JustAnna

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean and Anna

Dean stood up straighter, giving Anna time to slip out from in front of him, which she did, the moment that Mika and Sam began making their plans. Dean took a long moment to look over Sam’s face, his own brain having a tiny little buzz at the familiarity he saw there, even if there was nothing about the man that actually rang any bells. Dean nodded his head, “I can touch bases with management, and see if maybe I can get any information they have about correspondences and…things like that. Alright…”

“I’m going with Duke? I don’t know if Duke is um…available. He has that…thing…” Anna chimed in awkwardly, which just caused Dean to huff a frustrated sigh, not that he could say much about the connection his wife had made. It wasn’t as if it was a well kept secret that she had been sleeping with the ranger, or that the both of them weren’t…great at communication, about any of it. Couples therapy wasn’t exactly Dean’s thing.

“Mika, you want to come with me to sift through this stuff? We’ll let the rangers get to work, and my wife can decompress on her own. We’ll order her some coffee in a bit. I could use an extra set of eyes.” Dean waved his hand around, nodding his head toward the hall leading to his office as he stepped away, “Thank you both. Be safe out there and call me if you find out anything at all. No matter how small the information seems.”

Anna sighed, feeling like she had probably started a little bit of drama, while trying to tell Sam that she didn’t want to interrupt Duke, if he was with Esme. She knew he would be irritated at her, best friend or not. She reached out, and squeezed Sam’s hand, tilting her head with an awkward smirk, “Go on. I’ll grab him.” And she stepped away, off to find her best friend. Seeing that the door was mostly closed to Esme’s office, Anna simply leaned against the wall beside it for a moment, catching only a bit of what Esme said, and choosing to give them at least a moment. She knew that Duke needed it.

Duke

Duke laughed softly, knowing that he could be pretty damn scary when he wanted to, white hat or not. Esme was right. But at least she confirmed that things were mostly taken care of. She could relax. She could take a moment to just breathe, if she would let herself. And that sigh that left her nose, with the way that Esme’s shoulders dropped at she leaned forward told him that she desperately needed it. If he was any more of a mans man, he would say that she needed her husband. She needed the support from the person that was supposed to know her better than anyone. But in that moment, he was happy it was him she was reaching for. He was happy it was him that she was touching foreheads with, “I’m not goin’ anywhere until I have to…”

He let her just breathe for a moment, “Well, after I get out of whatever work shit I’m about to be thrown into, today? I’m planning to cook some brisket. I’ll have to bring you some tomorrow. Leave it with Mika, so you have plenty to eat? You always did say food was one of my ‘love languages’.” Duke laughed softly, but then he lets that soft smile fall a little, nuzzling Esme’s nose gently, leaning into her touch as he does, “I’ll be careful. I ain’t got any reason to risk any more skin than I have to. Plus, the badge and the vest tends to clear a path in those places. Don’t worry about me. And I’ll have my phone on me…the whole time.” 

He tilted his head, hesitating for just a second, before pressing an oh so gentle kiss to Esme’s lips, reaching his other and up to pinch her chin. In the same moment, Anna quietly knocked on the door, not looking in, just keeping her back against that wall in the hall, “Duke? Chief wants us to head over and um…try to find out what’s happening at the venue. Take your time, but I thought I’d let you know.”

Beau and Cason

Cason wrapped an arm around Natalia’s entire thigh, not figuring that anyone else in the room would really flinch at the show of affection, and support. He did his best to not panic at the message that lit up her phone, that he could see, even from where he was sitting. He read over it, as best he could, and let out another frustrated sigh. But he was drawn back to Natalia’s restlessness and how badly she wanted out of that room. Right when Beau chimed in, after Rosie, his best friend’s more bossy side immediately coming through, probably because Rosie was so upset and frustrated herself.

“I’m going out there. I’ll go out. I’ll push them back, with the threat of someone worse. I’ll get some people out of the way…” And Beau stepped up to the door, right as he heard some of the reinforcements screaming at fans in the hall, there to back him up, “See? My backup is here. Give me three minutes. Don’t come out the door.”

And Beau nudged Rosie playfully, stepping out into the chaos with the other security guards that had already managed to start placing columns and ropes around the door and against the wall, giving them a clear line to walk out when they were ready. He joined them, using his broad long arms to push people back, a good ten to twenty feet on all sides of the ropes, so they couldn’t reach over and touch Natalia.

Whether she was safe back stage or not, was another struggle. But at least she could get out of the room.

Cason sighed, hearing some of the noise dissipate as Beau worked his magic, and he tilted his head to lean a little closer to Natalia, “I almost want you to ask this freak where they plan to meet you backstage. See if I can get my hands on him…”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean and Anna

Dean stepped over a little closer as Mika gestured to him, leaning over Anna’s shoulder a bit, while trying his best to give the girl space to move, and not have his breath on the back of her neck. When Sam asked him point blank whether or not Cason and Natalia were romantically involved, Dean glanced around the photos a bit closer and tilted his head, “I will say that she’s requested him a few extra times lately. His name is Cason, and he’s clean. He’s actually one of the better guards I have. The other guard that he tends to drag along with him, his name is Beau. I don’t see him in any of the photos.”

