JustAnna

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean smiled a bit brighter when Lexi mused at the idea of killing a demon. He wanted to see it. He wanted her to get that high, of being able to stop what they had thought their entire lives were unstoppable. But he still had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, letting her hunt with them at all. He knew that part of it was trauma from losing Mika…twice. He had lost Anna…twice. He had watched everyone he had ever loved die in some horrific way, and the fear of dragging new people that he was attached to into his business scared the hell out of him, hunter or not.

As she stepped away from him, Dean grabbed a few more of the angel blades from their rack and pulled a duffel bag, tossing it on the counter. He shoved the angel blades inside, and then thought about something that Cason had said. The demon could have never given Anya her voice, even if it wanted to. She was basically born without it. It wasn’t some sort of deal that caused it, as far as they knew, which meant that the demons, outside of the crossroads, couldn’t interfere. Only angels and crossroads demons had that kind of juice.

Her voice brought him out of his thoughts and he glanced up, pointing to the shelf that held literally hundreds of gallons of holy water, a dispenser on the bottle at the top. That was Sam’s idea, “Yeah. We kinda keep it on tap. I don’t know why we never thought about it before we had the bunker, but it comes in handy. We can grab some bottles and flasks and at least make sure everyone has plenty with them.”

With a smile, Dean pointed toward the older clay bottles above the water, “And that is Holy Oil. Good for trapping angels. Like I said, we’ve learned a lot…gathered a lot. It’s why we win.”, he said with pride, opening a drawer in front of him. He pulled a few empty metal flasks and then dipped back in for some salt canisters, placing them into the duffel. Cason’s words were still bugging him, and he decided to bring them up, since it was only himself and Lexi in the room.

“Cason mentioned something about demons not having the juice to give Anya her voice back. We don’t think that she believes it’s going to happen when we get there, do we? I mean, from the way she talked, she’s never had a voice. It’s not something she made a deal with…” Dean explained his concerns, hoping that they weren’t going to bring Anya out of this broken and disappointed.

Anna

Anna almost scoffed at Sam’s apology, expecting it to remain so simple, two words that she had wanted to hear since the day he left. But now? The words felt hollow. They felt useless. There was just too much hurt for her to accept an apology from him, but she needed it. Once again, her emotions were tearing her mind apart, and she growled softly, covering her eyes with both hands as she stood in front of him, just trying to process. But as he continued, Anna thought back to how he looked while he was undergoing the trials. A tug of sympathy hit her chest, rumbling up in a bit of anger, as if he was attacking her for being upset…playing on her emotions.

But he was right. During the trials, he was so sick he was seeing things, at times. She was there…the whole time, until he left her. She could still see, in slow motion, his body collapse in front of her when his fever got to the point that it took him out. If Dean hadn’t showed up and helped her drag him into that bathtub of ice, he would have died…visions or no visions.

She nodded absentmindedly, and dropped her hands from her face, staring off toward the foot of the bed with a whispered, “I know…”

As Sam stood from the bed, Anna took a step back and she held out her hand, as if she was fighting him off from touching her. But like always, when he said the words ‘look at me’, she turned her sad blue eyes up to his and she let out a soft sob. She could still see parts of his smile behind his eyes, even though they were full of tears. She could still hear him talking, back when his voice was softer and less broken. The memories just made it harder to look at him, as he began to ramble through all of the ways she could hurt him back, get some sort of revenge.

She shook her head softly. She didn’t want any of those things. She didn’t want any more hurt. She wanted to come home. But was this home, anymore? It felt like home. It smelled like home. Dean’s cheap beer reminded her…of home. She glanced down from his eyes as he picked up her hand and let out a small huff of sad amusement at how perfectly their fingers seemed to intertwine, even after all the time apart. Their heartbeats synced immediately, and Anna shook her head again.

“I don’t know that there’s anything that can make it better.” She whimpered honestly, stepping closer to Sam as she looked up into his eyes. She took a deep breath, and brought her other hand up to place it against his chest, just feeling his identical heartbeat thumping beneath her fingers, “M-maybe one day we can. I can come back, and things can just…work themselves out. A different world…”

After a moment of just letting the proposition linger, Anna stood on her tiptoes and she pressed a feather light kiss against Sam’s lips, falling into the old habits, like clockwork. In a different world, this would be as natural as breathing. For the moment? Falling back into each other’s arms would have to be closure enough…

Anya

Anya was rather happy with the way her conversation with Natalia was going. Nat seemed an open book with those that she trusted, and she seemed to be gaining a bit of Nat’s trust with every bit of conversation. When Nat moved the conversation forward, Anya shrugged at the correction of her assumptions, and she took the knife from Nat, holding it tight in her hand. She simply held it, pointing it at nothing for a moment.

Nat’s explanation on how to hold the knife properly caused Anya to raise her eyebrows, and she adjusted her hand around the knife, mimicking what Nat was teaching. She already felt more confident, just holding a knife properly in a way that would allow her to stab any demon or human that came at her. She almost wished she had learned this earlier, well before meeting the Winchesters.

As Nat offered for Anya to come at her, Anya shook her head at first. She didn’t want to risk hurting Nat, but at the same time, she had to assume that Nat was at least just as fast as her brothers. From what she had gathered from Dean, he was very confident around knives…and guns…and all of it. So, she squared her shoulders with a small nod, changing her mind.

She turned toward Nat, and glanced over Nat’s chest and torso, thinking about her first move. She decided to aim for the center of her chest and she lunged forward, stopping the knife just before it could poke Nat’s shirt or make any contact with her skin. Surely, the path to the heart was right through the center of the chest.

All Roads Lead To You

Dean

Dean caught Esme’s movements from the corner of his eye, as she brought her hand to her chest, fully buying into the mystery and ‘role-play’ quality of both of them wearing masks. A girl after his own heart. The purr of her voice as she spoke sent a bit of a spark down Dean’s spine and he clenched his jaw, tilting his head to the side at her words, especially when she leaned in and he felt her lips against his ears as she spoke. He shuddered, another jolt of electricity shooting down his spine.

Raising his eyebrows, heat building around his collar a bit as she mentioned her ‘boyfriend’, playing into the fantasy of the night even more. In that moment, Dean was tempted to whisk her away, forgetting about the job they were there to do. The way she looked, the sound of her voice, the heat of her touch, it was all coming together to unravel him to his core and honestly? He was falling apart internally at the mental images that rumbled around in his brain.

“See, I’m half tempted to walk you up those stairs, find a nice quiet room and wreck all that pretty makeup…” Dean spoke low, a small smirk on his lips as his lips brushed against her cheek. He then pulled back, just enough to brush his nose against her cheek, and then to look her in they eyes as he kept himself close, “But I’m here on business. After I finish with my business? Oh yeah…screw your husband.”

Dean’s lips curled into a seductive smile, and he brought his lips close enough to brush against hers as he finished his sentence, the urge to kiss her right there in the stairwell making his arms feel like lead, “Wait for me at the bar? I’ll make you forget all about him in no time…”

Duke

Duke spun the lady around, as she began to get to her point, and she leaned in close to his ear, tugging at his earlobe with her teeth, before whispering, “It’s in tender office upstairs. The double doors at the end of the hall. You know what else is there?”

Duke smiled, brushing his hands up her sides gently, until he reached the side of her neck, tilting her head to the side to place little kisses from her ear down to her collar bone.

“A giant…leather…couch, just for us.” She purred, practically melted in his hands. Duke chuckled, and he tilted her head back to look her in the eyes, raising his eyebrows.

“How ‘bout this…” He cooed, cradling her jaw. He brushed his thumb across her lips, smearing a bit of her bright red lipstick as he did so, “I’m gonna go get pictures of it for my boss, and then? I’ll come back and get you, and we will go find my driver. Ever joined the mile high club? Private jet?”

The woman shuddered and she shook her head submissively. So Duke flashed her a wide smile.

“Alright. Then you go get you a drink, and we’ll see about fixin’ that problem.” Duke cooed to her once again, pinching the tip of her chin, before he quickly unwrapped himself from her and began weaving his way back through the crowd. His neck and cheek were covered in red lipstick, but he had the info, and Dean would hopefully be happy with that. If it was that easy to get to the women in the mansion, Duke might eek out a good night, after all. Stepping back up to Dean and Esme, he paused, letting Dean finish…whatever it was they were doing. Then he cleared his throat and stepped closer to them.

