JustAnna

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna nodded to Sam as he suggested that they go into the kitchen and get a drink with the others. She wasn’t exactly excited to look any of them in the eyes, especially Dean, who she wanted absolutely nothing to do with. But she also, in a way, missed all of them in one place, safe.

She followed Sam to the corner, glancing around and finally deciding to sit on a piece of counter, within arms distance of him. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about…them, but she knew that in that moment, when the basement might be an option, she wanted to keep him close. She also wanted to hold onto a glimmer of the hope she had felt when she saw his face in the barn, like seeing an angel coming to save her.

Anna climbed up onto the counter, turning her back to it and using her sore arms to hoist herself up with a groan of pain from her shoulder, mostly. She then reached a hand out and wrapped a corner of Sam’s flannel around her fingers, like a little leash to hold onto him. Her head perked up, however, when Dean stepped into the kitchen, and picked up a drink Cason had prepared for him. She kept her eyes on Dean, until his eyes turned up and looked straight at her.

She turned her eyes down for a moment, and then glanced up, and Dean was still staring at her, as if he had something to say. As if Dean and Cason were communicating silently, Cason poured another glass of Bourbon, and slid it to Dean, who picked it up and pushed himself away from his spot. He stepped over to Anna, and without a word, held the whiskey out to her.

Anna turned her eyes down, taking the glass, as Dean shoved it at her a bit more insistently. She said nothing. She told him she was done and she was done. She released Sam’s shirt and took a small drink of the amber liquid, as the hard conversations suddenly started. She didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to talk about the barn, or Dean…

But she did want to know why they were there in the first place. Maybe the others had figured that out, by this point. Maybe the conversation could be a good thing.

Dean

Dean sighed as Bobby came into the room and demanded answers and explanations. He knew that the conversation was coming, but there was a tension lingering in the air, between all of them, and Dean couldn’t see how the conversation wasn’t going to be just full of more confusion, heartbreak and potentially anger and fighting. He wasn’t quite sure.

His eyes fell on Anna, a million reasons to have a conversation with her running through his brain, but he also hadn’t figured out how to explain himself to her. There really wasn’t anything to explain. In a moment of panic, he had made a harsh decision and as it appeared…it was the wrong decision. Seeing Nat with Cason, in that moment, he couldn’t imagine the shape that Natalia would be in, if Cason had died in that barn. But how could he look Anna in the eyes and just tell her he was wrong? It was a bigger deal to her than him simply ‘making a bad decision’. She had watched the person she believed kept her alive, in that barn get left behind…because of Dean’s decisions.

After a moment, Cason read his expression and poured a glass of bourbon, sliding it toward Dean’s empty hand and Dean sighed, picking the glass up off the counter before pushing himself away from his spot in a moment of bravery. He walked straight over to Anna, and pressed the glass into Anna’s limp hand on her lap. As she took the drink, he dropped his hand and tried his best to coax her to look up at him, but she didn’t, and he gave a sad nod, stepping away from her and returning to Mika’s side.

Once there, he sighed and scratched at his eyebrow as Bobby asked the million dollar question, prompting Sam to begin a general run down of how things went south as fast as they did. Dean tensed when Sam brought up the barn, watching the body language of everyone in the room, especially Cason. Cason didn’t react at all, simply taking a drink from his glass. But when the word ‘asylum’ was uttered, Dean looked down at his feet, taking a deep breath.

He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to have this conversation tonight. Part of him wanted to dip out of the room and run upstairs, before anything progressed. But then Nat began explaining what happened at the asylum further. Dean frowned, hearing every single thing that Nat had gone through in that horrible place, and thanks to Dean, she probably would have died, if Cason wasn’t much more crafty than Dean had given him credit for. Dean glanced up, tears in his eyes, at Cason, giving him a simple nod. The gesture was a mix of ‘thank you’ and ‘we need to talk later’.

Dean was tempted, as Esme began her part of what happened, to step forward and convince her that she didn’t have to tell anything. She didn’t have to tell Bobby she wasn’t human. She didn’t have to break that news to Duke, in the state he was in. She didn’t have to relive all of it, but he kept quiet, glancing to Mika briefly, before taking a long drink of his bourbon.

As Esme worked through every single piece of the asylum, Dean tensed. He knew what he had seen. He knew that he had felt the Hellhounds wrapping themselves around he and Esme, but part of him thought he imagined all of it and got out purely on luck. Of course that wasn’t the case and of course it was something uncomfortable and belief challenging that had saved him.

Before Esme could get to the ‘not human’ part of her story, she collapsed and Dean quickly forgot about the hammering of his own heart in his ears, suddenly having flashbacks of himself, Duke and Esme in the very same kitchen, all of them worse for wear and worried about each other. His body went into that protective mode, and he sat his glass down on the table, rushing around it as Duke scrambled out of his own chair. Dean placed a hand on Duke’s bare chest and shook his head, “I got her.”

The look he got back in return caused him to raise his eyebrows briefly, as Duke seemed angry, or at the least ready to fight Dean, as if Dean was stepping in between himself and Esme.

“Duke. You’re not in any shape to handle anything, alright? Just sit down and relax, and let me help…it’s alright.” Dean comforted Duke, his hand sliding up to Duke’s shoulder to sit him back down in the chair. With a sigh, Duke looked away from him, spacing out, and nodded.

“Esme. Hey…Hey sweetheart. Let’s get you laid out, alright? C’mon…” Dean cooed to Esme, softening his voice as best he could as he carefully slid an arm under her legs and around her back, before hoisting her from the floor. Before stepping around the table, Dean glanced down at Duke, a little uncomfortable with how angry he seemed with the whole situation. Anger wasn’t even an emotion Duke was capable of, half the time…and jealousy? Never.

