever been with her.

Taking a deep breath, Anna unfolded her legs, her brain trying to decide how to handle the rage of emotions in her mind. Every part of her wanted to run away, just open the door and run. But a small part of her mind kept her in place, stuck. Maybe it was their hearts which were hammering in unison, or the demon blood calling to the demon blood in his veins. She couldn’t place it.

After a moment of thinking it over, she moved onto her knees and her hands came up to brush through the hair behind both his ears, a gesture that had always comforted her when they slept together, quieting the images and voices in both their minds. She clenched his hair in both hands, and pressed her forehead to his tightly, “I’m with you.”

Dean

Dean flinched, having to force himself to keep his eyes open at Esme’s sudden outburst toward him. He nodded at her proposal to burn the asylum down. He was more than happy to let her, but her next words struck him a bit. Why couldn’t she go with him? What had he done that was so bad she couldn’t come home with him? Even when they weren’t together, off and on all those years ago, there wasn’t a single moment that she wouldn’t have followed him out of this room.

And then it came.

Duke was dead. He had died in the hospital and none of them knew, except Esme, who had stayed with him. Cason turned his eyes down to the floor and Dean shook his head in disbelief, his eyes filling with tears as she stared at Esme. Everything inside of him wanted to scream, or kill something, or go and try to make a deal for the one person in this world that deserved a chance. Duke deserved a chance to be happy, and for a moment he was. He and Esme both were. But that moment was over, and Dean’s heart shattered in that moment.

“Esme…” Dean started, but Esme’s voice grew louder as she continued the ascent into exploding. He watched her, his breathing uneven as the tears took over his eyes and began to fall down his face. He would save her, if he had to go down with her.

When she warned them to leave, Cason recognized what was happening immediately, and he nodded, grabbing Dean’s arm to pull him through the door. “Let’s go. Dean let’s go.”

“NO! You go. You take care of my sister. You get Mika out of here. You go.” Dean ordered Cason, shoving him toward the door. Cason stared at him with wide eyes, astounded and in disbelief. Cason grabbed the collar of Dean’s jacket, trying one more time to convince him to come with him and when Dean turned and made eye contact with him, his eyes flooded in tears, Cason sighed and disappeared.

Dean instantly ran over to Esme, reaching back to shove Ruby’s knife in the back of his jeans. He then stepped up to her, ignoring the heat that was radiating off her skin. If he burned, he burned, but he wasn’t letting her die alone.

“Please…” Dean begged her, raising his shaky hands to place them on her nearly fire hot cheeks so that he could try and get through to her. His first instinct was to pull his hands back, the second he felt the heat, but he refused. “Please come with me. Please. I’m not leaving here without you. If you jump…I jump. Remember that? I still believe that. I still believe that, Esme. You can burn this place down. You can blow it to pieces…but not like this. I will help you burn it down. I will light the fire myself.”

Dean closed his eyes tightly and looked down, a little more afraid than he would let on. He was probably about to die in this place, which seemed poetic, considering Natalia’s history there. Taking a deep breath, Dean whimpered quietly, a tear trailing down his cheek, “Just please come with me. Don’t jump…If you can’t do it for me, do it for Duke. He wouldn’t want us to go out this way.”

Cason

Cason landed in front of the Impala, without Dean. He knew what that meant and he knew what was coming next. He instantly stomped toward Mika, no emotion on his face as he wrapped an arm around her and pushed her back toward the car. “Get in the car.”

His words were simple, but told everything. Dean wasn’t coming with him. Chances were, Dean was going to die in the asylum, being the self sacrificing idiot he tended to be. But he had made a promise to Dean, and he had made a promise to Nat a long time ago. Both these girls were leaving with him.

“Get in the car. Nat, get in the car.” Cason repeated, opening the backseat of the car for them both to get inside. He turned back to Mika and grabbed her wrist. “I will break your legs if I have to but you have to get in the car!”