“The necklace is upstairs in the big office. Double doors, end of the hallway.” Duke announced proudly, absentmindedly placing a hand on Esme’s lower back as Dean pulled his face back from hers, but stayed close to her. Duke and Dean shared a glance over her shoulder and then Dean turned his eyes back to Esme’s.

“Wait for me? I’ll be back in no time.” Dean started, but Duke tilted his head and sighed uncomfortably.

“Man, I think it’s gonna take both of us, at least at first. I need to get us in, and then you can work your magic.”

“And why exactly do ‘you’ need to get us in?” Dean asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Because I’m the one who’s taking home the owner’s ex wife.” Duke beamed, tipping his hat at Dean, who’s eyes widened, before he and Duke laughed like teenagers. Dean shrugged his shoulders and he turned his eyes down to Esme.

“Alright. Will you be okay? Grab a drink. We’ll be back and then it’s fun for the rest of the night. Promise.” Dean asked her, his green eyes screaming from the dark color of his mask as he scanned her eyes. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Duke pressed a tight kiss to the side of Esme’s cheek, and he jogged up the stairs, getting to work before Dean could ever step away.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke could feel Esme’s eyes on the side of his face as she glared at him. He had only felt that look, maybe once, the entire time he had known Esme. The thought of how angry she must be made his entire body shudder. Bobby simply backed up, dropping his hand from Duke’s shoulder as Esme approached him, thanked him for stopping Duke and kissed his cheek.

“Always.” Bobby muttered with a soft smile, giving the little starter relay a tiny toss into his other palm. He shot one more glare back at Duke, nodding his head toward the cab of the truck to tell Duke to shut his mouth and get in. He then stepped away from them both and walked around to the front of the truck, the hood still slightly ajar from his sabotage. He opened the hood, propping it open, and reached his hands in, replacing the part as he said he would, in less than thirty seconds.

Duke climbed into the truck, but not before Esme called him an asshole, which caused him to flinch. There was no teasing in her voice at all. She was legitimately angry with him, and just the thought of it caused his stomach to cramp painfully. He was almost physically unable to accept that Esme could even be angry enough to lash out at him. As Bobby slammed the hood and gave it a pat, telling them that they were good to go, Duke gave him a thumbs up and quickly turned the engine over, placing the truck in drive.

He drove in a semi circle, and then began their slow drive to the gates of Singer Salvage with a soft sigh. He didn’t turn to Esme, just stared out the windshield as he tried to find the words to say to her, anything that would make her hate him a little less.

“Listen…I know you’re pissed. And I know exactly why you’re pissed.” Duke started gripping the steering wheel tightly as he turned them onto the highway and he pulled his phone, glancing down at the address that Cason had texted him at some point. He recognized the area they were headed, but there was really nothing there. He had only been there once, for a vampire hunt. Narrowing his eyes for a moment to try and roll the reasoning for the location over in his mind, he found nothing and came back to trying to fix things with Esme. Speeding up on the highway, Duke glanced to Esme briefly.

“When we get done with all this, you can take a swing at me, if you want. I know, right now, you really want to. I get it. And I know that sayin’ I’m sorry ain’t gonna do nothin’ to fix it.” Duke explained slowly, gripping the steering wheel like it was going to disappear beneath his hands, “I’m not sorry for tryin’ to keep you away from this war. I’m not. I can’t live without you and you know that. These bastards can do whatever they want to me, but you and Mika? That’s the end for me. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost either of you. So, no. I’m not sorry for tryin’ to keep you safe. But I’m sorry for lyin’ to you…”

A bit later

Duke pulled into the lot, and quickly turned the engine off, parking far enough away from the warehouse that they likely wouldn’t be heard, unless the angels sensed them in some way. He stepped out of the truck and quickly jogged over to Esme. Even if she was angry with him, they weren’t in the position to be pissy with one another. He waited for her to climb down, and then picked up her hand.

“So, I’m goin’ for Dean. I got more of a chance of gettin’ through there if Cason’s here. He’ll get me through. I also have Mika as some backup. You go try and find Anna. Maybe you can feel her emotions.” Duke offered quickly, taking Esme’s face between his hands as he stared into her eyes, “I love you. I love you more than anything on this planet and I need you to know that before we go in here. No matter what you do after this is over…you go in there with that in your head.”

He scanned her entire face, before pulling her face to his for a rough and passionate kiss. As he pulled back, his eyes were full of resolve, realizing that there was a real chance neither of them came out of this alive. He nodded his head, his hat barely tipping as his blue eyes lit up with mischief and he stepped away form Esme, reaching into the back of his truck. He grabbed his backpack, and tossed it onto his back, before jogging off toward the warehouse without another word, disappearing into the shadows.

Cason and Castiel - A Bit Later

“You really shouldn’t have come.” Castiel grumbled at Cason, when Cason finally convinced the angel to say three words to him. They walked in a circle, at a distance from each other, just outside the door from Dean and Alastair. Something Dean was doing to Alastair caused the demon to cry out, but his voice was muffled by what sounded like water…or his own blood. Cason gritted his teeth at the mental image, and he shook his head.

“Why, because your boss said to kill me if I did? But you…you’re having second thoughts about those orders. Why is that?” Cason asked in a soft voice, his eyes narrowed, studying Castiel. He watched ever twitch of Cas’ fingers. Ever brush of his shoes on the dirty floor, even the way Castiel’s vessel seemed to be sweating from the stress. “Where is he, by the way?”

“He went to receive revelation. And it seems, he has Sam Winchester.” Castiel muttered quietly, causing Cason to shake his head.

“No. Not Sam. He has Anna.” Cason explained, and that’s where he saw it. Castiel turned his eyes up to meet Cason’s, his eyes full of confusion, doubt and betrayal. Uriel hadn’t told Castiel of his plans. Uriel was using him as a hammer. Cason huffed a small and quiet sigh of relief. He could get through to the angel. He could feel it. “So, now that you know he kept that from you, tell me, why are you having Dean do this?”

“Because he’s doing God’s work.”

“God’s work? Wow. Torturing. That’s God’s work?” Cason chuckled loudly, stepping away and walking in the same old circle as Castiel did the same. Cason glanced to Mika, giving her a single knowing nod as if to say ‘I’ll fix this’. “See, last I saw, that’s the work of Hell…not Heaven. You have a torture master and his student, locked in a random room in North Dakota and…”

As he spoke, Alastair cried out and he could swear he heard Dean laugh. The sound obviously had an effect on Castiel, which Cason would happily exploit.

“Who are you, a demon to question the will of God?”

“What if it’s not the will of God, man? Do you know your higher ups? Not God. The people giving the orders. Do you know them?” Cason asked, and Castiel’s eyes scanned the floor, as if he was looking for an answer he had never thought to seek. He then glanced up at that same place on the ceiling, as if he could see Uriel. Cason nodded. “What if your ‘father’ doesn’t want this? Do you really think he would ask you to do this? Would he consider this righteous…or is that giant dick you brought with you pulling those strings, and sending you down a path of those good old ‘good intentions’. Buddy, we know where that leads. I’ve been there.”

“I don’t have to listen to you.” Castiel grumbled, and he began walking in a circle again as Alastair went rather quiet for a moment. Cason’s ear perked up, and he heard Dean talking. So, he continued his work.

“No. You don’t. But you are listening. Wanna know why? That feeling, deep in your gut? The one that’s nagging and clawing into your throat right now? That’s called doubt.” Cason explained, holding his hand out to Castiel. “All you have to do is shake my hand and this is over. I’ll pop into that room, gather what’s left of Dean Winchester, and I’ll be on my way. Me and you? We can work on this together. We’re a lot a like, if you would just talk to me. Two sides of the same coin.”

“I’m nothing like you!” Castiel snapped suddenly, as Cason scanned the angel’s eyes, seeing nothing but doubt and remorse. Cason nodded, long and smooth, pressing his lips together in faux understanding. He then placed his hands on his hips. “You should go.”