Duke

Duke barely remembered walking to the kitchen, as his body ran on autopilot and he took his seat that he always sat in, next to Cason at the table. He reached across the table with a shaky hand and picked up a beer, quickly cracking it open and taking a drink as he spaced out, staring toward the blowing curtains in the open window above the sink. The drink felt foreign and strange as he swallowed, and his sore throat screamed at him. He hadn’t even realized until that moment how much damage the breathing tubes and crap they shoved down his throat to try and save him had done.

As the explanations began, Duke continued to stare off into space, memories of the kitchen flooding his brain. Small bits of the conversation rattled around in between images, especially when Esme told her own story of what happened. So, they had told her he died, of course. Obviously she had told Dean, who told Mika and so on. That’s why they were all looking at him so weird. He was dead and they had all left the hospital to go save Natalia, which was why he woke up alone.

The memory of the night that Dean had confronted Duke about his attachment to Esme played over in his brain, as he zoned out once again. They were young. Duke hated seeing Esme alone, when Dean was away…especially right before John went missing. Dean buried himself in work, but refused to let anyone come with him. He had his dad. So, Duke stayed back, and for once didn’t run away, because if he had, Esme would have been alone. That conversation hurt their relationship, and Duke couldn’t remember them ever fixing things, other than time just healing some of the wounds. He felt like Dean blamed him for losing Esme in the first place…

Hearing that Dean had ‘sacrificed’ himself to try and save Esme almost made Duke shake his head, his only reaction coming out as a small finger tap against his bottle, which perked Cason’s head up. Duke sniffled, tilting his head to the side as he grappled with how easy it seemed for Dean to just…move on from people dying, these days. Even with Mika, who Duke looked up to like a big sister, Duke couldn’t help the sinking feeling that Dean was relieved he was dead…

Duke was snapped from his thoughts as Esme collapsed, and he sprung from his chair, ignoring the tugging of his stitches to tend to her. And like clockwork…like a bad dream, there was Dean. Duke stepped up close to Dean, almost nose to nose with him as his blue eyes burned into Dean’s. Dean quickly began to talk him down, pulling the same brotherly crap that always worked when they were kids and the feeling in Duke’s stomach felt foreign. He wasn’t the jealous or the angry type. This unresolved, pushed down feeling didn’t feel right at all.

He sighed, and turned back to his chair, sitting down heavily with a nod, before turning his eyes up to Bobby, who frowned down at him, as if he was disappointed…but worried. Duke then zoned out, turning his beer in circles in his hands as he stared at the window once again.

Bobby

As Bobby heard everyone’s stories, he tried his best to just stay quiet and stoic, being the solid that held them all together as best he could. But his emotions were a mess internally, as tears played at the corners of his eyes. This all seemed so hopeless, even with them safe, now. A million thoughts were rattling around in his brain, along with questions that he would need answered before he could make any sense of what was happening. Why would the demons want them back at the asylum in the first place, just to mess with them? Who was messing around at the barn, and why? Why set such a simple trap, just to…kidnap some of the girls and leave the boys alive after a fight?

But when Esme collapsed, Bobby was snapped from the questions rattling around in his head, and he turned to run and help, seeing both Dean and Duke springing into action. It was a reminder of one of the most tense and heartbreaking summers he had ever had with his kids. He watched them tear each other apart over attachments. He watched Dean leave, break Duke’s heart, and at the same time, bring Mika back to him. He stepped forward, as Duke’s aggression rose, ready to grab his son and keep him from making a mistake…after all the years of holding those emotions in.

“Duke. Don’t.” He called out to him. As Duke agreed to sit down, Bobby simply shook his head the second he made eye contact, trying to keep his face neutral for Duke’s sake. He was really starting to worry about the kid. As soon as Duke settled, and Dean stepped out of the room, Bobby turned to call back to Dean, “I’ll be in there in a few to check her over.”

“Yeah! Her head, man. She needs someone to look at her head.” Dean called back as he carefully laid Esme on the couch.

“Ten-four.” Bobby called back, before turning to those who were left in the kitchen. He looked around at the group and sighed, “So, here’s what I want to know. What the hell did they want with you in Missouri, anyway? I mean there has to be a reason, other than just messing with you.”

“I wasn’t going to bring it up, but I might…I might have managed to dig a bit of info from one of the demons I killed on my way out of that barn.” Cason started, and Anna’s head snapped toward him with raised eyebrows. “They told me some things about the farm…and Anna…and Lilith.”

“What?” Anna asked, straightening with wide eyes as she stared down at Cason.

“Go on.” Bobby urged Cason to continue. His eyes were narrowed in curiosity.

“Lilith wanted her there.” Cason continued, and Anna shifted uncomfortably on the counter. “Lilith wanted her in the place where it all began, because she wanted to use her to break a seal…well…a couple of seals, actually. The house up the way? The one that was burned to a husk? It’s where your family died, Anna.”

“No. No no no. This didn’t all happen because of me.” Anna shook her head, looking around at everyone as if they were going to blame her for the terror they had all experienced the night before. Cason shook his head.

“No. We all just got wrapped up in it. They would have gotten to Nat either way. No matter what we did, we would have ended up somewhere…ambushed and it would have happened either way. This was just the path of least resistance for them.” Cason explained, before taking a drink. Bobby tilted his head, knowing that this information was a lot for Anna to take in, but he was careful not to press. Instead, he moved onto his next question.

“And was it one of the big bads that took her?”

“Alastair.” Cason and Anna said in unison. Anna could almost feel the tension from Dean in the next room as the name slipped from her lips.

“Well that’s great. Here’s a good question, while we’re sharing and caring.” Bobby started, taking a deep and exasperated breath as he tried to handle all the information he was just strapped with, “Why the hell does Dean look the way he does…and Nat looks the way she does…and yet, Esme looks…”

“Because she’s not human.” Cason blurted out, interrupting Bobby. Duke's eyes shot over to Cason, and he narrowed them. Cason nodded sadly, trying to convey to Duke that it wasn't his conversation to have with the cowboy. Esme needed to talk to him.