“Which means that the theory about Cason and Natalia is most likely…true. Which means that either this is a jealousy thing, like I said…or she fits a bill, and we have a place to start?” Anna chimed in, looking between Dean and Sam with a shrug, “We could at least ask for information from the guards, and see if maybe they’ve noticed anyone watching from afar, or anyone that got too close. Maybe sent threats?”

“Other than the obsessive shit, there hasn’t been a solid threat made. All we have to go on, is the poster. And the poster could be the stalker. We are well aware of that.”

Anna looked from Dean to Sam, raising her eyebrows, “Then are we just spinning our wheels with the same old information?”

Duke

Duke fiddled with Esme’s fingers as she took his hand, and he pulled the chair from the other side of her desk, stretching across the wood. He pulled it up close, careful of Sarah’s paws, just holding Esme’s fingers, “Alright. Then you got company. And as far as what I can do? Let’s see. I’m a cop…for one. So, you name them, and I’ll do whatever you think is necessary.” He paused, his eyes softening as he watched Esme’s face while she spoke again, tilting his head back and forth, like he was considering knocking some sense into whoever had upset her.

Shaking his head, Duke let out his own frustrated sigh, “It sounds like a bunch of mistakes all stackin’ up into a big mess. I’m not surprised you gave them a piece of your mind, though.” A smirk popped up in the corners of his lips at that, just leaning in closer to nudge Esme’s nose with his, “You don’t think a white hat coming down there and putting the fear of God in all of them, with these dazzling blue eyes would change things, do you? Come on. Try to take a breath. You have people headed down there, right? I know you. It’s probably taken care of…for now.”

He picked up her other hand, and placed it against his neck, knowing that with the door mostly closed, no one would really bother them. And she could breathe with him, “What do you want me to do right now, sweetheart?”

Beau and Cason

Beau nodded his head, rolling his eyes with a sigh at the fact that they were once again flying by the seat of their pants. He stood up a little straighter, and glanced toward the door, “Alright. Well, you tell me where to go and I’m there. For now, we just…wait. Wait what?” And he turned his head as Rosie addressed whatever it was that Natalia and Cason were talking about. Another layer of stress added to the pile, and it was a layer that he couldn’t really do anything about. Digital correspondences were complicated. Cason knew that, he could tell by the look on Cason’s face.

Cason groaned at Natalia’s confession, just hanging his head for a moment to let it all sink in, and to try and come up with any ideas, because knowing Natalia, she was worried he would get hurt…over something that could very well put her in danger, “Honey, that’s not nothing.” But Rosie chimed in, and Cason let things lie for a moment, just glancing up at Rosie, as he reached a hand out and planted it on Natalia’s knee, brushing his thumb across her skin as gently as he could. “She’s right. You have to start telling us these things, or we can’t keep you safe, or at the least…keep you sane. The moment you get that photo you just asked for, I’d like to see…”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean and Duke

Dean stepped out of the elevator, his eyebrows raising nearly into his hairline at the little meeting that seemed to be happening. At least the rangers were there. They were on the ball, and as his eyes met the side of Duke’s face, he took a deep breath, letting it out through his nose, willing himself to make himself seen, “Well, what do we have? Tell me we have more information than we did yesterday. My wife is driving herself insane over all of this. Is there any information the rangers have?”

“Well, you called us down here. You asked for me, for some reason. I thought you might know something.” Duke chimed in, which got him a bit of a glare from Dean. It’s not like Dean didn’t know about his ‘thing’ with Esme. He just didn’t feel like he could say much, at all. He didn’t want to seem like a hypocrite.

“I know what you know. I just thought that since you had a bit of a…connection to the company, you would be the most trustworthy. My wife seems to think so.”

“Well, then Cap can handle this part of things, and I will go and see her. How about that? Spread out our resources.” Duke cut back, straightening his hat. He stood from the corner of Mika’s desk, shooting one more look at Dean, before patting Mika on the side of the face, “I’ll be right back. Let Anna read over some of the media stuff. She’s got a good eye, at least.”

And he stepped away, leaving Dean sighing, as he stepped over and leaned against the desk, glancing up to the Captain, “Give me what you know…so far. It’s all getting jumbled and messy with so many hands involved. We do know that there’s at least a massive security presence headed that way…to take care of the blockade.”

Duke walked away, walking straight to Esme’s office, a path that he knew oddly well, by this point. As he stepped up to the door, noticing that it was open a bit, he pushed it open even further and knocked, gentle so he wouldn’t startle Esme, and with the softest voice, “Hey. I know a lot is goin’ on, but are you good? You want some company?” Stepping into the room, Duke closed the door gently behind him and took his hat off, fiddling with it in his hands as he walked over to pet Sarah on the neck, “I’m letting Cap handle a bunch of that shit out there, and you look like you have your hands full. What can I do?”

Anna





Anna couldn’t help but pry a bit, leaning in next to Sam’s side as Mika turned the computer toward them. She scanned over the photos, scanning over the article, and the passive aggressive way that it spoke about the rangers, and their work. Even though she wasn’t a ranger, a huge part of her was offended for them, considering that they were relying on the security firm to get them information. It was a give and take that sometimes felt a little one sided. Noticing the bodyguard in question, Anna tilted her head. He looked so familiar. Like…familiar to the point that it tugged at something in her chest. She didn’t say as such, at first, but her eyes did raise to look up at Duke.