“Well, I don’t think I should leave until…”

“Uriel won’t hesitate to smite you when he gets here. Go. I won’t ask again.” Castiel barked at him, and Cason winced, but his mouth turned up in a smirk as he turned his eyes to Mika. He had broken Castiel. Castiel was showing him mercy. Castiel was saving his life. That meant, Castiel could be brought…to their side.

“Alright. Alright, I’m leaving.” Cason nodded, glancing up at the ceiling to listen for Anna’s heartbeat. As soon as he heard it, humming loudly from the demon blood, he nodded again and stepped over to Mika. “Do not leave him alone. Keep talking to him. Eventually, he will break. I’ll see you back at the house when it happens.”

He pressed a proud kiss to Mika’s temple, and then disappeared, reappearing on Bobby’s couch near Natalia, completely unharmed and in one peace. He fully…FULLY planned to go back later in the night and work on the angel some more. But for now, he would let him stew.

Anna

Uriel chuckled as Anna finished explaining what exactly Lilith had told her about her purpose. He shook his head and he kicked a bit of dust on the floor.

“And did she tell you that Sam would have to kill you?” Uriel asked her, his voice now level and calm, as if they were just having a conversation. Anna nodded, sniffling as she calmed herself and settled into being locked up for the time being. As long as Uriel was talking, she would stay alive. She knew that much. The chains rattled a bit as she shifted in her spot, curling her legs as best she could into a pretzel.

“Um. Yeah. She kind of mentioned it. She didn’t give any details.”

“Considering how this ends for you, I feel absolutely confident in saying this. All those roads, you, the demon blood, the grand picture…it all leads to Lucifer.” Uriel chuckled, turning his eyes back to her with a smirk. Anna’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything at first. They knew about Lucifer. They knew that the seals were breaking to set him free, but in the back of her mind, Anna had hoped he was still a myth.

“Lucifer wants me?”

Uriel laughed, shaking his head and he pointed his finger at Anna as he did so, “Now that! That’s the Winchester narcissism rubbing off on you, little one. No. You’ll never have the pleasure of meeting him. But you play a very important role, probably the most important. And to fulfill that role, Lilith needs your body, not your soul.”

“Lilith wants to possess me? That’s why she wants me?” Anna asked, her eyes welling up with tears again. The sight caused Uriel to roll his eyes, clicking his tongue against his teeth sadly.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be dead, long before she even bothers to pick you up. Sam Winchester will have no idea, and he’ll be exactly where we need him to be. Have you ever heard the story of why Lucifer fell from grace? The real story?” Uriel asked in a softer voice. Anna shook her head, conceding to buying time by listening to his story. Uriel crossed his arms over his chest, and he nodded. “Well, I’ll go get you a bottle of water, and then it’s time for you to be educated about my brother. I’m feeling…judicious.”

Dean

Dean turned from Alastair, his face shocked as Alastair revealed to him that he was the first domino…the first seal. His spilling blood in Hell had started this whole thing, and he never even knew. Dean closed his eyes as Alastair continued, a single tear falling down his cheek as he gripped Ruby’s knife with white knuckles.

“When we win, when we bring on the apocalypse and burn this earth down, we’ll owe it all to you, Dean Winchester.” Alastair sang out to him. And Dean shook his head a bit, causing Alastair to pout in a mocking way, his ears catching the dripping sound behind him. “Believe me. I wouldn’t lie about this. It’s kind of…a religious sort of thing with me.”

Alastair glanced down and behind him, seeing the edge of the devils trap, washed away. He followed the drips of water up to the ceiling, smirking at the luck of a leaky pipe. Either he had a stroke of luck that could change the cosmic future of the world, or someone was letting him out. Alastair didn’t believe in luck…not really.

“I don’t believe you are lying. But even if the demon’s do win, you won’t be there to see it.” Dean grumbled, deciding to just kill Alastair and deal with the angels after. However, when he turned around Alastair was standing there, not chained. Not bound. He was free.

“You should talk to your plumber about the pipes.” Alastair teased, before punching Dean so hard that he stumbled back against the cart of tools, causing them to clang around on the floor loudly.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Castiel

Castiel didn’t respond at first when Mika stated that she didn’t trust him, but she was thankful for his efforts to bring Dean back into the fold. Truthfully, he had only done it on orders, and he had been too late to commit to those orders. Dean Winchester was only alive, as long as he was useful, and unfortunately, Castiel knew that. He tapped his fingers against his leg as Alastair’s voice broke through the silence around them once again, echoing off the walls. Then, came Mika attempting to appeal to his humanity, which he wasn’t even sure he could humor…but he did.

As she told him that what they were doing wasn’t right, Castiel felt a glimmer of doubt in his stomach. He turned his eyes away from her, staring at the ground near her feet for a moment. Truthfully, Castiel hadn’t done much of his own research on this deal. He was following Uriel, who was following order from their superiors, something Castiel was afraid to even begin to question.

“Uriel…” Castiel started, ignoring Mika’s angry words as they echoed Dean’s personality almost too well. He raised his hand in frustration, dropping it quickly against his side, “Uriel receives revelation from our superiors. Who am I too question their will? I don’t like this. I would much rather just use the brute force that we have always used to get through to someone like Alastair, but the superiors believe that THIS is the action. This is what we have to do. And…”

Castiel turned his eyes up to the ceiling briefly, listening as he felt Uriel return but in a different part of the warehouse. He narrowed his eyes, hearing the voice of a young woman, and he tilted his head, “And his methods are to be questioned…by humans, not angels. Is Sam Winchester here?”

Castiel asked the question absentmindedly, and he turned his eyes back to Mika’s, both questioning her and warning her. If Sam Winchester was in the building, everything was going to fall apart, and it was going to fall apart quickly.

Duke

Duke felt a bit of relief at Esme’s words, even if everything in him wanted to lock her in the basement and make her stay. He could pick her up. He could carry her down and she wouldn’t have much of a say, but she would hate him for it. So, as she pressed a kiss to his nose, and her words sank in, he sighed, “Alright…I believe you. But you don’t jump in unless it’s absolutely necessary. I don’t wanna have to patch you up when this is all over. Okay?”

At her request to go to the RV and grab some things, Duke’s heart fluttered but he choked down the excitement, just enough that she couldn’t tell the difference between the excitement and his nervousness…something he was getting way too used to doing around her. It felt like lying, which he hated. He stood from the floor, pulling her with him with a nod, “Alright. We’ll grab what you need, and we’ll head out. Cason, text me that address. We gotta get there before…”

As Duke turned to walk out the back door with Esme, Sam stepped in, breaking the news to them that the angels had taken Anna. Duke’s eyes turned to saucers, and without looking around at anyone else, it hit him that they had to hurry. This was turning into more than just Dean being forced to do things he would never want to do. This was turning into a hostage situation, a stalemate and quite possibly a hostage exchange between the Winchesters and the angels.

“Alright. Let’s go. We gotta go.” Duke said quickly, pushing past Sam with Esme in tow. He pulled her toward the RV, and he quickly patted himself down as he released her, shaking his head, “I’ll be right back. I gotta run into the house for a second…”

After she was out of his eye sight in the RV, Duke waited for the door to closed and then he slid around the side of the RV and out toward the lot, jogging as lightly as he possibly could on the gravel. If he could get to the truck and get out of the lot, he could make this work on his own. There was a chance he could make it in time, and with Cason’s help, they could finish this…together. The girls didn’t have to be in any danger.

He pulled his truck keys from his pocket, opening the drivers door and slamming it behind him as he entered the truck with shaky hands. He turned the ignition and frowned. Nothing but clicks. The radio came on. The lights came on, but the truck didn’t start. That wasn’t possible, “What the hell?!”

A knock at his window caused Duke to flinch, turning to the window to see Bobby standing there, holding his starter relay in his hand. He dangled it by the wires and Duke opened the door, dropping heavily onto the concrete. He threw his hands up and Bobby sighed, “You’re not runnin’. Not this time. Not alone.”

“So this is what we’ve come to? We’re tearin’ my engine apart?” Duke scoffed back at Bobby, glancing toward the RV as he waited for a very pissed off Esme to come out at any moment.