“Come again?” Bobby asked, looking around at everyone in the room, lingering on Sam and Mika and then Duke, who turned from Cason with a lost and devastated look that Bobby couldn't quite place.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya smiled brightly as Sam complimented the smell of her cooking. It was something she always took pride in, even if she wasn’t able to do it much anymore. She couldn’t get many jobs with her disability, but she could keep people comfortable, and she could be a steady hand for those around her, which she always took as a heavy responsibility. One way, was by feeding them, which she was eager to do for Dean. He would warm up to her, whether he liked it or not.

She didn’t even bother slicing the pie, setting it aside and then cutting into the cheeseburger casserole she had made specially for Dean. Getting him a horde of meat in his stomach might make him feel a bit better. Wash it down with beer and he would be in such a food coma, he wouldn’t be able to bitch about anything.

She picked up her phone and typed a simple message with a silent giggle, “I fully intend to put him to sleep. Peace will be had.”

Dean

Dean smirked as Lexi agreed that he could at least keep an eye on Anya, but when she left off on ‘but first’, Dean raised his eyebrows, raising them almost into his hairline as she kissed him and his eyes fell closed. He kissed her back, absentmindedly bringing a hand up to cradle her chin and tilt her face a bit more. Either she had felt the need, or she felt how hard it was for him to keep to himself. Either way, she had kissed him, and if she wasn’t careful, there was no way they were going to make it back to the bunker.

As if reading his mind, she pulled away and Dean let his eyes open, his gaze a bit lazy and dazed as he stared down at her eyes. Her suggestion to head back seemed so weird and out of place in his buzzing brain, like a hard reset and he forgot that he was even upset as he cleared his throat, dropped his hand and turned to the steering wheel.

“Right. Yeah. Let’s get back. I need a beer.” Dean stammered, starting the car and quickly backing up out of the slim alley they had parked in. As soon as he was on the main road, the tires squealed as he peeled out, wanting to get back home as quick as they could.

A Bit Later

As Dean pulled into the drive of the bunker, and the power gate opened, letting them in, he turned his head and awkwardly smirked toward Lexi, “You know…now I’m gonna feel like a hypocrite if I say anything to them. I mean, I still have my reasons to be weirded out by Sam…hanging out with women outside of work or whatever.”

He paused as he parked and turned the car off, “But I’ll try to play nice. For all we know, they’ve been playing chess all night.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Bobby

Bobby frowned as Mika pulled away from him. Before she even started explaining things, he had a feeling that there was a lot to this hunt, and the feeling was washing over him that he was lucky to have Mika standing in front of him. Then Mika began to explain and Bobby narrowed his eyes in a couple of spots: ‘thanks to Cason’ was the big one. A demon had saved Natalia? Unlikely for any good reason.

At the words ‘Duke did die’ Bobby’s eyes widened, and he gasped, but let it out in a deep relieved sigh. His boy was still alive, and was likely right outside that front door. He frowned once again about Esme, having seen Esme take out demons in his own living room not too long ago. He wasn’t that surprised that Cason would be afraid of her, but what could have happened that would have made him so scared after their…thing? There were a million questions.

“Be civil? When you say ‘something’ you mean…something? That don’t seem like Natalia to me.” Bobby argued with the idea that Cason and Nat were suddenly so close, and seemed to be possibly in a romantic kind of tie up. Bobby released Mika’s shoulders, and watched her yawn, his expression falling into a fatherly concern, “Well let me tell you this…if you’re all okay, you ain’t gonna fret over it, alright? We take the bumps and we move on. We regroup and we figure out how to move forward, even if that starts with just a beer. And if someone says they’re alright?…I think we’ve learned our lesson about holdin’ on too tight, haven’t we? Let me take over for a while, kid. You get some rest…”

He broke from his speech and left it at that, until he could talk to her alone…later on. It was then that he heard Nat’s voice from the other room and he sighed with relief, just hearing the girl speak, “Hey Nat! Pick your poison. We got bourbon, beer, wine coolers Shelby left in the fridge that might be good for the little one when she gets in. Just grab whatever. Ice is on the table.”

Duke

Duke watched as the tension around him unfolded, especially the venom laced way that Anna spoke to Dean. He knew that Dean and Anna weren’t particularly close, but he never expected to see that sweet girl speak to Dean that way. There was definitely something brewing that Duke hoped wouldn’t overflow any time soon. The fighting would send him over the edge, and he honestly just wanted to figure out his brain and have a beer.

He turned his eyes down to Esme and returned her warm smile as she asked if he was ready for Bobby to fuss. He hadn’t seen Bobby in what felt like forever. He had a gut feeling that it would be more arguing than fussing over his wellbeing, but it was a road he had been down with Bobby a million times. It was almost a situation he could chalk up as his expertise.

“Yeah. I’m ready…” He sighed, squeezing Esme’s hand as they walked up to the door. He took a deep breath as they stepped inside, and the familiar smells and odd lighting of the house hit his senses. Immediately, he felt safer, just like all those other times he ran away and came back.

As soon as he cleared the doorway, Bobby glanced over at them, and his eyes went wide. Duke didn’t even realize how pale he still looked, but Bobby was looking at him as if he was a ghost, and it caused Duke’s stomach to drop as the old man crossed the living room from the kitchen. First Bobby brushed a thumb over Esme’s cheek, giving her the warmest fatherly smile he could and then turned his attention to Duke, his eyes welling up in tears.

“It’s good to see you, son…” Bobby spoke in a shuttered breath. He quickly wrapped his arms around Duke, pulling him in roughly with a hug. After a moment, he pulled back from Duke, and grabbed his chin with one hand, turning Duke’s face side to side. “You look like warmed over crap. How you feelin’?”

“Um…alive?” Duke stuttered, not a hint of a smile on his face. The look in Duke’s eyes caused Bobby to frown, scanning his adopted sons eyes for something. He chewed at his lip and released Duke’s chin.

