JustAnna

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean and Anna

Dean narrowed his eyes in annoyance as Sam’s suggestion to pull Natalia away from Cason finally sank in after several seconds. His eyes narrowed even more when Sam pointed out that he had brought home both the girls, and seemed particularly proud of himself for the revelation. Anya began to type, and then decided not to chime in, because it seemed that Dean was plenty keyed up and annoyed.

As Lexi stepped up close to Dean, Anya stepped over toward the table and carefully sat down. Her head was pounding a bit more than she had expected, and honestly, she just wanted plenty of caffeine and her handful of pills to try and take some of the edge off before some really awkward conversations began about the night before. She glanced up as Sam decided to go and wake up Nat. Without making too big of a deal, Anya nodded and tilted her head toward the doorway as if t say ‘go on’.

“I’m not easy to wind up. I’m just not used to being around a bunch of women, ganging up on me, and making my sister look innocent in her bullying.” Dean scoffed as if he wasn’t even bothered by the previous conversation. After a moment, he sighed and chewed at his lip, glancing over at Anya. Making sure to keep his voice low, Dean leaned his head toward Lexi, “I think we need the humor this morning. She’s acting like nothing even happened, and I don’t know if I should be more…pushy? Or if we should just roll with it until it can’t be ignored anymore.”

As he glanced over at Anya again, Anna stepped into the kitchen without saying a word. Dean turned his eyes away from Anya, only to turn them to Anna. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world for Anna to be in the bunker. Dean was tempted to treat her as if she never left, or to ask her to stay, as if she had always been there. But that ship had sailed, unfortunately. And then there was the awkwardness in the air as if Anna knew something about Sam that Dean didn’t. It was as if the world could explode around her any moment, in controversy that could come out at the table. He didn’t know that he wanted that, either.

“Morning Anna…” Dean called out, and Anna, surprisingly, didn’t just huff and leave the room. Instead, she turned from the fridge, with her drink in hand, and walked over to stand near Lexi and Dean.

“Morning. You both look chipper this morning. Lots of smiles.” Anna teased with a small smirk on her face. She glanced to Anya, who was simply scrolling through news on her phone, holding her head in her good hand. “How’s she doing? No head problems?”

“Nothing more than you would expect. She’s pretty tough…like you.”

“Yeah. She seems that way. I’m glad things are good. Really.” Anna smiled honestly, and Dean raised his eyebrows, wondering where the sudden level of closure had come from. He could see it in Anna’s eyes, and in a way, it worried him. If she moved on, there was a decent chance he would never see her again.

“Well that’s new. But you’re not allowed to leave…not yet.” Dean stopped her, as if she was going to vanish. The look on his face made her giggle and she glanced over at Lexi, before back at Dean’s concerned face.

“I’m not going to vanish, at least not today. Calm down. And I’m not the pissy one. That’s your sister.”

Cason

Cason groaned as Natalia admitted that they would have to get up eventually. He didn’t need to sleep or eat or drink, unless he wanted to. He could lay there all day, and the rest of the bunker could deal with it, like they used to. It was better than accidentally walking into a devils trap or brushing iron by leaving the room and being nosey.

“Or we could just stay here…and not.” Cason retorted with another groan as Nat actually began leaving the bed. He kissed her back and attempted to reach for her to drag her back into the bed, but she was already walking toward the closet. Reluctantly, Cason leaned over the other side of the bed and grabbed his clothes, swinging his legs over with a sigh. He stood from the bed and got dressed, internally grumbling the entire time.

He was a bit curious what Anna was up to, if she was out and about. It had to be awkward to be around Sam and Anya, but if he knew Anna, she was doing an amazing job blending in, or was just hanging out in the gym, texting Duke and pretending that she wasn’t awkwardly watching her ex…who abandoned her…fall in love with another woman. Shaking his head, Cason reached over and grabbed his boots, slipping his feet into them and then stood straight, pulling his t-shirt out of his jeans as Nat approached the door of the bedroom.

“Have fun with that. I have barely heard anything, other than some shuffling and a bit of grumbling from the kitchen.” Cason chuckled at Nat’s comment about showing their faces. As soon as Nat stepped out and then leaned back in, Cason rolled his eyes with another groan. Of course it was Sam coming to check on them, and of course Nat was going to use it as an opportunity to embarrass her brother. “I’ll be there to save him in a…”

Before Cason could finish his sentence, Nat had already returned to Sam and began to torture him. Cason chuckled as the matter of Nat’s ‘adulthood’ came into the conversation, right as he opened the door and stepped out behind her.

“Dean knows how we ended up…like this.” Cason defended with a smirk, shrugging his shoulders, “If he thinks we suddenly became innocent little celibate babies, he really does need to get out more. How are things? Little one is alright?”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke rode back to the house pretty quietly, only letting out the odd sniffle here and there or a groan at certain bumps. When the sign for the junkyard came into view, Duke let out a shaky sigh. On one hand, he was home, and felt as if he could relax. On the other hand, he knew that there was a lot of tension and potential judgement inside those walls. There was even a small possibility that Dean was worse off than expected, which was a whole other issue…even if he had an angel on his shoulder.