“It’s your starter relay. I can put it back in within thirty seconds. But it was enough to allow that girl to catch up with you, and force you to take some backup. I may be a hick…but I’m not stupid, and you’re my son.” Bobby scolded Duke, stepping a bit closer. He poked Duke in the chest and took a deep breath, “This is bigger than you and your savior complex, boy. You need backup, and Mika ain’t out there just runnin’ around waiting for you to show up, anymore. Take…Esme.”

“And if I get her killed? Hmm? Who gets blamed for that? Who would I blame for that?”

“She’s a grown woman and she’s not letting you out of this lot. So, here’s an idea…DON’T GET HER KILLED!” Bobby shouted at him out of nowhere, which caused Duke to flinch, turning his eyes to the ground like a little boy as Bobby seethed in front of him. After a moment, Bobby calmed down enough to place a hand on his shoulder, “No one…is dying tonight, son.”

Cason

Cason watched Nat’s face as she seemed to relax a bit. Her sheepish smile told him that, as she voiced the source of her concern. Smiling softly, Cason nodded and he pressed a quick peck to her upper lip, “I know…I know. But there’s nothing that’s going to stop me from getting back to you. I had an iron rod shoved through my spine, and I still managed, didn’t I? I’m a bit harder to kill than that…”

He laughed softly, and reached both his hands up to rub her upper arms in the best effort he could give to soothe her, “And you’re right. I’m the only one that can do this. I’m the only one who won’t act on emotion, as long as you’re not there. So, you can help me stay alive by staying here…”

As soon as Cason finished his words, Sam burst through the door and Cason could smell the demon blood all over him before he ever spoke. But hearing that Anna had been taken, Cason growled loudly and closed his eyes. His entire plan shattered, right there on the floor. Now that the angels had Anna, they had leverage, “Why would the angels take her? What would they even want with her, if they’re planning to keep Alastair alive, for now? It makes no sense.”

As he spoke his questions aloud, he pulled away from Nat and quickly approached Sam, shoving him, “And how could you let them?! You’re full of demon blood. Is she?! What? You both went on a bender, together? So, now the angels have a demon nuke that they can torture and bend to their will, because you couldn’t keep Ruby away from her for one night.”

Cason lowered his voice and he leaned a little closer to Sam, “And now, chances are, I have to die and break your sister’s heart…because of you.”

He stepped away from Sam, and walked quickly to Bobby’s desk, grabbing a pen and a sticky note. He wrote the address to the warehouse, only about 45 minutes away on the piece of paper, and he walked back up to Sam, slapping it roughly against his chest.

“They’re here. Get there fast and you better hope…BEYOND hope that Anna is still alive when you get there. Or Ruby’s next on my list, whether you’re shielding her or not.” Cason seethed at him, and without saying goodbye, he disappeared, reappearing in a dark corner of the boiler room, just out of sight of Castiel and Mika.

“I can hear you.” Castiel muttered softly, turning toward Cason. Cason froze momentarily, a bit of fear bubbling in his stomach before he gathered his defiance and courage and slowly stepped out of the shadows, his eyes first shifting to Mika, before back to Castiel’s face. “If you’re here to save him, I’ll have to stop you.”

“I’m not here for anyone but you, bud. We need to talk.”

Anna

Anna opened her eyes, blinking in the dim light of the room Uriel had stashed her in. As she came to, she pulled at her right arm, realizing that both her arms were tightly locked to a pipe nearby with a twisted and mangled set of handcuffs. As she shifted to sit up a bit straighter, she looked down at her ankles and they were also chained to the same pipe. She was still only in Sam’s t-shirt, and she had no idea where she was. A soft sob left her throat and she tried her hardest to listen for any sign of anyone that she knew, but all she heard was the roar of water rushing through pipes and clanging of metal pipes around her.

“Hello?!” She called out, and after a few seconds, Uriel appeared in front of her and he chuckled.

“Ah. You took a while to recover, little one. There’s not much use in screaming. No one but your girlfriend downstairs can hear you, and she can’t come to you.” Uriel explained simply. Anna turned her eyes up to him, as she attempted to appeal to some sort of sympathy. Maybe if she made herself as small and weak as possible, Uriel would simply let her go.

“Please. Please let me go. Whatever you’re wanting Sam to do, I won’t stop him. I won’t get involved. I’ll just walk out the door and I’ll walk…I won’t even call anyone.” Anna pleaded, but Uriel only laughed harder, before mocking her, tilting his head back and forth.

“Stop groveling. I know your type. You and Sam Winchester…the special ones…the kings and queens of Hell. You’re one of Azazel’s favorites, destined for greatness. Yet here you are, crying at my feet…begging me to release you. If I had Sam Winchester in my hands, a knife to his throat, you would trow yourself on a fire to save him. It’s who you people are.”

“Us people?” Anna asked in a tiny voice, still not sure what her connection with Sam was, after all this time. They were like magnets, but no one had ever really explained to them why.

“Yes. You people. The abominations sent to serve as the leaders of the apocalypse. You’re drawn to each other like moths to a flame and how lucky for the two of you that you’re the only two left? It’s poetic. You’ll die for each other, over and over. You’ll kill for each other. You’ll sacrifice others for one another. And in the end? You’ll kill each other. Lilith will have you, one way…or another.” Uriel explained calmly. He shook his head, pointing toward the door to his left. “And the only thing standing between her…and you? Sam Winchester. Dean Winchester. Alastair remaining alive. Mika Chambers…remaining alive. It’ll all be over within the hour. I’ll smite you. Sam Winchester will lose his soul to all that demon blood. He will finish his story. And we…win.”

“You’ll never win because he’ll come for me. He will come for me. He always does.”

“He’s not coming…for you. He’s coming for his brother. See? In this whole tangled web you’re woven into? The Winchesters will always choose each other. That’s why we needed you both.” Uriel explained, stepping away from Anna to walk in a circle.

“You didn’t bring Dean here for information. You brought him here to kill him.” Anna realized out loud, scanning her eyes all along the floor around Uriel’s feet. “You brought us both here to kill us…all of us.”

“Just the ones that would interfere with my orders.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean decided to drop the conversation about Natalia as soon as he saw Lexi’s smile drop. She definitely didn’t seem to want to talk about it anymore, and he was happy to let it go, if it would ease ANY of the tension in the bunker. As she stepped inside and picked up one of the angel blades, Dean shoved his hands in his pockets and he just watched, having to chuckle as she commented on the craftsmanship of the blade.

“They are pretty nice. It’s the dicks that carry them I don’t care for as much.” Dean chuckled, shaking his head. Hearing that her fiancé’s nerdiness for swords and blades rubbed off on Lexi just made him tilt his head back with a smirk that said ‘interesting’. He walked a little closer, picking up one of the blades and spinning it on his palm, “And if you’ve picked up on a few things, then that means you’re good with one of these. I would say that comes way…way in handy in this line of work.”

He held the blade up in the light, watching the way the light flickered onto the wall next to him and then he turned his eyes back up to Lexi with a bright smile, “And you wanna know the best part? These things? They can kill demons. Not smoke ‘em out. Not send ‘em back to Hell…kill them. Dead as they would be if we shot them with the Colt. Hell, they can kill anything, and we have a ton of them, one for each of us.”

Anna

Anna tilted her head, dropping Sam’s hand as she placed her hands on her hips and listened to him explain that he was as good as could be expected. She was genuinely glad to hear it, although she did wonder if things would have been easier for him to handle Dean’s grief and binge drinking if she had come home. She was good with Dean, after some healing between them. Maybe she could have kept him off that ledge, but at least he seemed good for the moment. He seemed almost healthier than when they dropped her off.

“I’ve been good.” She replied when he complimented her, but quickly he started explaining himself, and Anna took a deep breath, not quite sure how to handle Sam actually talking. They normally didn’t talk. They just…let the past sit there, festering until the next awkward moment. Around and around that bend. He had also never stated that he might have been wrong, which took Anna aback. He was saying everything she had wanted to hear from him for months, but never thought he would say out loud. But as he continued speaking, Anna’s heart plummeted. He was protecting her after she had died. It made her feel like dying was an inconvenience, like if she could have prevented it somehow, he wouldn’t have left. He would still be hers. She would still be home.