“Well. Then we need to get some of that spark back…yeah? Go get you a drink. Your favorite whiskey is on top of the fridge, brand new bottle, waitin’ for you to come home. Go on.” He urged Duke, gesturing toward the kitchen. Bobby then turned to Esme, wrapping an arm around her neck to pull her into him, and pressed a kiss to her forehead with a sigh. “You don’t look so hot yourself. Get a drink and lets start a repair line for you idjits.”

He smiled warmly and let her go, watching the door as the others stepped inside.

Cason

Cason walked with Natalia to the front door, glancing up at the ceiling of the porch to make sure Bobby hadn’t painted anything on the old wood. Once he was comfortable with the lack of magic to bite him in the ass, he continued to the door with Nat, stopping behind her as she ruined the devils trap there. He was careful not to touch the doorway, in case Bobby had coated it in salt, or built some new reinforcement of iron, which he had his fill of for the century.

As Nat confirmed that he was good to come in, Cason carefully stepped over the threshold and into the living room, instantly hearing Bobby and Mika speaking from the kitchen. He knew he wasn’t exactly welcome in the house, after what had happened with Cupid and the crap that had gone down before. Hell, he figured a lot of his blood was still staining the cracks in the wood of the living room, considering how much he bled in that house.

“Bobby…” Cason nodded politely, releasing Nat’s hand out of politeness for Bobby, and the fear that Bobby didn’t exactly know that he and Nat were close, or even civil with one another. He quickly followed Nat into the kitchen, picking up one of the glasses that Bobby had directed them to. He grabbed the bottle of bourbon that looked the least cheap, and cracked it open, pouring himself a very large glass before recapping the bottle. He looked up at Nat and smirked.

“Since I’m the least damaged person here, I’m just going to sit here and watch the family show. You need to get looked at, though. Would you rather me or the old man do it?” He asked her, as he took a long drink, and nursed his glass in his hand.

Anna

Anna nodded when Sam asked her if she was ready to get in and out of the cold. With the heat radiating from her skin, the air felt at least twice as cold as it actually was, and she was nearly shivering. She wanted to grab some clean clothes, warm up, and hopefully get drunk enough to go to sleep for the rest of the day. She still didn’t know where she stood with Sam in her mind. She was still a bit angry at him, but now that Dean was back, a lot of that anger was transferred to Dean.

She tightened her grip on his hand, feeling Sam’s anxiety of losing her again in his touch. Then she followed him across the lot and into the house, her eyes instantly darting to the stairwell door to the basement. As she stepped through the door, Bobby was there, smiling at her with sympathy. But she couldn’t help notice how pale Duke looked as he stepped away from Bobby and into the kitchen.

“Hey Anna…” Bobby almost whispered, handling her with kid gloves. She barely remembered being completely covered in blood, both her own and Cason’s, but Bobby seemed to notice, his eyes looking her over. “You want a drink? I got fruity stuff all the way to rot gut. You’re welcome to whatever.”

Anna nodded, glancing back at the stairwell door again, which made Bobby turn and follow her eyes. He shook his head at her, and glanced up at Sam, before sighing, “I ain’t even made the bed down there. Don’t worry…”

Dean

Dean sighed as Anna wrapped up with Sam and he was left alone in the lot. It felt like old times. He pissed everyone off, and scared the hell out of those who weren’t pissed, all in the same night. Great. He turned before Anna and Sam could walk toward the house, reaching into the Impala for his phone. As he stood there, he zoned out for a moment and only realized when an involuntary shiver took him over that he was alone in the lot.

Clearing his throat, he pocketed his phone and closed the door to the Impala, strolling away from it as casually as he could, before jogging up the steps of Bobby’s house. As soon as he stepped through the door, he could feel the safety and the tension that he couldn’t quite place. He didn’t even look Bobby in the eyes when he first stepped in, turning to walk straight for the kitchen.

“Dean.” Bobby called to him, stopping him in his tracks. Dean turned back to Bobby and furrowed his brow, causing Bobby to raise his own eyebrows. The kids were in bad shape, that was for sure. Bobby waved him off and sighed, following Dean into the kitchen to reconvene with everyone else, “Go on. Get a drink. I think we all need to have a talk.”

“Understatement.” Dean sighed, his voice a bit hoarse as he wiped a hand down his face, and stepped into the kitchen, quickly stepping up beside Mika. Placing a hand on her lower back, he picked up a glass, right as Cason poured it full of bourbon and slid it to Dean. Dean didn’t even question it, straightening up as Bobby stepped in.

“Alright. Now that we’re all here. Who wants to go first? What went wrong?”

All Roads Lead To You

Duke

Duke watched Esme step forward, and check her gun, before firing a terrifyingly accurate shot into the mannequin in front of her. He raised his eyebrows, but quickly frowned at the sound of a sigh and then the pity that he would never have asked for from her, especially this early. He sighed himself, and shook his head, “I deal, you know. Wait what?”

It was then that he realized she was talking about her own situation, and his heart dropped. It was a story old as time with hunters. Either a parent, or a spouse, or a sibling…someone was killed by a monster and the hunt for revenge or answers began. A lot of them were just kids, when they were introduced to the world. It seemed he and Dean weren’t alone in that. He ducked his head, watching her line up another shot, both hitting their targets. And then she turned to him and he saw the tears in her eyes. He had never meant to make her cry.

That was the last thing he wanted to see from her. He had made her cry. But when she furthered her own story, Duke sighed involuntarily and glanced down at his own gun, turning it over and focusing on the floral pattern on the side. It was rare that he cried, but there was a lump in his throat. He snarled his nose, and looked back up at her as she finished. The entire situation made him shake his head. Demons and Hellhounds were torturous, and ruthless. It didn’t surprise him a bit that they would come after a mother and her kid. It didn’t surprise him to finally hear about a child who was actually almost killed during what seemed like a payment for a deal, even if Esme didn’t believe it.