He stood next to the Impala, waiting for the girls to follow orders, which he was expecting a massive fight with. Glancing up at the asylum windows, he saw the glow from the room he had just escaped, and a pang of regret flooded the back of his head, the human emotion burning like acid. There was no way that the wayward group would survive losing Dean Winchester…as much as he wanted to murder the guy.

Tempted To Try Again (Fandom stuff)

@MegaraFoxfire Why did I miss your reply?! If you want, maybe we can talk ideas over via DM?

All Roads Lead To You

Dean and Duke

Dean watched Esme carefully as she nursed her coffee, and then seemed to be thinking of something. He was ready to ask what it was, and kick Duke one more time for good measure, when Esme replied to Duke and shut him up for the moment. Duke was one that would try to win her over with a bright smile, his best pretty boy blue eyes stare. It was like a damn super power with the kid, and women.

When Esme mentioned her car, Dean shook himself out of his thoughts and nodded, wincing with her as she iced her face. He wished there was some magic cure for the injuries they tended to come home with. Not just for the moment, when he wanted her to just…be okay, but also, it would make hunting more efficient. That was something to have Bobby research later on. He made a mental note and cleared his throat.

“I can take a look at it.” Dean spoke finally, and Duke quickly turned to look at him, his smile fading a bit as he scanned Dean’s face and then turned back to Esme.

“Yeah. We can look at it. You don’t need to be crawlin’ up under the thing, right now anyway.” Duke offered, his bright eyed smiling demeanor serious and helpful all the sudden. Bobby sighed from his desk, and folded his paper up, standing. He walked through the kitchen, out into the garage to go take a look at the damage to Esme’s car, without being asked, like the dad he was.

“And you can rest. A little beer. A little music. Rest.” Dean ordered, holding his coffee cup in both hands, as he pointed.

“And then we go shoot.” Duke chimed in and Dean rolled his eyes taking a long drink of his coffee, and fighting the urge to kick him again. “If you feel up to it, that is. I’m cool with just gettin’ dirty under the hood of a car. It’s been a while.”

“Then you take over the wrench and I’ll play dutiful best friend.”

“I wouldn’t really say you guys are friends, by the way you’re actin’…” Duke started, and Dean landed a heavy kick to his knee, signaling for him to shut his mouth, and Duke frowned, staring at Dean with wide eyes. They communicated silently, similar to how Dean used to be with Sam and Duke scoffed, turning back to his food. “I heard ya…”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya sighed with relief as Sam reacted exactly how she hoped to her words. She was worried he would brush it all off and ask her what she was talking about, as if he wasn’t covered in tension. Anyone could see by just looking at him. She could have chalked it up to grief, or him being worried about his brother, but every time their eyes met, the tension rose higher. When he pushed off the counter, her heart jumped into her throat, and her hands began to shake with nerves. It was the first time that they seemed on the same page since the moment they met, not awkwardly dancing around each other.

She turned her eyes away from him briefly, thinking about typing another message. But she decided against it, laying her phone on the table behind her, before stepping up toe to toe with Sam. As if asking permission, she reached a nervous hand out and placed it on his chest, feeling his heart beat beneath her fingers.

Looking up at him, she smiled softly, trailing the same nervous hand up to his shoulder and then the side of his neck, curling his hair around her fingers. She was terrified to kiss him again, but everything on her face made it clear that she really…really wanted to.

Dean

Dean sighed with relief as Lexi not only didn’t pull her hand away but verbally agreed with him, and squeezed his hand. It was a step. It was a tiny step toward allowing themselves to get closer, without instantly jumping into each other’s arms, which he wasn’t sure he was ready for. He knew he wanted to be around her, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to just…allow himself to.

—

At the meeting point, Dean perked up when Lexi pointed out the nervous looking guy standing near an old beat up car. He scanned the guy over, and judging by his demeanor, he didn’t look too hard to take down, if the need arose. He looked as if a stiff wind would blow him over. Dean scoffed, “He looks about like I expected.”