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly say that things have been stable, or normal.” Anna started, sniffling as she began to pace back and forth, slowly in front of him. She took a deep breath, pushing down the anger that suddenly began to bubble up, now that they were spilling their guts to one another, “I mean, unless you count Duke having to sit with me until dawn most nights, right after you left, because I woke up screaming for you. I still dream about you. I dream about the look on your face, while the light faded from my eyes. I saw your face. Did I ever tell you that? I watched you, until the very end…”

Anna’s voice broke, and she let out a soft sob, gritting her teeth, “And I was there for you, through everything. Dean even promised me, and you know he doesn’t make promises…he promised me you would come back. He promised that he would come get me, and yet here we are. I get it. You were scared. You were scared you were going to watch me die, or that I was going to have to live without you but all you did was make me have panic attacks every time the phone rang…”

Anna stopped and she squatted for a moment, collecting herself by pushing her hair back from her face and wiping both her hands over her cheeks to try and reign in some of her emotions. Standing to her feet again, she sniffled and turned back to Sam, holding her hand out.

“Did you stop and think for one second about what I might have wanted? That maybe I was scared too, and all I wanted was to be there for you? Or that maybe after everything we have been through together that I could handle what was coming? Or did you just…think of yourself without so much as speaking to me about what you were feeling. That’s not you, Sam.”

She pointed a finger at Sam’s face, and then went quiet for a moment, beginning to pace again as she grappled with the confused emotions that were rumbling around in her brain. Part of her hated Sam for what he did to her, and the other part of her just wanted him to tell her to come home and they could start over like nothing had ever happened…

Anya

Anya hadn’t heard the entire story of Mika and Dean’s relationship, but she knew that Mika had been close with the Winchester’s entire group. From what Anya knew, they had all split up after her death, in one way or another. So, hearing that Dean had known Mika forever, Anya’s eyes softened into a sad frown. She could tell that Dean was still struggling his way back to normal, or at least whatever was normal for him. But thinking of him being so worse off that those closest to him would fear he was going to kill himself, Anya couldn’t help the pit that formed in her stomach.

Anya changed her face back to a neutral smirk as Natalia mentioned that she was actually happy to have a mole on the inside. She nodded, and pulled her phone, typing a quick, “Ask me anything. I’m an open book. But I might have some questions too…about Sam.”

When Natalia asked her if she knew how to use a knife, Anya typed another message, letting it play, before sliding her phone in her back pocket and out of the way, “I assume you just stab them with the pointy end and hope for the best. But I also assume there’s more to it than that, or you wouldn’t have me in a muddy field to teach me how to do it right. So, I’m your student. Show me…and let’s talk.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean and Castiel

Dean watched Mika’s face carefully as she spoke, and although he believed every single word she said, his need to get her away from the area was still high. As she wiped the tear from his face, Dean closed his eyes and he sniffled, before opening his eyes to stare as deeply into hers as he could manage. Even though he wanted to shoulder those emotions with her, like they had promised each other, the thought of coming out of the door behind him a different person than she had ever seen was terrifying to him. He didn’t want to break her heart or disappoint her.

“Mika I don’t…” He began, but she cut him off by kissing him. Closing his eyes and breathing deeply through his nose, Dean kissed her back, breathing her in for what could be the last time, if that side of him came out. He was running out of time to let her know how much he loved her, and how much what he was going to do in that room wasn’t who he was…or at least he wanted to believe that. As she pulled away, Dean chased her lips briefly and then he took another deep breath, squaring his shoulders, “I love you. I’ll see you on the other side, alright?”

With a sniffle, Dean turned and made eye contact with Castiel. Cas nodded and stepped away, returning with a clattering cart of random tools Uriel had procured for Dean to do his job…torturing Alastair for information. Dean sighed, looking at the cart, recognizing a lot of Alastair’s favorite tools there. Trying not to think too hard, Dean took the cart from Castiel and he pushed it up to the door, before turning to look back at Mika. It was his last chance to change his mind. Huffing, he pushed the cart through the door and attempted to ignore Alastair’s mocking laugh and then his singing.

“Heaven, I’m in heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak. I seem to find the happiness I seek, when we’re out together…dancing cheek to cheek.”

Dean scoffed, but he never looked up at Alastair as he pulled an apron from the top of the cart and tied it behind his neck, flattening the fabric against his front. Alastair didn’t relent, continuing his teasing.

“I’m sorry. This is a very serious and emotional situation for you. I shouldn’t laugh but are they serious? They sent you to torture me? I can smell your tears from here, Dean! I can smell…who is that out there? Oh…the tall one. The one with the fire in her veins. What’s her name again? Mika?” Alastair teased, and Dean froze, looking down at the cart to avoid Alastair’s eyes as he picked up Ruby’s knife.

“You got one chance. One. Tell me who’s killing the angels. I want a name.” Dean barked at Alastair, who completely ignored him.

“Oh don’t be so grumpy. I’m sure we’ll have fun together. You know the bigger of the two is bringing your little one right here…right where I want her. Do you think she’ll dance with me again? I liked dancing with her. She was…really something with a little push and enough blood in her system.”

“Tell me who’s killing the angels.” Dean grumbled through gritted teeth, trying to ignore what Alastair was teasing.

“No. See, I’m not afraid of your little toys. I’m not just going to spill my guts for you.”

“Oh you’ll spill your guts one way or another. I just wanted to avoid ruining my shoes.” Dean spat at him, turning to approach the rack.

Outside the door, Alastair’s screams echoed through the boiler room as Castiel paced in front of the door, making sure that he kept Mika out of the room and safe, like he had promised Dean. He turned his head and glanced over at her, deciding to break the ice and try to have a conversation.

“You know this isn’t my doing. I would never ask this of Dean if it wasn’t necessary. I don’t expect you to trust me. You haven’t thus far, but I will make sure that he comes out of this as intact as possible. I will do what I have to do.”

Cason

Cason turned as Nat approached him and gave a situation update for Sam. He furrowed his brow, a bit worried at that point that Anna might also be high. He hoped that she had listened to him, and refused whatever Ruby might have offered her, but knowing Ruby, she wasn’t given a choice. He gritted his teeth and pushed the bad feeling down as Nat grabbed his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. He tightened his grip on her hand briefly as she asked if he was going after Dean and Mika. Truth was…he wasn’t going to try and save them. He was going as a final blow if they needed it.

“Nat I…” He started but she cut him off, telling him that she wasn’t stupid. His face softened at her words and he just allowed her to voice her concerns, knowing that she wouldn’t fully understand his plan, no matter how he worded it. But as she voiced the he couldn’t die on her, Cason pulled away from her, and he turned and pulled both his hands up to cup her face and make her look him in the eyes.

“Listen to me. I’m not going with them…not yet.” Cason explained, his eyes scanning hers to tell her he was speaking the absolute truth. He then took a deep breath, “And when I do go…I will do everything I can to get back to you. If I’m right, I can do the job without the angels ever seeing me coming. If I’m wrong, things might get complicated.”

He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers, “The only reason I’m not letting you come along is because the plan is insane, and I’m the only one who can do it. I have to. I have a good feeling about the doubt that I felt dripping off the angel in the trench coat. If I can convince him of that doubt, he might be willing to help me pull your brother back from the edge of that cliff. He might be willing to fight on our side. I have to take that hunch and run with it. And I’ll be back here, with you, in minutes. Alright?”

Without another word, he pressed a tight kiss to her lips, brushing his thumbs over her cheeks for a moment. As he broke the kiss, he kept his eyes closed and his forehead pressed to hers, brushing her nose with his, “But for now, I’m here. I’m listening. I’m waiting until I can get him alone.”

Duke

It was times like this that Duke wished he had never let Esme learn his body language so well. She even knew his facial expressions, probably better than he knew them himself. If he had just run when he had the chance, there wouldn’t be a discussion of her even thinking of coming with him. But now, she was reading him like a book, and arguing with him. She picked up his hand and Duke sighed through his nose, freezing as Esme tilted his hat back and spoke the words that always made him freeze…using the trio’s motto against him.

‘If you go. I go.’

“Dammit…” Duke whispered, watching her eyes. He couldn’t leave her behind now if he tried. She would do something stupid and she would end up getting herself killed. And just like that, she confirmed it with her words. Duke nodded his head, his eyes darting around for a moment as he tried to find any solution that would keep Esme safe. After a moment, he sighed, scrunching his nose to push down his emotions, “Alright. Alright we’ll go together. But you have to be careful, and you have to stand back if you feel anything that feels off. I don’t know what emotions you’re gonna experience when we get where we’re goin’…and I can’t protect you, if I’m tryin’ to get to Dean.”