He watched her body language for a moment, after lifting his head, seeing how spaced out she was as she recalled everything. And then came the million dollar question. They had a lot more in common than either of them had realized, and less than a day after meeting…they had both come clean to one another about exactly how much they had in common. Duke stepped over to the fence post, and placed the safety on his gun, before approaching Esme carefully. He didn’t know if it was his place to comfort her, or if she would even accept it, but it was in his nature. “I said I deal…but I wish you didn’t have to.”

Duke stepped in front of her, and without expecting anything in return, he wrapped his arms around her, bringing his left hand up to massage the back of her head as he pulled her into his chest. He took a deep breath, echoing her own breathing as best he could to help her calm down, “And you don’t have to face all that alone…as long as I’m around, alright? I know you don’t know me, and it might be inappropriate for me to say, but I got you…”

All Roads Lead To You

Dean

Dean tilted his head, as if to say ‘touche’ when Esme explained that basically a lot of hunters were the bolting type. She would know just as well as anyone how to handle someone with a hair trigger. He just worried, because of how easy it was to get attached to Duke, and to worry about him for months. He always seemed to limp back home, mostly in one piece, but Dean didn’t worry about him any less, every time he left.

He turned fully in his chair as she stopped again and was once again tempted to stand up, kiss her, pull her back in and try to convince her to just lay around all day. He had expected her to want to. But she was asking him to relax…and to possibly relax with her, something he couldn’t refuse if he tried.

“I’ll be out in a bit. I just gotta check on Bobby in the garage.” He replied to her, making sure that his smile conveyed that he wasn’t upset or irritable at all. He just wanted to hold her close for a while before she ran off. He closed his newspaper and stood from his chair, taking his dishes to the sink, before hearing her call from the living room. He smiled with a chuckle, “If Bobby doesn’t sucker me under a hood, I won’t. Take it easy out there, you hear me?”

Duke

Duke had reset all of the cans, pans and mannequins that he could find the pieces to by the time he heard the front door open. He tilted his cowboy had back a bit, and glanced toward the door, watching Esme closely as she took the steps. The last thing he wanted to be responsible for was her hurting herself worse, especially when Dean seemingly didn’t throw too big of a fit toward her hanging out with Duke.

“Well hey there sweet pea!” Duke called out to her as she approached him. He could tell that she was completely winded, and probably a little worse off than she would ever admit to the boys. He stepped away from the last of the mannequins, and walked over to his bag, grabbing his pretty silver .45 pistol that Bobby had given him for his birthday. Bobby said it was from some sort of card wheeling and dealing. Either way, Duke was obsessed with the gun. He pulled the magazine and checked to make sure he had fully reloaded it, right as Esme spoke up. A bright smile appeared on his face, “I figured you would have to tie him to the chair to get him to let you come outside. Either he’s feelin’ sweet today, or he’s needin’ his precious alone time and had to decide which was more important…hoverin’ and being weird or takin’ some time to himself like a princess.”

As he joked with her, he nearly winced at how mean he sounded. But Dean was like his brother. There wasn’t much they held back from one another, and seeing Dean super possessive and worried was a new one. He wasn’t even that way with his ex…the ‘big one’, as Duke called her.

Esme’s next question took him off guard and although he kept the smile on his face, he looked up across the yard, contemplating things for a moment as he squinted in the sun. He really did just want to spend some time with her, get to know her, and smooth things over, but she had been so open with him, he almost felt obligated to be the same with her. He glanced down at the gun in his hands, and pulled his slide, loading a bullet into the chamber, with a soft shrug.

“I’ll be honest. I mostly just wanna get to know you, I guess. I don’t see no harm in makin’ a new friend while I’m around.” Duke stared with another shrug, and then he thought about it for a moment and sighed, “And since Dean decided to bring up my back in the kitchen, I might as well trauma dump that while we shoot. You are my shrink, after all, and you’d be one of three people who I’ve ever talked to about it. Sore subject and all…”

Duke laughed awkwardly, and then chewed at his lip and pointed his gun at one of the mannequins, specifically aiming at its heart before shooting. He hit what he was aiming at with a deep breath, “I’ve been with Bobby since I was seven. Werewolves. They um…they killed my parents…”

He paused, aiming for another of the targets, double tapping it like it was second nature. But his hand was a bit shakier and he lowered the gun, offering the targets to her as he continued the simple but not so simple story.

“…and apparently they used me as a fun toy for a few hours. I don’t remember much, other than the look on Bobby and Rufus’ face when they figured out I was alive.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke tried his best to not give into the overwhelming emotion of someone telling him not to say ‘sorry’ when he felt like he was bothering the whole group. He felt sorry. He felt sorry he was an inconvenience. He felt sorry that he wasn’t lifting Esme and Dean up the way he tended to, relieving some of the tension. He was sorry that he had died, and scared them so bad.

But he had to accept it for now. He sniffled as Esme laid her head on his chest, reaching a hand up to just pet the back of her head, frowning when he felt the dried blood in her hair. He would have to look at that when they got back to Bobby’s.

4 hours later

At some point, Duke had dozed off. Images that were oddly familiar had brushed through his mind, the entire trip. Old memories of laughing, and running around in the sun…Working on cars with Dean…Esme’s face behind a tall champagne flute at a party…The day Dean showed up at Bobby’s when he was a kid and changed his life…

Then Esme’s voice jarred him from the memories, and he frowned, inhaling a sharp breath of air as he opened his eyes and looked up at her. He could feel the warmth of her hand on his face, and for a moment, he assumed it was just another memory, but why would she be so busted up in his dreams?

“We’re at Bobby’s…” Duke rationalized, watching her face for a moment, before glancing out the window as he sat up straight with a soft groan. He reached up and ruffled his hair, before gesturing for Esme to open the door. He was ready. He was ready to be home. He was ready to see Bobby and the house, and to have a beer. He climbed out of the car behind Esme, feeling a little straighter on his feet as he stood up and stretched. A small smirk teased the corners of his mouth as he looked down at Esme and reached for her hand, “I need a beer.”