The tension in the room was palpable, and awkward. She knew it had something to do with the tangle of shit that she tried her hardest to stay out of, even though Duke was her shadow. Sighing, as Duke put her on the spot, Anna glared at him, as he walked away, turning her eyes back to the computer, “What do we know about her bodyguard? Are they…together together? Like, wouldn’t a stalker know that? Maybe she’s not directly the target of anything, if he’s just…jealous.”

Cason and Beau

Cason watched as Natalia read over whatever was on her phone, scanning her face as if he could somehow read her mind. He dipped his head, his eyes wide and curious, “What was that about? I just saw a million things flash in front of those eyes. Don’t leave me in the dark here.” He reached up, uncaring for a moment that anyone else could see, and he brushed her hair behind her ear, brushing his thumb own the side of her face and over her chin, where he pinched gently. He tilted her head up so she had to meet his eyes, “Come on. Treat me like a bodyguard for five seconds…”



Beau was practically beaming as Rosie agreed but didn’t quite agree to go get drinks with him. The night needed to go perfectly, so perfectly that neither of them would be needed. They could get into something more comfortable, and pretend that they weren’t in the middle of the shit, “I’ll take the maybe.” His grin was wide, toothy and excitable before he snapped back to work mode, and nodded his head, “Alright. I’ll wait for them, and take the lead out there, when they get here. Do we have an ETA on that, or are we just flying by the seat of our pants…again?”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean

Dean tilted his head side to side, mocking Esme’s tone a bit as she explained to him that his bad habits could rub off on his employees, as if he didn’t already know that. But at least she accepted his offer for dinner. If they were going to even attempt to save their marriage, they had to start somewhere. Dinner was probably a good place. He couldn’t remember the last time they had eaten a full meal, in chairs, face to face…

His expression turned a bit more to concern, hearing that the situation with the stalker wasn’t going as well as he had hoped. It shouldn’t have been that hard to figure out. It was one guy. One creep. He had a pretty distinct method and type. Surely the rangers, with the intel from the security teams could wrap it all up quickly.

“They will bury him. I can promise you that. I’ll talk to whatever judge gets ahold of him.” Dean said firmly, stepping closer to Esme. He could tell that she was struggling with the whole thing, and he wasn’t exactly present. He hadn’t exactly been the most supportive husband, through all this, “I’m also gonna call over to the rangers. Maybe the talkative one…what’s his name? Singer? Maybe they can put him on it. He seems to need something to do.”

Dean stepped over closer to Esme, and he reached a hand out, putting the tension between them aside to wipe a few crumbs from the corner of her mouth. He pinched her chin affectionately, and then leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her temple as her phone rang, “Get that. I gotta go get dressed. I’ll call the rangers and see if we can get a meeting.”

He carefully listened on his way out of the room, until he pulled his phone and dialed up the rangers station.

Duke and Anna

Duke snarled his nose at the idea of just sitting around doing paperwork all day. He would be bouncing off the walls by noon. But Sam offering Duke a case made his brain perk up, and he nodded quickly. Of course he wanted that email. He wanted something to do. It was way too quiet around, almost eerily so. It was rare that they weren’t swimming in loads of information and desperate families, asking for their help.

“Um. Yeah, they’re still dealing with that thing. She’s not been able to get a lot of information, but the last time I talked to her, it was basically spinning wheels. They don’t know anything more than they did a month or so ago, there’s just new victims. One…that’s pretty high profile from what I gathered.” Duke explained, mentally reminding himself to call Mika, later in the day. If anything, going to see her for lunch would give him an excuse to see…

“Duke.” Anna called, jarring him from his thoughts. She hadn’t missed that little glance from Sam, tipping Duke’s hat at him with a smirk, but then she held the phone out to him, on hold, “Dispatch just sent it over. He asked for you.”

“For me?”

“Yeah, by name. It sounds important. He sounds important.” Anna explained as Duke sauntered back over and took the phone from her hand. Anna took the chance to stand from the desk, tilting Duke’s hat back on her head, and stepped around to lean over Sam’s cubicle, “And you. What do you like to drink? I don’t think I’ve ever asked you before. It always seemed really inappropriate, but since you’ve been invited to my…house, by my idiot room mate, I have to ask. What does Cap prefer with his BBQ?”

A moment later, Duke dropped the phone on the base and chuckled, shaking his head. There was a lot behind that little laugh and Anna turned to raise her eyebrows at him.

“So that was Mr. Smith. You know…security company Mr. Smith?” Duke chuckled, and Anna’s eyes widened as they shared a silent conversation between them about Duke’s ‘extracurricular’ activities with the man’s wife. Duke tilted his head and clenched his jaw, before plastering his smile back on his face, “He wants the rangers all in on the stalker thing. We’re supposed to head down to the headquarters as soon as possible.”

“We? Like you and Cap?”

“Yep. I’m sure we can find an excuse for you to come along, though. Dispatch can handle things for a couple of hours, right Sam? We can get coffee on the way there.” Duke offered with a bright smile.

“Sure, because there’s no other reason you would want to go. None at all.” Anna rolled her eyes, and removed his hat from her head, before placing it back on his with a pat to the crown. She then turned to Sam and shrugged, “Field trip, then!”

———

When they arrived at the headquarters, Duke wasted no time, walking in front of both Sam and Anna, approaching Mika’s desk almost in a jog, before dropping himself on the corner and picking up her name plate that sat on the front, “Don’t you just look like a dream for just about any passerby that’s lonely!”