As Lexi moved to get out of the car, Dean pulled her hand back, kissing her knuckles one more time with a stern look, “You stay…”

The words buzzed in his brain, the same warning he always gave Mika. It was the same speech, different hunter. Same speech, different attachment. The thought made his stomach churn, and he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. He cut himself off and shook his head with a sad smile, “Get out of here. Go get him.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Sam’s quick burst of emotion toward her words caused Anna to frown and watch his face even closer. She had made him cry. It wasn’t something she ever wanted to do and he was usually so good at keeping his emotions in check, even if he was devastated. He didn’t hide them. They read all over his face, but tears falling from his eyes were jarring. Him correcting her so quickly and with so much conviction caused her heart to do a flip, as she grappled with believing him, or believing that he would always choose his brother.

Another tiny sob broke from her throat as he continued, and in that moment, she believed him. Against every part of her brain screaming not to, she believed every word he was saying. Taking a deep and shaky breath to calm the sobs that threatened to break through, and derail her confidence, Anna looked down.

“I believe you.” She whispered, turning her eyes back up to meet his. She looked between his eyes, her own eyes frantically searching for a reason to stay away from him, a reason to run, but she couldn’t do that either. She couldn’t forgive him for following his brother, even if it meant driving off a cliff. But she did have to admit that she loved him. “And I love you. I do. So much. I just don’t know how much more of this prophetic control mess I can take. I-I’ve lost everything to this, like you have. And I don’t want to lose you, but I-I have a…I have a feeling I will, before this is over. I’ll lose you too.”

Dean

Dean held onto Nat’s legs tightly as she settled onto his back. Feeling her arm drape over his shoulder, he reached up and wrapped his fingers around her hand, holding tightly as he started to walk away from the disgusting scene behind them. Her complaining caused him to roll his eyes, and he turned his head, his forehead brushing hers, “Will you stop crying like a baby and let me save your life? A little bit of pain is a lot better than staying here, right?”

As she pitched the idea of burning down the asylum, Dean raised his eyebrow. The idea was solid, but he didn’t have any of the tools he would need to burn down a building this big. Maybe, as touchy feely as Cason was feeling, he could call in some favors and get the thing taken care of for her.

“Well, maybe your boyfriend can take care of it. He seems to have some pull.” Dean joked with her, trying once again to push the idea that he was cool with Cason, if it would keep the truth of him trying to kill someone so special to Nat from coming out.

The trek to the front door was pretty straight forward. No demons. No trouble. But Dean could feel that more demons would show up at any second, and he didn’t want to be here when they came. He carried Nat to the Impala, and carefully lowered her to the ground against the car, so she had something to stand against.

“I’m going to go get him. He’s taking too long, and we’re not leaving him behind.” Dean explained simply. He stepped over to Mika, and pressed a tight kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be right back. Stay with her. Keep her still and safe. I would say keep the dogs around, but I don’t know what they’ll do if I talk to them.”

He turned and jogged back up the stairs of the asylum. The first place he ran to was the room they had rescued Nat from. Glittering in the light of the moon was Ruby’s knife, covered in blood. He ran up, swiped it off the floor and then began searching for Cason, as he held the knife in front of him for coverage, just in case Lilith showed up.

Cason

Cason’s eyes were saucers as Esme finished off Valid, melting him into a puddle. He couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. He didn’t know how he was going to explain it to anyone who would understand and he also didn’t expect that he would be walking out of this room alive. He threw both his hands up as Esme spun around, looking like an absolute animal but also, something he had never seen before. He stared at her, trying to find the right words to get through to her and convince her that they had to leave. Before he could make that decision, she flung her knife at him and with a gasp, he tilted his head to the side, right as the knife embedded into the demons head over his shoulder.