Dean and Cason

Dean had fallen into silence as soon as Duke seemed to doze off. He probably would have snapped at anyone who made much of a sound, while Duke was sleeping. He could barely believe he was sitting in the backseat, and if he needed rest, it was the least they could do for him. But as they pulled onto Horseman way, and Bobby’s metal sign passed over the Impala, Dean took a deep breath.

For the time being, they were safe. Duke was safe. Nat was safe. They were all safe with Bobby.

He pulled into his usual parking spot, the house looking like a beacon in the middle of the night, even though it was dawn. He opened his door quickly and stepped out, stretching his back and legs as the others began unfolding themselves from the car. He smirked as Mika began making plans for the morning, and Dean had to nod in agreement.

“A drink sounds like heaven, right now.” He agreed, hearing Duke seem to echo his own response with what he could almost hear as a smile. His heart hammered for a moment with relief to hear that tiny hint of a smile in his voice. He turned to Mika, as all of the doors closed, and nodded. “Go on. We’ll all make it in.”

But then Dean was alerted to Sam pulling up behind them, and he turned just as the lights of Duke’s truck went off. He didn’t even know how to look Anna in the eyes. It was going to be awkward, no matter how they sliced it.

Cason stepped out of the car behind Nat, quickly grabbing her hand as she reached back for him. He wasn’t the slightest bit excited to be back at Bobby Singer’s house. Nor did he figure Bobby would be too happy to see him. But there was no way he was leaving Nat’s side. He nodded as Nat asked if he was ready to go in, shrugging his shoulders, “I’m as ready as I’m gonna be. Just check…check before I walk in. Bobby tends to keep devils traps in front of his doors. I’m not really in much of a mood for that conversation…”

Anna

Anna slept hard on their way to Bobby’s. She didn’t even dream. A lot of it might have been the coming down from the demon blood, but either way, she felt like crap and passed out. As Sam shook her shoulder, she jolted awake, but didn’t flinch, turning to look at Sam with confused eyes. After a few seconds, she realized where they were, and realized that Sam had called her a pet name, which was more of a reason for her to try and smooth all of this over with him, since Cason was alive…and Dean was the one at fault for her anger in the first place.

Cason.

Anna quickly sat up, wiping her face with her hands and then with a struggle, due to soreness and stiff muscles, she opened the door and quickly jumped out. As soon as her boots hit the gravel, she took off in a sprint toward Cason, which caused Dean to raise both his hands and take a few steps backward. She didn’t even look at him, running straight to Cason and stood in front of him, gasping for air.

“Hey sunshine…” Cason smiled, and Anna threw herself onto his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck. He caught her with his free arm, smiling over at Nat in an attempt to not let her in on what the whole scene was about.

“I thought you were dead! How did you…how…”

“I have tricks up my sleeve. You know that. How about this…” Cason muttered against the side of Anna’s face as he peeled her arms off his neck. “Why don’t we get some rest, and then we’ll talk, alright? It’s good to see you mostly in one piece.”

Cason pointed out with his hand open that Anna had torn a couple of her stitches, and now her arm was open and bleeding. Anna glanced over at it and then shrugged her shoulders, “It doesn’t hurt. But my head does.”

“I know. We’ll figure that out too. Let’s go inside, alright?” Cason spoke softly, like speaking to a child. Anna nodded, her eyes full of tears as she stared at him. She didn’t really want to leave him, but it was evident that Nat needed his attention, and she had Sam. She awkwardly nodded at Natalia, and then stepped away from them, crossing her arms and walking past Dean, on her way back to Sam.

“Anna! Hey…can we talk?” Dean called to her, stopping her in her tracks for a moment. She glanced down at the gravel, grinding her boot into the rocks and then shook her head.

“No. We’re done, Dean. You and me are finished.” She said simply, no hint of emotion in her voice as Dean pressed his lips together, giving a long and disappointed nod. He didn’t try again as she stepped away from him and over to Sam, wrapping her arm around Sam’s elbow.

Bobby

Bobby stood from his desk, closing the book he was reading. He glanced down at his watch as he heard the rumble of vehicles driving onto the lot, seeing that it was almost 6 am. He had made a point to take a nap on the couch while they were on their way, and was already on his second cup of coffee by the time they showed up.

He stepped into the kitchen, grabbing a six pack of beer from the fridge. He sat it on the table, and then went to the cabinet, pulling several glasses to sit next to them. Around that time, Mika opened the front door and Bobby smiled, “I’m in the kitchen, kid.”

Bobby grabbed some ice trays from the freezer and tossed them on the table, before walking out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his pants, “Well, you look less like Hell than I expected…”, he teased Mika, before walking over to give her a hug. He wanted to rip her apart for not calling sooner, but for now, he would settle for a hug.

“How bad are the others?”

All Roads Lead To You

Dean

Dean shook his head as Duke left the kitchen and walked out the front door, a sight that he was unfortunately used to any time he tried to give Duke advice. He turned his hand over as Esme picked it up, giving her hand a little squeeze as she confirmed that he had attempted to give her space. He looked up at her and matched her smile, but his own fell briefly when she mentioned that she might have had too much space. Dean wondered if this was her way of telling him that she felt like he was avoiding her, which was far from the case…or at least he thought so.

He narrowed his eyes and snapped from his thoughts when she spoke about Duke ‘trying to help her work through her emotions’. That sounded like a classic Duke move. Emotions were his favorite door into someone’s heart. He had a habit of making people fall in love with him…just by talking to them.

“I don’t want to hover…” Dean grumbled, as he softened his face, and scanned her face for her feelings toward the situation. He tried to read whether she wanted him to come out to the shooting range or not. He was trying to just get an idea of what was expected of him, something he wasn’t exactly good at reading with people, but was trying to learn.