Cason

Cason growled and closed his eyes tightly as the man on the other side of the phone hung up on him abruptly, barely even listening to what he was saying. He turned and gritted his teeth, sighing. His eyes softened as Nat’s eyes met his. He shook his head, “No. The bastard hung up on me. I think it’s time for the big guns, on this.”

He glanced around to Rosie and nodded his head, encouraging her to pull her own strings, since he was going to get absolutely nowhere. He then turned his eyes back to Nat and he reached a hand up, pinching her chin with a small smile, “We’ll get it taken care of. Why don’t you just relax. Let me…”

He glanced around, until he found a bucket of paint. Carefully taking his jacket off and draping it over the large bucket, he gestured for Nat to sit, picking up her hand. He tugged and took a deep breath, “Just sit down and relax. I’ll stay close, alright? They can handle this. If anything, Beau is distract enough to be somewhat still.”

Beau

Beau frowned at the idea of someone being handsy with Rosie. Not that she couldn’t take care of herself. She absolutely could, and obviously did. But he was still tempted to go back out in the hall and put the guy in the hospital, just on principle. But as she pulled her hand from him, he didn’t tighten up. He just let her fingers slip from his and he sighed, plastering that charming smile over his lips to hide his disappointment in yet another rejection, “Well, I think you’ll crack eventually. We’re better together than you wanna admit…”

Beau went back to his pacing after a moment, glancing up every now and then at Rosie as she spoke to someone far more powerful than him, and seemed to at least get somewhere. He was tempted to reach out and chase that pesky flyaway piece of hair away from her face as she spoke. It had to be tickling her cheek. But he kept his hands to himself, shoving them in his pockets as he glanced over at Nat with a frown, “You alright? I know sittin’ on paint buckets ain’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but we’ll be out of here soon, and this won’t happen again. It better not…”

Rosie’s voice caught Beau’s ear and he turned back to sigh, stepping over to her as she finished her phone call. Beau shrugged out of his jacket, and tugged his tie free as he settled into being stuck in the room while they waited out security. He folded his jacket and reached down to the floor, scooping up Rosie’s bag. He placed his jacket on a nearby shelf and sat her bag on top of it before stepping back over to her briefly.

“So, we settle in. We get comfy.” He reached up and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his dress shirt and leaned against the wall next to Rosie, “And after this, we can get drinks. Cason looks like he could handle private security for the night?”

Cason rolled his eyes at Beau as he squatted on the floor in front of Nat, and Beau just chuckled.

“I mean, I could take it, but I’m a lot more fun to drink with than I am to have watchin’ a front door.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean

Dean couldn’t help the thoughts that were tumbling over and over in his mind as Mika explained what she remembered and what she was currently feeling about being alive. He knew those feelings all too well. When he had dug himself out of that grave, the first worry on his mind was ‘who had to die in order for me to live’? And it was a crushing guilt. It was unfounded, but crushing.

He pulled her a little loser as she struggled with the pain in her head from digging through the memories. But he never broke eye contact when she needed it. This was what she needed, the last time they had separated. She just needed him to be still, and to listen. So, he did, until she dared to apologize.

“Hey. Don’t say you’re sorry. This is a lot. And I mean…A LOT. We’re gonna process this together, this time, alright? C’mere.” Dean pulled Mika closer, forcing her to break eye contact and to stop apologizing. He kissed the side of her head, and at some point, they had both drifted off, Dean finally able to rest for the first time since Mika had been gone.

Dean heard Esme’s voice as he stirred from his sleep and he groaned, waving his hand from under his pillow. He buried his face further into the high end pillowcase, and tried to go back to sleep, despite his wife’s insistence to starting the day. It was his company. If he wanted to oversleep from a night of…whatever the hell he had done the night before, he would. But then Sarah was sent to wake him up and her giant paws and body weight began drilling his back, knocking the wind out of him.

“Alright! Sarah get down!” Dean growled into his pillow, eventually rolling over and scratching the sides of Sarah’s face to get her to stop jumping on him. He sat up, ruffling his hair as Sarah hopped down and ran into the kitchen with Esme. Dean stood from the bed and dragged his feet to the closet, grabbing his clothes and shoes. He quickly got dressed, barely doing anything with his hair, and with his tie in his hand, he walked downstairs with a huff.

“You know, having your giant dog break my spine is not the most effective way to wake me up in the morning.” Dean complained, grabbing a travel mug from the cabinet, and pouring himself some coffee. He glanced over at Esme and sighed, “So, would you at all be interested in attempting to have dinner tonight or do you have another appointment with the Rangers? How is all that going, by the way? Any new leads on the creeper out in Liberty Hill?"

Anna and Duke

Duke smiled brightly at Sam’s acceptance of his invitation. He turned his attention back to Anna, pushing a foot out to kick her rolling chair, just to get her attention, “See?! Golden opportunity. You can hit on the Captain. You can put in a good word for me to get that promotion. We can hang out and just be…normal! You can even do something with your hair!”

Anna frowned and glanced up at him, confusion written all over her face, “What’s wrong with my hair?”

“Nothing! You just…don’t wear it down very often. Maybe we can change that tonight. I bet Sam’s into that sort of thing. I see the way he looks at you. Or maybe you can wear my hat! He might be freaky like that.” Duke teased, as he picked up his hat from the desk and plopped it on Anna’s head. It was way too big, but she couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her face. Duke was her best friend for a reason.