He paused and turned his eyes back to hers fully, “We gotta bring him back. I owe him that much.”

Anna

Anna shook her head as Sam explained that they had to go back to the house whether they liked it or not. But the idea of staying outside, where there was a wall between herself and Cason’s loud buzzing heart calmed her a little. She nodded rapidly and did her best to wipe some of the blood from the corners of her mouth, glancing down at her hands to make sure they weren’t completely covered. She didn’t exactly want to explain it to the others at the house.

As Ruby finally left, after Anna’s best attempts to ignore her, she let a breath go that she had been holding and took another shaky deep breath, looking up at Sam as he took her hands. She could feel how hot his skin was, even with the heat of her own against it. If anyone touched him, they would likely pull their hands back in fear. She didn’t even want to think about the actual surface temperature of them, figuring that it was well over 110 degrees…enough to fry any other human’s brain.

“We have to go get them.” Anna said softly, not even thinking of killing Alastair. If they managed to, that was great, but they couldn’t just leave any part of their little family to die at his hands, and Anna knew better than anyone other than Dean that no matter what trap the angels had built…they couldn’t keep Alastair for long. He would find a way to bust out. Sam’s lips against her heated skin almost felt like ice, and she closed her eyes taking in any little touch she had with him, as if it was the last time…

As he pulled her into his arms, she clung to him, gripping at his back to pull him as close as humanly possible. It almost felt like a goodbye, and it wasn’t at all what she was prepared for today. One way or another, they would be coming back from this…together. She would kill anyone in their way, all on her own. She knew that wasn’t realistic, but when it came to Sam, she would sure as hell try.

But as Sam pulled back and once again told her they had to leave, the flutter of wings blew things around the room, and a man stood in the room with them, shaking his head in disappointment.

“Well, the damage you two do when you’re alone…” Uriel scoffed, shaking his head as he looked at the dead bodies on the floor. He turned his eyes up and held a hand out. “Two less demons in the world, but two supercharged abominations in their wake. Isn’t that lovely. You two’s love story just…warms my heart. But I’m afraid it’s over.”

“It’s what?” Anna asked, and Uriel lifted his chin.

“It has been requested of me to remove you from Sam Winchester’s reach. He’s distracted. My superiors have requested that he is…released from his chokehold. You.”

“No. I’m not going anywhere without Sam.”

“I didn’t ask if you wanted to. I told you what I’ve been sent to do. Meaning, you come with me, or I break your spine and I take you anyway.” Uriel seethed at Anna, as if she disgusted him just by existing, “I have every reason to smite you where you stand…little one.”

“I’m not…” Anna started, but Uriel sighed, reaching forward. He wrapped his fingers around her chin, and then they disappeared, right as Anna reached for Sam and began to scream.

All Roads Lead To You

Duke

Duke waited for a silent and slightly fearful moment as Esme brought her hand up and touched the pendant. He glanced toward her hand and then back up at her face and he released a small huff of excitement when she said that the jewelry was beautiful, without an ounce of judgment in her voice. As if he could possibly look at her in a better light, suddenly, her enabling of his habits just made him love her more.

Her asking if he would put them on, again with no questions, caused Duke’s face to break into a wide smile and he nodded quickly, his hands shaking a bit as he unhooked the necklace and draped his hands over Esme’s shoulders. He brought his face close to the side of hers, his breath moving a few tiny strands of hair near her ear as he pulled the necklace around her neck and redid the clasp in the back. He brushed it forward over the side of her neck, until it rested against her chest and he stepped back, picking up her hand to spin her around to face him.

“You look like a dream, ma’am.” He drawled as he took in the way the necklace brought out her eyes, so simply but elegant enough to match the dress. It was as if he had read the universe with some sort of superpower. He lifted her hand and holding her hand with two of his fingers, he unclasped the bracelet and then wrapped it around her wrist, clasping it back together before straightening it, and brushing his fingers down to hold her fingertips. “I’m tellin’ you right now. You’ll be able to sweet talk your way into anything you want, tonight. I mean it. Ain’t another woman in that place that can match up to how gorgeous you look.”

Suddenly, other than the flutter in his heart if he made the mistake of looking too deep in her eyes, Duke felt confident. He was going to be on one of her arms. He was Dean’s equal, as long as they were working. And tonight? He was going to make the best of it.

Duke and Dean - A Bit Later - Whitaker Mansion

“My lord. That old lady said nothin’ about this bein’ a castle. You sure you’ll be able to find what we’re lookin’ for?” Duke asked Dean as he stepped out of the car and Dean opened Esme’s door for her, holding his hand out. The valet stepped up to Duke and offered him an umbrella to protect him from the sprinkle of rain that was beginning to fall around them, but Duke scrunched his nose and brushed the young man off, causing the man to step away from him in confusion.

Dean helped Esme out of the car, wrapping her arm around his and then he stepped up to Duke and nodded up to the parapet on the side of the mansion, “If I had to guess, it’ll be up there. Shouldn’t be too hard to ask around, if they’re for sale, right?”

“They’re not for sale, though.” Duke muttered, reaching for Esme’s hand. He wrapped it around his arm and the three of them began walking across the gravel of the circle lot, as the valet took their car away. Dean shrugged his shoulders, and he waved a hand out in front of him.

“Then you find out where it is. You’re the sweet talker of the group. You’re the one who looks the most out of place, but also the wealthiest. Make it seem like you want it to be for sale, for your wife…or mistress. Ask a woman.” Dean suggested and Duke tilted his head with his lips pressed together, as if Dean has a point. “Then you let me know, and I’ll take care of it.”

“You’ll take care of it? Jewelry is my thing. I can get it.”

“No. Because between the two of us, who has the better track record with alarms? Hm? You distract the rich folks. Keep Esme close, and I’ll grab it. In and out. We’ll be mingling before they even know it’s missing.” Dean whispered quickly as they stepped up to the door of the mansion. Duke nodded to the man at the door, dropping the name ‘Singer’, and the man simply nodded, ushering them inside.

“Fine. I’ll hit up the bar and see who I can sweet talk for information. You and Esme mingle and act normal. Oh! Masks!” Duke beamed, as a butler held out a tray of masks to the three of them. Duke ran his fingers across several, before landing on a gun metal, relatively simple mask that he couldn’t resist. He pushed his hat forward on his head, and tied the mask against the back of his hair, before readjusting his hat and the mask against his face.

Dean grabbed his own and turned to Duke, who rolled his eyes. Dean pulled away from Esme for just a second, as he let Duke tie his mask on, patting his shoulders roughly when he was finished. Yet another penguin suited man came up to the three of them, and reached a hand out, offering it to Esme with a smile, “Miss. You look lovely tonight. Are you here with anyone?”

Before Esme could answer, Dean stepped back over to her, wrapping his arm around hers with a sheepish smile, “She’s with us.”

At the word ‘us’, the man placed a hand on his chest and he glanced between Duke and Dean, then to Esme before walking away, which caused Dean to square his shoulders with pride. He then turned to Duke, “Go work your magic, Ace.”

“Gotcha.” Duke answered back with a nod. He leaned in close to Esme’s ear and he smiled, “I’ll be back before you know I’m gone, Sweet Pea.”

With a quick kiss to her cheek, Duke stepped away, weaving his way through the crowd. Without skipping a beat, he grabbed the hand of the wealthiest looking woman in the room, and spun her around, before bringing her close to his chest. As she made eye contact with him, she lost her breath and Dean chuckled, leaning his own head down to Esme, “Well, this is already going well. He’s a pro. And you…you’re the most beautiful woman in this room. I would like to buy you a drink, if you’ll have me. Though I have to say, you’re looking like new money. My father would never approve.”

As Dean teased her, drew himself close enough to brush noses with her, drawing attention from a few of the people in the large stairwell entrance.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean almost shook his head as Lexi took him up on his offer to hear her vent to him…and she said the last thing he would want her to feel. Despite Nat being abrasive at times, Lexi had nothing to prove to her. He could convince Nat himself that he wasn’t moving on out of some sort of coercion. But he kept quiet, just walking with her as she spilled to him. But the words only hit him worse as she continued.