“Holy shit!” He cried out, breathing heavily as he looked down at the demon and then back up at Esme with wide eyes. He wasn’t sure what to even do. He couldn’t touch her. He couldn’t possibly fight her, considering what he had just witnessed. But then she said something so human that his shoulders fell…only a bit. “I know. It took a minute to take care of the shit downstairs. HEY BEHIND YOU!”

Cason stepped forward, to help Esme and take care of the demon that was attacking her, but other than the Hellhounds, he had no weapons. He was more helpless than she was. And as he suspected, the demon was taken care of quickly by Esme’s hands and Sarah’s strong jaw. He winced as Sarah finished Morana.

Hearing footsteps jogging down the hall behind him, Cason stepped carefully toward the doorway, watching Esme’s every move, “Darling…we have to go. You’re gonna be okay and we can figure out what the hell is going on, but we have to go. I came to get you.”

“Cason, what the hell is taking so long?!” Dean shouted as he stepped through the doorway and his eyes went wide, staring around at the carnage in the room. He saw the pile of goo, and the headless demon, and then his eyes turned up to Esme, Ruby’s knife clutched tightly in his fist.

“Dean, I wouldn’t make any sudden movements…”

“Yeah, I gathered that.” Dean huffed back at Cason. He turned his eyes back to Esme and took a careful step forward. “Hey sweetheart. Why don’t we go somewhere together? Hmm? We can get out of here, you and me. We can go anywhere you want but you have to…you have to calm down.”

All Roads Lead To You

Dean and Duke

Dean nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard Esme’s voice, turning with her plate in his hand. He was just about to pour her a cup of coffee to bring a whole tray to her, when she stepped into the kitchen. He quickly ran over to the table, and sat her plate down, strolling over to her straight after.

“Hey, sweetheart.” He called to her, scanning her face. It took less than a second for him to read every ounce of pain that she was feeling, which told him everything about the ‘are you okay’ question he was dying to ask. He didn’t even bother. “Come sit down and eat, alright? I’ll grab some peas for…for that.”

Dean guided her to the table, as if she was going to break under his touch, causing Bobby to raise an eyebrow as he watched them. Duke also narrowed his eyes at Dean’s behavior, but before he could say much, Dean shoved his feet off the chair at the end of the table and he nearly fell off his chair.

“Hey! I was comfortable.” Duke complained, pushing his cowboy hat back to show more of his face. His blonde hair fell in random strands over his eyes and he straightened up in his chair. “Good morning! You don’t look like crap at all. I promise.”

Duke smiled brightly, and Dean once again fought the urge to slap him. But Bobby was still staring at him as if he was an alien. Dean shot Bobby a ‘what?!’ Look, and Bobby simply shook his head with a shrug, going back to his paper. It was obvious that this would be a conversation later on, when he and Dean were alone. Dean stepped away from the table and poured Esme a cup of coffee, bringing it back over and holding his hands out with a smirk.

“There. Breakfast. You kick back, relax and eat. Ignore Duke. And we’re gonna have a day…off.”

He stepped over to the fridge and grabbed a bag of peas from the freezer, laying them next to Esme’s plate before taking his seat across the table from her.

“A day off? I thought we were goin’ out to do that thing at the Peterson’s farm…” Duke spoke up, genuinely confused. Dean kicked his leg under the table and Bobby once again spoke up.

“I sent Chuck and the others after that one.”

“And you don’t think we should go help them?” Duke asked, holding a hand out to Dean. Dean kicked him again with a scowl and Bobby shook his head at him.

“We are taking…the day…off. We have company, and our company had a long day yesterday. And it’s one werewolf. It’s nothing the other guys can’t handle.” Dean explained simply, taking a bite of his toast. He looked across the table to Esme and smirked, winking at her.