“And maybe you can finally bring Esme over? Maybe talk to her about her marriage…situation.” Anna teased back, and Duke covered his heart, as if she had shot him.

Duke slid off the corner of the desk and he walked over to Sam’s, slapping the edge of his cubicle wall, “So, what’s the plan for today? Anything exciting?”

Cason and Beau

“She has a point.” Cason grumbled, stepping back from Natalia as his boss Beau paced in the room, as if he was waiting on someone. Beau shook his head, ruffling his messy hair a bit and then loosened his necktie, throwing his hands up.

“Well, we can deal with that when we’re out of here. We are gonna have to call in the other security team to secure that exit. That way we can get out of here. Otherwise, get comfy, because we’re stuck.” Beau sighed, walking up to the door. He opened it, just enough to glance out, only to be met by screams and more camera shutters.

After a few moments of silence, Beau turned to the door as Rosie banged on it, asking to be let in. He tilted his head to the side. She was alone? Of course she was alone. There was a reason he was so sweet on her. Opening the door, he took a step back, allowing Rosie to enter the room with them. As he closed the door behind her, he opened his mouth to speak, but Rosie wasn’t going to let him get a word in. Instead, he simply nodded.

“I will call again and make sure they’re coming, ma’am. Give me five minutes.” He confirmed to her, but then he frowned, picking her hand out of the air and bringing it in front of his eyes. He looked over her knuckles and smirked, “Looks like you did a little security fixin’ of your own. My god. When are you goin’ to marry me?”

“I’ll call security.” Cason grumbled, rolling his eyes at Beau’s attempts to flirt with Rosie. He pulled his phone up to his ear, sticking close to Natalia, while dressing down the head of security of the venue, and demanding at least tend more guards.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean

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?”

Anna

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.

Cason

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?”

Duke

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.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean and Cason

Cason pulled a hand away from Mika’s legs, reaching forward to open the back door into the kitchen, before stepping inside with her. He took a deep breath and then decided to respond to her comment touching on her own confusion.

“Trust me when I say, everyone here is confused. No one here made any deals. I watched them to make sure. There’s no…explanation.” He explained quietly as he walked her over to the living room. He sat Mika down on the cushion on the opposite side to Dean’s pillows, quickly covering her up with the blankets that were still there.

Dean wasn’t far behind Cason, not stopping to check on anyone else. He shoved his way past Duke to enter the kitchen, and almost jogged into the living room. He wedged himself between Cason and Mika, quickly reaching out to touch her face in the less harsh light of the living room.

Duke stood back for a few moments, until Nat approached, and he nodded. He wrapped Nat’s arm with his own as Bobby passed them, staggering up the steps behind the others.

“How are you feeling? Are you thirsty? Go get her some water…” He ordered Cason over his shoulder, causing Cason to frown in confusion. Dean was bossing him around? Cason rolled his eyes, after glancing down at Mika, and stood up to go fetch water from the kitchen.

“How about we give her some space to just…process things?” Duke chimed in, crossing his arms to prevent himself from smothering Mika more. He shivered slightly, now warming up from the chill outside. But stayed close to Natalia. At least that way, while Cason was busy, she wasn’t left on her own.

“She’s fine.” Dean responded simply, brushing his fingers over every place that he could remember there being a cut or a bruise. Duke growled in frustration, rolling his eyes and began to step forward when Cason brought back the bottle of water he went to the kitchen for. Cason reached between Dean and Mika, causing Dean to lean back a bit. Dean then reached under the blanket to pick up Mika’s free hand. “Are you warm enough? I can um…I can warm you up if you want.”

Duke

Duke rolled his eyes again as Dean navigated how to take care of Mika, as if she wasn’t still the same person. Dean almost seemed afraid of her, or afraid he would break her. His annoyance tempted him to step forward and pull Dean away, just to give Mika some space to process even being alive. It wasn’t going to help her process anything for Dean to act as if she was glass. If she wanted connection, she needed to be held…tightly.

“Oh shit…” Duke whispered, realizing he had just left Esme outside in all the chaos. Knowing how she internalized everyone’s emotions, she was probably drained and barely standing, if she was standing at all. As Duke turned around to head outside, prepared to apologize profusely for leaving her alone, she stepped into the room and perched against a wall.

“Hey! I was afraid you were still out there freezin’ to death.” Duke reached out, pulling Esme’s arms away from her body to hold both her hands. He could see, by the look in Esme’s eyes and by Sarah’s weight against his own legs between them, that she was spent. She was absolutely wiped out and as he watched her face, he could also tell that she was thinking about something heavy, “You alright? I know this is…it’s shocking. I mean, I’m not even sure any of this is real. But you don’t look so hot.”

He brought his good hand up, brushing it through the side of Esme’s hair, before cradling her cheek, his thumb brushing a soft line over her cheek, “It ain’t like I’m needed over there right now. I’ll have to kidnap her to get a word in…”

Anna

As soon as Sam had returned to Anna from lighting the fire, she quickly buried her face in his side, holding onto him as if her life depended on it. As she sobbed into his side, she could feel him tense, as if something was going wrong and she hoped with every fiber of her being that something wasn’t coming to destroy this moment. It could be the angels or the demons, but she couldn’t will herself away from Sam, until she heard Duke.