Her lips against his cheek made him smirk, and nod at her declaration of being okay. At least there was that. She was okay. Would it be so bad to let her hang out with Duke? If anything, Duke’s positivity might be good, after whatever had happened the night before…which he needed to press her on, himself. He looked between her eyes as she stared into his, swallowing heavily at the honesty he saw there. As she leaned in to kiss his lips, he nodded softly, “Okay. I’ll probably be out there in a bit, after I get dressed. Just…don’t get too attached to Duke. He’s friendly, but he’s a bolter.”

He kissed her back, tempted to pull her onto his lap and keep her in the house somehow, but she seemed adamant about going out. He just had to give her a warning, a warning that Bobby would have slapped him for. Duke had broken Bobby’s heart a million times by running off with no calls or signs of where he was going…and yet…Bobby didn’t allow them to talk about it.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya listened to Sam’s conversation with Dean, raising her eyebrows as it seemed that Dean was asking about her and Sam being close to one another. She rolled her eyes at the jealousy she could feel oozing from the chattering on the other end. Dean was terrified of losing Sam, in some way, not that Anya would ever leave this place…if she was close to Sam.

She smirked as Sam called Dean out on his jealousy, and then watched Sam hang up the phone and lay it to the side. She looked back up at him with a soft sigh, and reached back for her own phone. Her heart dropped as he said that the lead was nothing special, but she held it together, placing a hand on his chest as she typed with her other hand.

“Well. Then we keep working until we find something, right? I don’t mind sticking around.” She pressed play, and turned her eyes up to Sam’s with a small smile, reassuring him through her own disappointment. As she watched his face, the timer on the oven dinged, causing her to flinch and press against his chest to scoot him back. She climbed off the table, dropping her phone on the cutting board on her way by, and walked over to the oven, grabbing a glove and popping it open. She pulled both trays from the oven and let it close, before turning back to Sam. She sat the trays on the cutting board and then picked up her phone, typing again, “Maybe he will calm down over dinner.”

Dean

Dean turned to Lexi as Sam hung up on him, holding his phone out with an incredulous scowl on his face. He couldn’t believe that Sam wouldn’t even give him the chance for a rebuttal on this. But when Lexi called him out, he narrowed his eyes, realizing that he was in this alone with his feelings. Any other time, he would have fought tooth and nail to prove that he was right, but he was starting to see that not only was he out numbered, but that they may have a point about his paranoia.

Dean took Lexi’s hands as she reached for his, and snarled his nose a bit at the mental image her words brought up. He didn’t even want to think about what Sam would do with someone as seemingly sweet as Anna, alone…

But her last words about the situation caused him to tilt his head with raised eyebrows. She was right. It would be hypocritical of them both to tell Sam not to shoot his shot, when they had been in Hell all day keeping their hands to themselves. “You’re right…” he muttered, as she let go of his hands.

With a deep breath, he took in her suggestion to try and relax when they got back, get to know Anya and try to vibe with the situation. He mulled it over in his brain, raising his eyebrows as she kissed his cheek. He turned to look at her once again, fighting the urge to kiss her in his hypocrisy, as he stared into her eyes and matched her smile with a smaller one of his own.

“Fine. But I’m gonna keep an eye on her.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna nodded along with Sam. She was more than excited they were all okay. There wasn’t much reason to still be upset, other than the principle of trying to kill Cason, after all the help he had provided, against Hell’s wishes. Cason had risked his entire existence to keep her safe, and then stayed…when he didn’t have to. He had gotten close to the Winchesters, and not run away when things were the worst for him. But he was alive, and she couldn’t wait to see him again…and if anything, thank him for helping her stay alive, while they waited for Sam.

The thought of the demon blood still in her system crossed her mind, as she thought of Cason. She wondered if they would end up drying her out again, something she wanted to absolutely refuse, or if Cason would give her more blood. She was drawn from her thoughts by Sam speaking up about another text.

“Wait. We’re going to Bobby’s?” She started, deciding not to fight him on it just yet as the rest of of the text hit her. Duke was roaming around on the highway after being skewered? Duke was practically dead when they were in the barn. There was no way he was just up and walking around, unless…”Duke is the murder victim. That means one of us is probably the murderer. Damn. Yeah we gotta go. They’re probably sending out every cop in the state to find him and whichever one of us they think…killed him.”

She had trouble finishing that sentence, but she sighed in unison with Sam and nodded her head, “Yeah. Let’s…let’s get to Bobby’s, I guess.”

Dean and Cason

Dean was relieved, when Mika finished the phone call with Bobby. Bobby seemed more excited for them to show up than they were to get there. Bobby’s was a safe space. Some of them would have to sleep on the floor in the living room. They would likely have to deal with Anna’s demon blood situation. And it sounded like at least one or two of them would end up in the RV. But they could figure all of that out when they got there. At that moment, they just needed…to get there. Dean glanced back at Duke once again as Esme called Duke’s name.

He sighed, not wanting to watch anymore. He wanted to talk to Duke alone, when he wasn’t stuck in an impossible to understand situation, when he was home, and safe.

Cason simply wrapped his arms a little tighter around Natalia. The whole situation and vibe jarring him, as he thought about how close Nat had actually come to dying in that asylum. He wasn’t the least bit excited to walk back into Bobby’s booby trapped hell hole. But he knew Nat would be safe there. He knew that Bobby would do everything to keep the ones he considered his ‘kids’ safe. That was good enough for Cason, even if the house was rigged to literally bite his ass.

“He’s gonna be okay…” Cason whispered in Nat’s ear, as she nudged Duke. The guy honestly seemed like he needed space that he couldn’t have, but also seemed like he would melt away if he wasn’t touched by someone he trusted. It wasn’t an emotion Cason would wish on his worst enemy.

Duke

Duke nearly flinched when Esme pulled her arms from him, his brain telling him to reach for her arms, to hold her as close to him as he possibly could, but then her hand came to touch his face and she said his name. He closed his eyes tightly, at the soft touch, until she asked him to look at her, which he opened his eyes and turned to do. He followed her eyes, his own eyes darting between both of hers as she spoke to him. Duke took a deep breath, not moving as Esme pushed his hair from his face and he began to shake his head.