“Hold on.” Dean muttered as Lexi’s hands began stroking his arms in a soothing manner, and her words rolled around in his mind. “Nat knows better, first of all, than to try and convince me of anything. You don’t have anything to prove to her. She’s not going to be happy seeing me with anyone, no matter how good they are for me, because she thinks I’m easy to manipulate when I’m upset.”

He took a deep breath, and leaned in close to her face, “Nothing is going to screw up what we’ve got. Alright? I’m right here. I’m not going to put on any sort of ‘I don’t want the parents to know we’re together’ face to make her feel more comfortable. Let me handle her…”

After a moment, Dean stood up a little straighter, and he ushered her further toward the armory as Lexi asked about the angel blade to diffuse the tension, “Oh yeah. We have a ton of them. We started picking them up, and just kinda stashing them in the armory. Don’t call it holding out. Call it…insurance to make sure I could trust you.”

Dean gave Lexi a playful wink as they reached the armory and he began to release the locks on the door. After all the locks were released and the door creaked open, Dean pulled it further open, letting Lexi step in before following her inside. As he did, he thought about their conversation in the hall and he raised his eyebrows, “Also, about my sister…I’m pretty sure that if she sees you out hunting, or even just existing in the field, she’ll come around.”

Anna

Anna’s head snapped up, staring at the door of her room with a furrowed brow. Part of her thought it might be Cason coming to check on her, but he would never be caught dead this far into the bunker halls without someone with him. He would also never come to have a heart to heart with her with company. She simply stared at the dark wood for a few moments until she heard Sam’s voice and her stomach fell into her feet. He had come after her, and he wanted to talk. He wanted talk…

Sam wanted to talk.

Anna thought it over. If he came into the room, she couldn’t think of any other way that it could end, than them falling straight into each other’s arms. They always pieced themselves back together, even if only temporarily. It just seemed that they were destined to be magnetized to one another. After a few moments, she stood from the side of the bed and she walked over to the door, not giving herself time to think it over. She opened the door, and reluctantly turned her eyes up to see Sam’s face standing there…in her doorway. A memory flooded her mind, as she looked him over. He was full of life, now, his face sun kissed and full of color. He was muscular, more so than the last time she had seen him, but still thinner than their happier times together.

Her memories were flooded with his sunken tired eyes, and his soft voice that almost seemed strained. His hair was constantly melted to his head with sweat, and he seemed on the verge of death, but back then…she refused to accept it. Seeing him now, the tears instantly pricked at the corners of her eyes, and she leaned against the doorway, just drinking him in.

“You want to talk?” She asked in a small voice, her blue eyes glittering in the dim light of the bunker halls. She stepped back slowly from the door, and ushered him in. After a moment, she reached out, knowing it was a bad idea, and wrapped her fingers around his wrist, pulling him into the room with her. “C’mon. Sit down.”

She pointed toward the edge of her bed, and then stood in front of Sam with her arms crossed, looking down at him with a soft sigh. She reached a hand up and whisked a tear away from her cheek, “You don’t know how tempting it is, being back in this room, to ask you if I can come home.”, she admitted suddenly. She knew that if she said something to Dean, he would likely push the issue, but it would also make things incredibly tense in the bunker, since Anna had to assume Anya was staying with them, for the time being.

“You seem good.”

Anya

Anya smiled fondly at the way that Natalia described her brothers. From what little Anya knew of them, she already knew that they were both headstrong and obviously good at their jobs. They already seemed so confident they could squash this issue for her. She trusted them explicitly. She fell into a quiet moment, until Nat pulled away from the trunk and closed it. Anya smiled a bit brighter and she stepped away from the car with Nat with a nod.

Anya kept her phone close to her chest, enjoying the fact that Nat didn’t seem to mind her speaking through a tool like her phone. She didn’t seem to flinch a bit, like Sam didn’t. Anya nodded about the fields. She had only been back and forth from the bunker a few times, but she had passed those fields every time. They didn’t seem like a bad walk, and they also seemed incredibly private, unless someone knew they were there and had access. The question of how she came to meet Sam and Dean made Anya smile fondly once again and she began typing on her phone.

“You’re not prying. You’re getting to know me. I literally met Sam in an electronics store, and it just happened that he was the person I was looking for. Well, not as much him, but Dean. I got their names from a hunter who figured they might have the gun my dad lost. They didn’t have it, but Sam was willing to help. So, he helped.”

She pressed play on the message and as the message ended, she decided to try and help Lexi out with a bit of diffusing language.

“Me and Sam have gotten close. Lexi was already here and she’s good with Dean. She makes sure he eats. She gets him out of the bunker sometimes. She seems to be a bit of a safe space for him. I don’t know him that well, but I can tell that he’s struggling. From what I’ve gathered, his drinking is better…”

Anya didn’t want to delve much into her relationship as Sam, as they ended up at the fields and she figured the conversation would end, at least until Nat started asking questions again. Anya glanced around the area, and she sighed, eager but nervous to start training. She could tell that Sam didn’t seem too excited for her to start hunting, and even seemed surprised that Dean would even consider it. She typed a short message as they reached the area and Anya glanced back at the hill that the bunker sat beneath, “So, what’s first? You’re the teacher and I’ll be your mole on the inside, now that no one can hear us.”

She pressed play with a playful smirk, raising an eyebrow at Nat as she offered to spill tea while they worked.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean and the angels

Dean huffed with relief as Mika confirmed that she was okay. He didn’t step away from her for a long few moments, just watching her face as if keeping his eyes on her could prevent him from ever having to look at the angels that were staring at them. Dean’s second thoughts were coming in like a tidal wave, and he was already scanning above Mika’s head for an exit. All they had to do was to shake the angels.

“Dean…” Castiel called out to him, and Dean reluctantly turned to look at him, glancing to the door that Cas was standing next to. Cas was alone, and he seemed to want Dean to come to him. So, he reluctantly released Mika, and walked over to him. As soon as Dean stepped up to the rusty metal door, he glanced through the window that Castiel was staring through, and his heart dropped. He scanned over Alastair, chained and bound to a Star of David iron rack. Beneath him, there was a spray painted devils trap on the slick concrete floor. “The devil’s trap is old Enochian. He’s bound completely.”

“Well that’s fascinating.” Dean grumbled, shivering externally as he clenched his jaw and turned away from Castiel. “Where’s the door out of this place?”

“Where do you think you’re going to go? No one knows where you are, Dean.” Cas tried to reason with him, but Dean waved his hand around and he picked up Mika’s hand as he searched for a door. But Uriel stepped in front of him, glaring down at him.

“Angel’s are dying, boy.” Uriel spat at him, and Dean scoffed, shaking his head.

“Seems everyone’s dying these days. I get it. You’re all powerful. You can make me do whatever you want. You can take everything from me. But you can’t make me do this.” Dean practically begged both angels, squeezing Mika’s hand as he stared Uriel down.

“I know it’s a lot to ask. But I have to ask it. WE have to ask it.” Cas chimed in, and Dean turned to him, scanning his entire demeanor. It seemed as if Castiel wanted to talk to him alone. Cas seemed extremely uncomfortable, rebellious, even.

“I want to talk to Cas alone.” Dean barked, turning to Uriel, who turned his eyes up to make eye contact with Cas over Dean’s head. Castiel gave a small nod and Uriel chuckled.

“I think I’ll go seek revelation.” Uriel grumbled before disappearing. Dean sighed with relief, and he pulled Mika with him, turning back to Castiel.

“What’s going on Cas? Since when does Uriel put a leash on you?” Dean asked, holding Mika’s hand close to his side, as if he could somehow shield her from anything that could come for her, just by touching her.

“My superiors have begun to question my sympathies. I was getting too close to the humans in my charge. Namely, you. I’ve begun to express emotions, the doorways to doubt. I was working closely with a demon. I wasn’t questioning your motives…your ways. My judgement was clouded.” Cas explained simply, bluntly, turning his eyes to Mika as if to drill home the fact that he really did have their best interests at heart, even if she couldn’t see it.