Reluctantly, Anna pulled her face away from Sam’s jacket, back toward the fire, where her eyes widened teary and afraid at the sight. She looked around at the others. Even Duke seemed terrified by what he was seeing, and Dean couldn’t move. But then Duke ran to Mika, and it was clear to Anna that Mika was alive. She didn’t offer to hurt Duke. In fact, she seemed more than relieved to be in Duke’s arms.

Looking up at Sam’s face, Anna took a deep breath, trying to calm down the hurricane of emotions she was still feeling in her chest. She was still heartbroken and confused but at the same time she was feeling an overwhelming relief that was washing through her brain like a tidal wave.

“I don’t understand…” She whispered, holding onto Sam’s arm as he began following the others. She unstuck her feet from the gravel, and followed him, shuddering at the uneasy feeling she had about the whole situation. But as soon as they entered, and Duke and Dean began bickering, Anna’s shoulders relaxed a bit. She stayed with Sam, watching Duke suddenly realize that Esme had stayed outside. Anna tore her eyes away from Mika and Dean, watching as Duke walked over to Esme, his entire demeanor now calm, relieved and maybe a little tired.

Cason’s heartbeat in Anna’s brain caused her to clench her teeth, her jaw popping a bit, but she pushed it aside and turned her eyes back to Mika and Dean, “Who was it?”, she asked innocently, looking up at Sam. Her gaze was almost accusatory, but she didn’t believe that Sam would have had even a moment to make some sort of deal, “Surely someone made a deal, right? Duke maybe?”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke closed his eyes for a moment as Dean came out of the basement and stated that he couldn’t bring Mika out on his own. Duke couldn’t move either. As Esme squeezed his arm, he took a deep breath, bringing his other hand up to grip her wrist, signaling that he at least knew she was there. He stared straight ahead, not turning to look at Sam as he returned with Mika’s body. His mind told him that if he refused to look at her, this wasn’t real. But then Sam placed her on the pyre, and Duke couldn’t wrench his eyes away. His gaze was glued to her face as Sam pulled his matches.

As soon as the flames caught the bottom of the pyre, Duke couldn’t stare at it any longer. HIs mind finally allowed him to wrench his eyes away and he looked down, gasping for air for a moment as the tears finally flowed, rolling off the tip of his nose. For a moment, it felt as if his legs would collapse beneath him. But he held himself up, holding Esme closer to him as Sarah stepped over and leaned against both their legs.

As the flames crackled, Duke sniffled, his senses numbing out until he heard, through the ringing in his ears, Sam’s voice. The two words perked Duke’s head up. What was happening, in the worst moment of his life since his parents’ death? What could possibly go wrong? As he was asking himself a million questions, he felt Esme tense and then heard her ask the same question he thought he had heard from Sam, only quieter.

Duke lifted his head, and glanced up at the flames, a deep frown falling into his expression, along with confusion. The bird was confusing enough, as he believed the grief was making Sam see things, and it was projecting into Duke’s brain. But it was obvious, by Esme’s body language that she was feeling off about the situation too. She could see it too. Then came the figure, causing Duke to gasp. HIs boots ground into the gravel, the urge to run into the fire and retrieve what he could feel in his bones was Mika…overwhelming.

As she stepped down, and across the gravel. Duke lost control of his breathing, with wide and teary eyes. She smiled at him, and his right foot stepped forward, his whole body aching to run to her until Esme stopped him. He wrapped his arm around Esme and watched Mika approach Dean, who seemed frozen, just staring at her with wide and confused eyes. As Mika spoke, Duke couldn’t even really hear what she was saying. He simply watched, not sure it was her at first. Maybe it was some sort of cosmic joke to add to the pile and to weaken the group even more.

As Dean took a couple of steps back, and Mika fell to her knees, Duke’s boots ground in the gravel once again, the temptation to run almost overpowering any sense of self preservation he ever had. Esme turned her eyes up to him, and he could read her expression before she ever spoke. He scanned her eyes, as his own went wide, realizing that Esme could feel it. This was Mika.

“Oh my god…” He breathed, taking off in a full jog without hesitation. He slid to his knees on the gravel in front of Mika, wrapping his arms around her so tightly that it hurt his entire body. “I’m right here. I got you. You’re okay. Just hold onto me…”

As he spoke the words to her, it almost felt out of body, as he heard her own words from a hunt that had almost left Duke dead in her arms. He was confused, but honestly didn’t care that she had just been dead and was now in his arms. He could feel it, from looking into her eyes before he hugged her to the way her skin felt against his, she was alive…

Duke brushed his fingers through her hair, checking to make sure that she was all there and all in one piece, and uniquely…her. She was fine. She was breathing, he could hear it. He could feel her heartbeat in her temple, which was pressed against his. Duke pulled back from the hug, only to smooth Mika’s hair back from her face, and search for eye contact. Once he found that eye contact, he sniffled, his tearful eyes now a bit brighter as he smiled, “You came back to me.”