“I don’t want that…”, He started, but he pressed his lips together and stopped resisting, and conceded with a soft nod. He didn’t want any of them going out there and trying to find anything. That never ended well for anyone. They ended up digging up bad crap every single time that they went for answers. He honestly just wanted to try and soldier his way through whatever the feeling in the pit of his stomach was. But he knew Esme was stubborn, and she would do whatever she had to to get the info she was looking for. Taking another deep breath, Duke scanned her eyes and nodded once again with a soft smile. “Okay.”

He closed his eyes, furrowing his brow as Esme pulled him in and kissed his forehead. It felt so real. He just couldn’t decide if all of this being real was a good thing or not. But the hug drove home the point that this was…in fact…real. He wrapped his arms around Esme, holding her so close to him that he was afraid of breaking her in half. His nickname settled in the pit of his stomach, and made him wish that he could just take her and run away. No more fighting. No more hunting. As rare as it was, they could get out. He knew better, but the wish was still there.

“I love you…” He whispered into Esme’s hair. He sat there silently, just hugging her for a while, her words, punctuated by ‘just rest’ causing him to sigh. He could feel that his general demeanor was making people uncomfortable. The biggest of them…Esme. He was always the one who brought things back to funny. He was always the one who laughed his way through mortal injuries and impossible situations. He was always the one who managed to come out of traumatic experiences with a bright smile on his face and not a trace of sadness. But this felt different, and he felt guilty as hell for not being the person they needed…that she needed. He pulled back from her just enough to slump down in his seat, his knees bumping the front seat of the Impala. He leaned his head back, but tilted it so that Esme could snuggle up to him if she needed to. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna glanced over from her peering around like an anxious prey victim, as Sam let out a sigh of relief. The mission had gone well, to get Nat back. She could already tell, by that sigh of relief. But that didn’t change the fact that they were down a man…and a demon, and now they were stuck waiting around to be able to leave this stupid town.

“Good…” Anna nodded, genuinely happy that Nat was safe, but exhausted. But then his next words completely stopped her heart for a brief second, as her eyes went wide and she turned to him, “What? Cason’s alive?!”

She turned back to stare at the console in front of her as tears welled up in her eyes. This whole thing had worked out. The principle of what had been done was still going to linger in the air…for a while. But Cason was alive. As far as Anna knew, they were all alive, somehow. Against all odds, they had all survived such a hopeless situation.

“Wait. Cason is with Dean? I can’t imagine that is anything but Nat twisting arms. Dean tried to kill him. If not for the optics, Dean wouldn’t have left him, he would have killed him.” Anna grumbled, although her breathing was quick and overwhelmed as she grappled the the news, and the confusion of it all. “But at least they’re alive. Now hopefully Duke pulls through and we can all get the hell out of this town.

Duke, Dean and Cason

Dean lifted his eyes to meet Esme’s as she gave him a look that he echoed. He truly couldn’t believe that Duke was sitting there, whole, in his car. It was odd, still, to see Duke and Esme so close, even if he had felt like they would end up together, if they ever found themselves close enough. They had been huddled up close and cozy ever since Duke had stumbled onto their little family, and part of him was just happy to see both Duke and Esme happy…even if it was awkward after all these years.

Duke tried to ignore the looks he was getting, as he pulled his elbow tighter to his body, holding Esme’s arms to him as she wrapped up on his arm. So, it was true. He had died. Like…dead dead. The way Mika was staring at him. The way Dean was staring at him. The way Esme was clinging to him for dear life. He had died, and the world he had seen after passing out in the Impala must have been Heaven.

“Yeah. It’s like you’re all looking at a ghost.” Cason followed up Nat’s comment, and Duke sighed and gritted his teeth for a second before holding his free hand out.

“Because they feel like they are. I mean…I did die, right?”

Dean tensed suddenly, and tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

“No. No you didn’t. The people at the hospital just made a mistake is all. We…we will figure it all out, alright? But I don’t want to talk about it right now. I just want to be glad you’re with us, man.” Dean stopped the conversation cold. Duke nodded his head, his hair falling into his eyes as he looked down at his lap, staring at the dried blood spatters on the denim. “Alright?”

“Alright.” Duke responded, his voice small and unconvinced. Cason glanced between all four of them, narrowing his eyes. If Duke was alive, and Esme, Dean and Mika didn’t expect him to be…something brought him back. He didn’t dare mention it, as Dean would have likely broken his nose, whether Nat was on his lap or not. But he had his questions that he would be trying to find answers to later.

“Let’s figure out where we’re going from this place. Do we know of any place that’s near us?” Dean asked Mika, trying to help shake her out of her shock, as well. But Cason spoke up and Dean shrugged his shoulders at the answer that came back.

“Sioux Falls is four hours Northwest. Doesn’t your…Bobby live there?”

“Yeah. Meeko, what do you think. Bobby’s?” Dean answered, and Duke suddenly broke his own silence.

“Call him. Let’s go home. Safest place I can think of.” Duke murmured, trying not to drive any sort of conflict. He didn’t want any conflict, while he was still processing his own humanity or…whatever. “I mean, if you guys want to…”

“That sounds great Duke. Really. Now, rest, dude. Snuggle up with your girl. Get some rest. You’re home. You’re safe with us. We got you.” Dean reassured Duke as he glanced back and saw the light that he loved so much about his other half…just missing. Duke wasn’t acting like Duke. Even on death’s door, Dean had never seen him this dark, scared and quiet. No teeth glaring in the headlights on the road, as Duke smiled. No bright blue eyes twinkling. He was just…a shell. “Don’t you forget it, alright? We got you. I’ve always got you.”

“Yeah. Thanks…” Duke muttered, forcing his best polite smile before dropping it and turning his eyes back down to the blood spatters on his jeans.