“Alright. Well…that just gives me time to get to know Esme, here! I need to redeem myself.” Duke beamed with a bright smile, his blue eyes almost glittering under the dim light of the kitchen. Dean simply rolled his eyes, dipping his head in annoyance before taking a long and annoyed drink of his coffee. “Maybe I’ll take you out for a shoot later.”

All Roads Lead To You

Dean

Dean chuckled at Esme’s very good point. He was never one to turn down sex, even if he was in the worst pain of his life. There were more than one way to navigate things. But he really did want to make sure she was okay, before he allowed himself to potentially injure her worse than she would admit she was feeling.

Her insistence that she was okay enough to forego the normal remedies for the pain she was obviously feeling caused him to frown, ready to argue. But the smile on her face was enough to win him over in any argument. It was a weakness. She had a chokehold on his emotions and as much as he tried to hold her at arms length when they first met, she had broken through something in his brain. All that pain, emotion and self hatred fell away when she was around, or at least it fell away enough to let her love him.

Did she love him?
Wait…did he love her? That wasn’t even a subject he knew how to navigate, at this point in his life. He was a hunter. Love, especially new love, was sort of out of the question. As Dean zoned out and scanned Esme’s face, trying to find answers to his own internal struggle, she reminded him that she didn’t need anything and for the first time since they had known each other, he conceded.

“Alright. Well…” He rolled over her, moving to lay flat on his back on the small bed. He then carefully slipped his arm under her head, pulling her to lay on his bare chest with a sigh, “If that’s all its gonna take to save the day, I’ll take it as a double win. I get the girl and the girl gets some much needed sleep.”

The next morning

Dean blinked as the harsh light from the window hit his eyes. He frowned and opened his eyes, turning them toward the window and wiping his right eye harshly with his hand. He wasn’t used to waking up with anyone, and so Esme’s weight took him off guard, and he quickly turned back to his left and took a deep breath. She looked so peaceful, sleeping on his chest. He couldn’t help himself, bringing his hand up to brush a bit of hair from her face, pushing it behind her ear, careful to avoid any of the overly sore areas he knew had to hurt.

The smell of bacon and coffee were filling the house a little more every second, and Dean just knew that Bobby and Duke were downstairs, gossiping away the morning, probably eating up all the food. With a reluctant sigh, Dean glanced toward the door, playing over in his head how he would be able to get out from under Esme’s head and out that door.

He began to shuffle, pulling his body, little by little to the side, until her head gently began to fall onto the pillow. He quickly reached his hand up and doubled the pillow, so her head wouldn’t fall too hard, and then gently laid her face against it. Hovering his hands, he made sure her breathing stayed even and she didn’t wake up, and then quickly shuffled off the bed and onto his feet, like diffusing a bomb.

As he padded downstairs, he buttoned his jeans he had just pulled on, and scratched absentmindedly at the back of his head. Before he could step into the kitchen, Duke stepped into view and smiled brightly. He was standing there, in the kitchen, his cowboy hat perched on his head, in only jeans. His smile was judgmental and caused Dean to roll his eyes.

“Mornin’ sweetheart!” Duke chimed, picking his piled plate off the counter, before sitting down at the table. Bobby didn’t even look up from his paper as he picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. Dean waved Duke off, smacking his cowboy hat over his eyes on his way to the food. “Rough night?”

“No. Not a rough night. Sleepy night. And keep your voice down. Esme’s still asleep.” Dean grumbled, making a plate for Esme with his back turned to Duke. Duke chuckled and took a bite of his bacon.

“Sure. I’m sure there was no way that after that little outburst, you just…went to bed.”

“I am capable of not having sex with a woman, just because she yelled at me. I know…foreign concept to you, right?” Dean scolded Duke, and Bobby cleared his throat.

“And if you don’t shut your mouths, that ‘Esme’s sleeping’ concept is going to be lost.” Bobby chimed in, glaring at both of them over his paper.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya giggled silently at the mental image of Dean just latching onto whoever was willing to make him food. It almost seemed like Dean needed a good maid, rather than a girlfriend. She stepped around to the ovens, opening them as Sam rummaged through the fridge. This was an industrial kitchen, something of dreams for anyone who liked to cook. It was something she could work with, at least, as long as she could remember everything she needed.