He then wrapped his arms around her again, as Dean’s footsteps approached and Duke felt Dean fall to his knees beside him. Dean’s body weight leaned a bit on Duke, and Duke sat back, letting go of Mika to allow Dean to quickly smother her with a hug. Duke was a little taken aback by the length of Dean’s pause before coming to Mika, but he didn’t say anything. Mika didn’t need to hear that…

Dean and Cason

Dean didn’t move from his spot at the entrance of the basement, when Sam said he would go and get Mika’s body. He knew that when Sam said that he would go and get her, he didn’t mean with help. Dean would have to remember that favor later, and make it up to Sam. In that moment, however, his mind was nearly blank, his eyes wide and unmoving as he stared into the gravel in front of him.

When Sam returned with Mika’s body, Dean slowly turned his eyes up to follow Sam as he carried her to the pyre. With a deep breath, Dean walked, willing his heavy feet toward the rest of the group. He stopped, his eyes filling with tears as Sam placed Mika on the pyre and before Dean could even process seeing her there, Sam lit the fire.

“Wait…” He croaked, his voice only a whisper as he held his hand out toward the fire. It was as if he thought he could stop what was happening, and none of this would be final. But before he could step forward, he was forced to take several steps back, his eyes wide and tearful and confused. The giant bird coming out of the flames was like a hallucination, and before Dean could even comprehend what he was seeing, a figure began walking out of the flame, and then? That figure turned into…

“Mika…”, He whispered, staring at her with wide eyes as she approached him, her eyes not her own, and even the voice she spoke with…not hers. As he stared at her with wide eyes, trying to understand what was being said to him, he opened his mouth and shook his head, “What does that mean? Hey! What does that…”

As she walked backward, Dean stepped forward, reaching out to attempt to get more information, but then Mika dropped to her knees. Her demeanor was less confident, and when she looked around at the group, she seemed terrified, and…human. His name falling off her lips sent his heart racing, but Duke was the first to approach, grabbing Mika as if he knew for a fact she was human. Yeah…that was Duke.

Dean stepped forward, his legs barely carrying him as he approached her, falling to his knees. He leaned against Duke, wrapping an arm around his back for a moment, before pulling Mika into his chest as Duke moved back.

“I-I don’t understand. What…” He muttered, his wide and teary eyes turning up to look around at the others. “Who was it? What…”

“Let’s just b-be happy, alright?” Duke stopped him, and Dean turned his eyes to Duke, only to see him pulling his flannel from his bare shoulders without a second thought. Duke brought his flannel over and draped it over like a blanket, “And maybe we should get her inside, before she freezes to death. Yeah? Guys?”

Cason had waited, trying to hold his tongue as the boys got their little reunion with Mika. But as Bobby passed him, he shook his head, “Uh uh. I got it old man. You’re way too drunk to be carrying the precious cargo. I got it.”

As Bobby conceded, grumbling but still shocked that Mika was right there in front of him, Cason pressed forward. He wanted to stay with Nat, but he also knew that he was probably the best person to grab Mika, now that she was out of the panic room.

“Hate to rush the reunion, but move.” Cason ordered Dean, who glared at him for a moment. Dean leaned back, still cradling Mika’s face in his hand. He brushed his fingers through her hair, tempted to say ‘no’ to Cason’s order. But then Cason spoke up again, “Unless you want her to freeze to death, and for us to actually be able to use this pretty pyre…again, you move.”

“Dean…” Duke spoke up, his body beginning to shiver in the cold.

“Fine. Take her.”

Cason scooped Mika up in his arms without another word, moving his head to the side to allow hers to rest against his neck. He pressed his cheek against her forehead and stood straight, “C’mon stubborn girl. Lets get you inside…in the heat. It’s damn good to hear your heartbeat right now.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Cason

Cason breathed a small sigh of relief as Natalia promised him that she wouldn’t run off. His head ached a bit, and he brought a hand up, running his fingers over his left eyebrow. He took a second to think about what his plan would even be if Nat broke down or if she needed some time or a break. After that moment, he turned his eyes down to the side of Nat’s head, “Thank you…”

But then she mentioned that she needed a moment already, before they faced the day. Cason could agree, as Dean was being oddly quiet, but was still sitting on the couch in the living room, drinking coffee. Cason could hear Esme and Duke talking outside, but only a bit. They seemed fine. The others…Cason couldn’t hear them. He assumed that Sam and Anna must have been somewhere warded, maybe even still in the basement.

“We’ll take all the time you need, at least until your brother unglues himself from the couch he’s sitting on.”

Anna

Anna wasn’t surprised by Sam’s answer to her question. He seemed to just be holding himself up by the need to do so, and the need to support everyone else. The second he allowed himself to feel anything, he was going to break, and that was where her job in support came from. She nodded gently, as he explained exactly what he needed her to do, taking a deep breath, “Alright. I can do that. I will just stick with you, no matter what, and if you need me, I’m just a reach away. Just don’t bottle things up.”

After she thought for a moment, watching Sam look around at what they still had to do and where they were actually going to hold the funeral, she frowned, “Well, I’m going to go see if Cason will help with the wood. There’s no reason for you to do it all on your own, when you’ve got Dean to contend with, too. Who knows how he’s handling being awake after everything that happened last night? I don’t even think he’s seen Duke…”

She picked up Sam’s hand, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb as she placed both their hands on her knee and just watched his face for a little bit, giving him the time he needed to collect himself before they left the car.

Duke

Duke used to hate when Esme would project emotions on him, or would try and calm him with her powers. It was something that he felt was a bit of an invasion of his mind. But in this moment, he welcomed it. Not that he was angry with her, anyway, but any fear or worry for her was replaced by the swelling feeling in his heart that he felt…all the way back when they first met.