“Well, you don’t want me doing this. Trust me.” Dean tried but Castiel shook his head. “If you ask me to open that door and walk through it, you won’t like what walks back out.”

“I would give anything to not have you do this. I would give anything to send you home to rest with your family…with Mika. But my hands are tied, Dean. I mean it.” Cas said with a little more authority. Dean shook his head and the dam broke, as he scoffed and tears filled his eyes.

“Give me a minute.” He choked out, tugging Mika with him as he walked across the room, giving as much privacy as he could with Cas still in the room. He turned her to him, and scanned her entire face with his teary eyes, “I don’t want you watching any of this. I don’t want you on this planet, while I do this. I don’t want you to see that side of me, because I don’t know if I can come back from this…”

He toyed with Mika’s fingers nervously, and sighed, letting a single tear fall over his nose as he tried to think of options, “M-maybe Cas should take you somewhere…somewhere safe.”

Cason and Duke

Cason nodded, understanding that Natalia wouldn’t be happy about staying at Bobby’s, but Cason also knew that his head would be much clearer, and he was more likely to be able to help Dean and Mika if he wasn’t worried about Nat’s safety. Before Nat pulled away, Cason leaned forward and placed a soft kiss to the top of her head, before turning to Duke, to formulate some sort of plan.

“I can only get you close to them, and after that, you’ll be on your own. I can’t go…not yet. I will listen, and if I’m right, I’ll be there to handle the angels, so you guys can get Dean out.” Cason explained to Duke, who nodded his head, as if he was being given marching orders. But Duke tilted his head in confusion.

“What do you mean handle the angels? What are the the angels planning to do to Dean?”

“Nothing. Nothing that I know of, but they’re going to push him to a point that I don’t know that we can bring him back from. I’m willing to be a distraction…” Cason spoke low, to where only Duke could hear him, because he knew that Nat would fly off the handle at his plan, “If I don’t make it out, you all get out, bring Dean back and keep the angels away from Nat…by any means necessary. Got it?”

“I heard you loud and clear.” Duke nodded, before turning to Esme. Duke squatted in front of her. He brushed her hair out of her face as best he could, and judging by the look on her face, he wasn’t going to like whatever the outcome might be. But they had to try. “If you need to, you can stay here with Cason and Natalia. I can make this trip. I’m capable.”

Duke spoke quietly, brushing his thumb down her jaw as he scanned her face, trying to decide if he should just make a run for it, and force her to stay behind, “I don’t want you doin’ nothin’ that’s gonna put you in danger. Cason’s gonna back me up later on.”

Anna

Anna’s heart raced as she waited for Ruby to respond to her suggestion, but as Ruby straight up seemed motivated to get them more demons so they could get this whole thing overwith, Anna sighed with relief and she tightened her hold on Sam for a moment, as Ruby disappeared. She simply stroked his hair, looking his face over with a neutral expression, making sure that if he made eye contact, he saw no judgement. She brought her thumb up and whisked away a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth, right as Ruby showed back up with the two demons.

The smell of them hit Anna’s nose immediately, and she could feel her blood heating up, just at their presence. Anna released Sam as he seemed to have the same reaction, only more aggressive. She stood and stepped over to the table, picking up the knife that sat in the center, as if waiting for her. She then ran at the female demon, and shoved her back against the door, wrapping her hand around the demon’s throat. She burned her until she could no longer scream and then stabbed the knife into the side of her neck, latching her mouth over the wound and drinking her dry within minutes.

After a while, Anna dropped the drained demon to the floor and she growled, her teeth barred and her chin dripping with blood as she sat on her knees and Sam’s phone rang out in the mostly silent room. Anna was brought out of the roar of her high as she heard Sam say Nat’s name, and she was brought back to the present, for the most part. Cason was going to be pissed at her…

“We’re going back?” Anna spoke in a tiny voice, he body shivering from the amount of demon blood that was coursing through her veins. She could hear Ruby’s heart buzzing in her head, and as time passed, she was more tempted to attack her, but she took deep breaths, pushing the thoughts down as best she could. “But Cason’s going to be there. Cason’s gonna be there and I will…what if I attack him?”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya smiled up at Sam, echoing Nat’s look to him as she basically told him the same thing that Anya did. Sam and Anna needed to talk, even if it was awkward. Even if some hard truths came up, and even if they ended up closer, and reconnected…it was good for them. She reached her hand up and squeezed Sam’s hand on her shoulder as she stepped away from him and followed Natalia. If ever there was a time that Anya wished she could talk, it was this one. She wanted to tell Nat that she was a lot tougher than she looked, and she could handle whatever she would throw to her.

Instead, she pulled her phone, ready to type anything she needed to, to defend herself. Nat didn’t seem to be coming at her super aggressively. Instead, she seemed to be looking out for her wellbeing. So, she simply nodded and followed her up the stairs and over to Nat’s car.

As she stood there, her eyes scanning over all of the things in the trunk, Anya pulled her phone up and typed a message, “I think knowing how to use a knife and how to use my smaller frame to get someone off me is good enough, maybe. At least I won’t be alone. I have a little bit of self defense under my belt, but obviously, I’ve never dealt with demons.”

Anna

Anna walked through the corridors with her arms crossed, winding through the echoing halls that used to be her home. As she passed one of the familiar doors, she stopped and stared at it for a moment. The sign was still there that Dean had made during one of his many ‘housewarming’ moments, when they had all first moved into the bunker. Her name was neatly written in sharpie across a plank of wood, nailed to the old oak as if she had never left. She brushed her fingers over the doorknob and then opened the door, stepping into the room. To her surprise, nothing about the room had changed. Her blankets were still piled neatly at the foot of the bed, Sam’s flannel she had slept in the night before they took her to Colorado still laid across them.

There were frames with pictures of the three of them during happier days, and one photo that glared like a beacon, now…with Sam and herself, huddled up in Bobby’s lot. Dean and Mika were nearby, their stiff pose showing that they were posing for the photo, while she and Sam were a bit more relaxed, as if caught off guard by Bobby holding a camera at them. Anna’s eyes flooded with tears as she ran her finger across the top of the photo frame, and she quickly reached up and whisked the tears away, in case Dean walked in.

She stepped over to her dresser, opening the top drawer and smirking fondly at how neatly her collection of Sam’s clothes were situated inside, as if he funded her entire pajama collection with a ‘boyfriend tax’. She closed the drawer with a sigh, and looked over the top of the dresser, at the small collection of rings and other jewelry that lay in a bowl there. A memory flashed through her mind, of Sam, on one of the nights he was particularly sick. He sat in her room for hours, and eventually fell asleep curled up at the foot of her bed. She had taken all of her jewelry off and tossed it into the bowl on the dresser, so she could sponge cold water across his burning face, to help him sleep.

She fished out one of the rings, and turned it over in her hand, quickly dropping it back into the bowl as if it electrocuted her. It was an ‘if we survive this’ engagement ring that never actually made it to becoming official. After a year of watching Esme and Duke love each other, being quite literally the perfect married couple, Anna couldn’t even touch the ring.

Anna quickly moved to take her jacket off, tossing it at the foot of the bed, before walking around and sitting on the edge of the mattress, pushing her hair back with both hands and then rested her head in her hands as she took a deep breath. None of this was fair. Losing Sam wasn’t fair. They were supposed to make it to the other side of all of this…

But her dying changed everything…overnight.

Dean

Dean jumped up as soon as Lexi did, and he tapped the table in front of Cason, brushing his fingers across Anna’s back in a brotherly small encouragement. He then turned and walked almost at pace with Anna, until she passed him, walking down the corridor while arguing with Cason. With a sigh, Dean watched her with his eyes, and then as she turned the bend toward her room, Dean glanced down at Lexi.

“So, let’s hit the armory and grab what we can. Angel blades might be good, but you also look like you need a breath.” He explained, reaching out and brushing a strand of Lexi’s hair away from her face. He tilted his head toward the deeper part of the corridor and pulled her with him briefly with his touch. As they walked deeper into the halls, Dean reached down and picked up Lexi’s hand, squeezing it tightly, “If you need to vent, feel free to vent. I know my sister can be a lot, and there’s a lot of tension around, right now. We haven’t all been around each other for a while…people change and feelings are a bit tense.”