Luckily, Sam alerted her to the fact that Lexi and Dean had been grocery shopping. So, she could probably find everything she needed and she tapped on the counter, rather excitedly. But her mind went blank for a moment when Sam stepped back over to her, a little closer than she expected and his fingertips brushed her face, pushing the stray strand of curly hair behind her ear. The simple gesture caused her heart to skip a beat, and she had to hide a shudder with a soft smile, turning her eyes up to his.

This was a moment she wished she could speak more than anything, as the tension in the room instantly raised and she was once again tempted to just tilt up on her toes and kiss him. But he changed the subject and she let out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding.

With a nod, she broke eye contact and took the can of soda with a smile. She stepped away from him, walking over to the fridge to gather the supplies she needed for baking and luckily for Dean…meat. She slid all of the ingredients onto the butcher block counter, and pressed a few buttons to turn the oven on as she whipped around the room.

After several minutes of mixing and making a mess, she wiped her hands and placed the last pie in the oven, closing the door and taking a deep breath. “Done…”, she thought before turning to walk back over to Sam. She pulled her phone from the counter on her way by, and typed out a simple message before setting it down and pressing play.

“We just need to wait about twenty minutes and I’ll have stolen your brother’s heart.” She teased in the message, smiling as she stepped in front of him. Standing there, she wrapped her hand around he elbow and awkwardly stood, tapping her toe for a moment as she tried to decide what to say to him. As was the case before, the kitchen fell into a bit of tension. She scanned over the features of Sam’s face, taking in his height over her, and the way he stood. His empathy wasn’t an act. Neither was his ability to calm someone when they were close to him. Unlike his brother, he didn’t feel the need to use bravado and wit to push his way through someone’s walls. He was…interesting and beautiful.

She only realized she was zoned out staring at him after what could have been minutes, but she assumed was only seconds and she snapped herself out of it, reaching up to rake her hair out of her face. She picked up her phone and sighed, deciding to just break the ice on their tension.

“I’m having a very hard time being around you, right now. I feel the tension, and everything in my brain is telling me to touch you. You feel it too, right?”

She looked up at him briefly, and then typed another bit before pressing play on the whole thing, nervously tilting her eyes up to meet his.

“It’s just me and you, here.”

Dean

Dean smirked as Lexi told him he wasn’t being bossy, he was being careful. He did feel a bit bossy though. He was protecting her with aggression, his PTSD screaming through as he looked at her and saw just as formidable of a hunter as Mika, but also someone who was vulnerable, as long as he was connected to her. His better judgement wanted her to run as far away from him as she could. He also knew that he would never tell her that, out loud.

With a nod, he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, and glared through the windshield, “I’ll let you take the first swipe at him if he’s running us around. Let’s hope he’s dealt with hunters before and knows better. Somehow I doubt it.”

Dean glanced down, seeing her hand drop to the seat. He stared at her hand for a moment, and chewed at his lip, fighting the urge to comfort her, even if she didn’t seem upset. He was long past the days of being soft with his partners…or women. That part of his soul had likely been crushed into oblivion over the years. He just couldn’t quite place ‘when’. He squeezed the steering wheel with his left hand, and reached down with his right, picking up her hand without warning.

“It’s just a milk run…” He muttered, more to himself than to her, as his mind ran over every single way this appointment could go wrong. He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, ending his internal screaming against showing affection, when it was obvious they weren’t going to be able to stay away from each other…professional or not.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna scoffed at Sam’s comment about keeping her safe from demons. She could still feel the buzzing in her brain from all the demon blood and she was covered in it. There wasn’t much that Sam would be able to add to the equation, other than his size, when she was apparently a demonic flame thrower.