He was then a little confused when Esme’s hand showed up with a bandana clutched in her fingers, and she began dabbing at the blood on his face and neck. He hadn’t even noticed the bleeding. Honestly, he had forgotten that he was injured as bad as he was, other than the extreme soreness. Even his broken wrist didn’t seem so painful anymore…the very morning after it was broken.

Duke watched Esme’s face as she explained that she had had a rough night, and didn’t wake him to help her deal with it. The thought caused him to wince, and his head to tilt with sympathy. He frowned even deeper when she brought up Cason, and Sarah, whom he hadn’t even realized was near them. Reaching his hand from the ground, over Esme’s head, he touched Sarah’s side and then puled his hand back quickly, “Oh. Hi, Sarah. Don’t…don’t bite me.”, he raised his eyebrows, pointing in the direction of the fur that had just been under his fingers.

He turned his eyes back to Esme’s as her hand touched his face. He closed his eyes, nodding gently, until he felt Esme’s lips on his forehead and then she kissed him. Kissing her back deeply, he did his best to just let the concentration be on the moment, and Esme and safety, and not on what was to come.

A bit later

Dean, Duke, Cason, and Anna

Dean stood, leaned against the doorway of the panic room. He couldn’t move from his spot, even though he knew he had to. He knew that they had to move Mika’s body to the pyre, or the funeral could never happen. There would be no closure. No matter how much he tried to will his legs to move, he couldn’t…

Duke stood with Nat and Esme, silent, with his arms crossed. Bobby stood not far from him, holding a bottle of scotch in his hand as he stared off in the distance, stoic and unmoving. There wasn’t much else to do. Cason had already forced Natalia to babysit Duke, in case he lost his shit. When, in reality, he couldn’t even move. He couldn’t cry. All he could do was concentrate on the cramping in his stomach, and the loss that was already blanketing the entire lot.

Cason wiped his hands on his pants, having just stacked the last of the logs for the pyre, and added fuel to the base. He turned and walked back over to join Natalia, beside Duke and then turned to look at Sam, “I guess go and tell your brother that everything is ready. This isn’t going to get any easier…”

Anna watched Cason for a moment, and then turned her eyes up to look over Sam’s face, attempting to judge his emotions. She slowly released his hand, crossing her arms so that he could go help Dean, who showed up, as if summoned. Dean stepped outside the basement door, his legs like lead and his feet shuffling in the gravel. Clearing his throat, he finally spoke, his voice broken and exhausted.

“So um…I can’t…I can’t do that…” He admitted, “I don’t even really want to be down there alone. I know I won’t…I’m not gonna be able to bring…Sam?”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean and Cason

Dean was reluctant to just let Lexi and Nat walk toward the war room without him holding onto both of them, now that they were getting along. He was almost afraid they would gang up against him, and he would begin to be left out, something he didn’t handle well. Shaking aside his childish thoughts, he followed behind everyone as they filed into the war room with the food.

Cason leaned into Nat’s kiss to his cheek, staying close to her back as they both walked to the war room, knowing that Dean was probably shooting daggers with his eyes behind him. He sat the food down on the table and walked around to his seat, choosing to not kick his feet up on the table, but rather to drape them over the arm of the chair that Anna sat down in. Without skipping a beat, Anna draped her arm over Cason’s legs, grabbing a plate and some cutlery.

Cason grabbed a few pieces of bacon, toast and then stole Anna’s fork to throw some eggs on her plate, before grabbing a plate and doing the same for Nat. He sat Nat’s plate in the spot to his left and then leaned back in his chair, tempted to start day drinking for the conversation coming…even though he couldn’t get drunk.

Dean wasted no time, grabbing himself a piled up plate while everyone else grabbed theirs. When he took his seat, the glanced over at Anna, who seemed perfectly fine with Cason just draping himself over her lap, and he narrowed his eyes. He was genuinely curious how much he had missed while Anna wasn’t around. Obviously, the situation between her and Cason and Nat had changed. They all seemed like a unit, almost.

As soon as Lexi sat down, Dean reached over to her rolling chair and pulled her closer, reaching up and pulling her plate toward him as well.

“So, Anna…How hard do you think it would be to convince Duke to come visit?” He randomly asked, and Anna raised her eyebrows mid chew, confused by the sudden question.

“I think you would have a better chance of convincing him to cut his hair again, than getting him to come to this bunker.” Anna bluntly admitted. Duke hadn’t stepped foot in Kansas since Mika died. He had buried himself in working on the farm and didn’t really hunt anymore. He definitely didn’t want to be around reminders of Mika…

“I might have to stop in if we’re ever out that way…”

Anya

Anya was relieved that Sam was at least listening to her, whether he would actually act on the advice or not. At least for a moment, he seemed to be okay, and he seemed to be letting some of the guilt go. She followed the others into the war room, taking a seat that had been rolled into the stacks and rolling it back to the table with her legs, like a Bedrock car.

As she got there, she reached forward, watching Sam load his plate up with a chuckle before she began loading up a plate and then sat it down and pulled her phone. She typed a message and turned it to where Sam could hear it in the larger room.

“Just don’t choke. We’ve got nothing but time.” She pressed play with a laugh, and turned to smile at Lexi. She then typed one more message, “But should we get the hard conversations out of the way today?”