As the truck fell into silence, Anna sighed with relief, not wanting to hear any sort of apology or anything from Sam. She just wanted to get away from the entire group. She wanted to meet up with Cason and hash out…

But Cason was dead. She had no one. In this whole mess, she felt really alone, even with Sam sitting right next to her, but then he spoke up and Anna held her breath. His apology was sincere. She could feel it in his heartbeat, as their hearts tried as always to even out and match up. He was scared. She couldn’t quite place why he was scared…her leaving? Her hating them? His brother and Mika being hurt? Either way, his discomfort was hurting her chest.

The tears pricked at her eyes as the gravity of what they had done set in. They had left Cason behind. After everything he had done and risked for the group, Dean Winchester was allowed to make a decision out of emotion. Anna didn’t believe for a second that they couldn’t have saved him. She didn’t believe for a second that he was left behind for any other reason than malice.

“Dean left him behind because he wanted him dead, and didn’t want to upset Nat. You know that.” She whimpered. As she turned to look at him, her eyes full of angry tears, her face softened a bit at the look in his eyes. There was no anger in her face, only hurt and betrayal. “I know that we weren’t close, after what happened between us…but he deserved better than that, Sam. And I-I don’t know…”

She paused, shaking her head as she fought a sob, “I don’t know that I can trust you not to do the same to me…if push came to shove and Dean told you to. You follow his lead. You’ll always follow his lead.”

Dean and Cason

Dean was rattled by Cason popping in and popping out like he did, but he was even more rattled when the Hellhounds seemed to growl at him to follow them. He followed them reluctantly, making sure that he and Mika were touching, or at least within touch distance as he quieted his steps behind the giant invisible dogs. Without hesitation, the Hellhounds began going to work, taking down demon after demon as they were slashed at.

He passed a demon that swung a knife at him, grabbing the demon by the collar and pulling his foot up to its chest. With a kick, he kicked the demon directly into the jaws of a Hellhound he couldn’t even see. Looking back to make sure that in all the chaos, Mika was still holding her own.

“No…he isn’t.” Dean gasped, as the Hellhounds bit the heads off the last few demons by the door, leaving the path open but strewn with body parts. He walked past the Hellhounds, uneasy with them breathing on him, and reached for the handle of the door. One of the Hellhounds jumped up and pushed the door open, breaking the lock with ease, and leaving Dean and Mika standing there in the doorway.

What he saw as he looked around shook Dean to his core. Cason had done all this? There were body parts everywhere. The floor, walls and ceiling were painted in blood. Dean’s eyes turned to Cason, who stood there with Nat, as if she was this breakable thing he had to protect and hold onto. He recognized the look on Cason’s face, but shook his head, refusing to believe the body language. He began to step forward, but Mika’s arm barring him from doing so told him that she wasn’t concerned with Cason hurting Nat, despite the little pained sounds his sister was making. He sighed, shifting on his feet and then Cason kissed Nat, and Dean’s face changed to something more protective as he turned to Mika.

“Are we going to do anything? Just…let this happen?” He asked, but Mika had apparently read his mind. As she coughed, Dean smirked, proud of her for stepping up and being the less awkward, bigger person here.

“We really do need to go.” Dean spoke, turning his eyes to Nat to give her a knowing look. “And I want to take a look at you, the second we survive this hell hole, you got it? He didn’t hurt you did he, because if he did…”

“I wouldn’t hurt her. I told you that, already. And Yes, let’s get out of here. Lilith will send more, now that she knows I’m here.” Cason agreed, wrapping an arm around Nat’s waist. He reached under the water and picked up her legs, turning to carry her out of the room.

“So, they’re here for you. Great. All roads lead back to…” Dean started, a sarcastic and annoyed expression sweeping across his face.

“So leave me behind, tough guy. That’s a solid plan, right?” Cason reminded Dean, causing Dean to narrow his eyes at the tone of Cason’s voice. Cason was threatening to call him out in front of Nat…right then. “Take a swipe at me when I get your ass out of here. Until then, keep your mouth shut and follow close.”

Without another word, Cason pushed past Dean and into the hallway, flanked by all three Hellhounds. Dean stood, frozen for a moment, until a Hellhound pushed past him and pulled him out of his thoughts, his heart thumping in his ears. He didn’t even want to think of how much Natalia would hate him for leaving Cason behind. It was worse than killing him.

The dogs pushed in front of him, as Cason stopped to listen, for any sign of Esme in the asylum. After a moment, he picked up on her, and lifted his eyes to the right side of the ceiling, switching them to black. At least Nat wasn’t new to his demonic side. He turned his head to her, and scanned her eyes.

“I’m going to have to leave you for just a second. I promise, I’ll be right back. Stay with Mika.” He explained to Nat, his eyes still glossed over in black as he slowly lowered her to the ground, making sure she was firmly on her feet. He snapped at one of the Hellhounds, who stepped over, standing almost chest level with Nat. The giant dog leaned against her, offering it’s back as support. “I’ll be…right…back.”

As Cason disappeared, Dean quickly jogged up to Natalia, squatting in front of her to offer his back. He didn’t give her much of a choice, backing her into a wall and wrapping both her legs around his waist, before lifting her up, “Let’s get you out of here. I’ll come back for him.”

Dean glanced to Mika, letting her know that he was serious. He wasn’t leaving Cason behind, even if every single fiber of his being wanted to.

Cason landed just inside the door, his eyes instantly changing back to blue and nearly bulging out of his head as he watched Esme. She was vicious, and at that moment, Cason wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to be locked in the same room with her. His fight or flight mode was kicking in. He backed toward the door, ready to disappear back to Natalia and let Esme hold her own. But Violet showed up, bursting the door down with a quick jump into the metal plate. Cason flinched as if a gun had fired next to his head and he quickly looked from the door to Esme, holding a hand out. There was no way she didn’t know he was there.

“So…I came back.” He chimed sheepishly.

Duke

“Mr. Hatfield, we don’t know what is happening but you can’t just leave. We made a mistake and we need to be able to document the mistake by giving you a once over.” A nurse called from behind Duke. He was naked, standing in the middle of the holding area of the morgue, thoroughly confused. He had woken up with no explanation, covered in a white sheet that was smothering him, naked, and alone in the morgue.

“I have to find my brother. I have to…My brother will know what to do.” Duke spoke with a shivering voice. He grabbed the effects bag they had packed for him, and quickly ripped it open, pouring it out on the gurney, before rummaging through it. He picked up his bloody pants, slipping them over his bare legs, then picked up his belt. He buttoned his pants and slipped the belt through the loops before buckling it with some effort, due to the shaking in his hands.

“Sir, no brother was here with you.” The nurse explained, holding her hands out in front of her as if Duke would hurt her. He frowned at her, and then realized that Dean must not have been the one to bring him to the hospital, and wouldn’t be listed as his brother anywhere in his records. “Your girlfriend hasn’t been seen since we…since the doctor spoke to her. We could t-try to get ahold of her, but Mr. Hatfield, we really need to figure out how you’re alive, alright?”

“Nah. I’m good.” Duke answered simply, shoving his wallet, and phone into his pocket. He unrolled his jacket, and slipped it over his bare shoulders, before turning and walking through the door of the morgue. As he walked down the hallway, he could hear the nurse calling behind him, but he only had one thing on his mind.

Find his family.

An exit door stood out to him, and through his blurry vision, he limped toward it, shoving it open with a loud alarm blaring after him. As soon as he was outside, he glanced down at his stomach and frowned. He needed bandages. For some reason, the nurses had stitched him up but they didn’t bandage the wound.

That was a worry for down the road, as the chill hit him, and he pressed forward.