As the truck stopped and Cason stepped out, Duke didn’t move. He simply stared forward, completely zoned out and reliving the scenes from earlier in the night. It almost didn’t feel real, any of it. It felt as if he had been outside of his body, through all of the grief and anger. He turned his face, just watching Cason step into the house, half expecting an explosion to throw Cason back out into the gravel. Luckily, Duke was pulled from his intrusive thoughts by Esme turning to him and climbing into his lap.

Duke took a deep breath, tightening his hold on Esme’s body as she wrapped his arms around herself. Neither of them needed to talk, during these moments. Everything that needed to be said, was said through touch. He felt oddly calm at that moment, even though the whole world was still crumbling into pieces around him. Everyone probably hated him, or at the least were afraid of him after his outburst. But Esme was there with him. She wasn’t afraid of him. His hands, that had done so much damage that night (including causing a broken wrist), Esme trusted. She trusted him not to hurt her, and to keep her safe.

Taking a deep breath, Duke leaned his cheek against the side of Esme’s face, tightening his arm around her to just listen to her breathing for a few moments until her phone buzzed in her pocket. As Esme pulled her phone, Duke leaned his head back a bit to give her room, and he stared through the windshield for a moment, letting her respond to whatever ‘bad’ news Cason was giving. But then, her voice brought him back to her and he contemplated her words. Memories flooded his mind of bathing in buckets, something that he rarely asked her to do with him, due to the cold water from he garage. It was miserable, especially in the winter.

“You never were much for the bucket.” Duke whispered with a bit of a strained voice. He smirked a bit, thinking about the water fights over the years but then shook his head, “We should probably take a shower. It’ll at least get all the grossness off without leavin’ a stain on the concrete.”

Duke scoffed, and surprising himself, he pulled his good hand away from Esme’s body, and reached for the door handle shoving the door open. Scooting to the side with her still across his legs, he turned and dropped to the ground, carefully sliding Esme down his body and onto her feet.

“I just gotta figure out not gettin’ my cast wet…and how to approach the others. I’m sure none of them want to see my face right now.” Duke grumbled, quietly closing the door behind them. He didn’t even want to think about the basement. He didn’t want to think about how Bobby would react if he saw him. He just wanted, for once, to let Esme help him through the worst of the awkwardness…and to survive the night.

Cason

Cason’s head seared the second that Natalia acknowledged his voice, a feeling that he could only assume was his own relief in seeing her okay and at least in one piece. Or maybe it was relief in seeing the excitement on her face when she stood from the bed and approached him. Cason wrapped his arms around Nat, as she hugged him tightly and began asking questions.

“Duke is alive. He’s in mostly one piece at least.” He answered, and then he followed her eyes down to his own body, noticing the holes in his clothing, and all of the blood that he had honestly forgotten was there. The wounds were mostly all healed, other than a bit of surface damage from Ruby’s knife. “I am also fine. Duke didn’t exactly come back willingly, and it was better me bringing him down than Esme. Not that I think he would have ever hurt her. I didn’t want to take a chance. He was trying to fight a barn full of demons with a knife…”

As Nat began to just spill her guts, Cason was made aware of the fact that she had likely been alone for a while, with her thoughts. It caused his stomach to cramp, that he had left her alone after everything that had gone down and how upset she had been, even if she had wanted him to go after Duke. He could see it in her eyes that she needed to be anything but alone with all of this.

“Alright. Well…take a deep breath. C’mon.” He almost whispered, bringing both his hands up to Nat’s cheeks. Tilting his head forward, Cason pressed his forehead to hers and scanned her eyes, encouraging her to close them and breathe with him. “Take a deep breath. I’m here. I’m right here.”

Anna

Anna didn’t say much else, letting Sam work through his emotions through his own words, without any input that might walk them backward. To her relief, Sam began working with her to wrap Mika’s body, and seemed to hold it together. As they finished, Anna flinched, hearing Cason enter the house. She thought about calling out to him, just to let him know they were okay, but as she crossed her arms and looked down at Mika’s body, words escaped her.

Then Sam spoke up, and Anna turned to look at him, flicking a tear away from her cheek with one of her hands as she smiled softly, mostly a reaction to him saying something that wasn’t completely negative or heartbreaking.

“At least she would be able to see something good come out of all of this. Written into a book and sent off on her own terms…in a way.” Anna sniffled, turning her eyes back to Mika as the truck door quietly closing drew her attention to Duke and Esme returning.

“And it seems like the kids are home. I haven’t heard Duke’s voice yet, but I can’t imagine that Cason would come back with Duke’s truck if Duke and Esme weren’t with him.” Anna grumbled, shrugging her shoulders. The demon blood in Anna’s system was beginning to settle the room a bit, and she could suddenly hear Cason’s heartbeat buzzing as he talked to Nat upstairs. “I’m going to um…I’m going to go check on them.”

Reluctantly, Anna stepped away from the side of the bed and walked up to Sam. She picked up his hand as gently as she could and brought his knuckles to her lips, pressing a tight kiss there, before dropping his hand and jogging out of the room and up the basement stairs. As soon as she hit the night air, Anna took a deep breath and then let it out in pure relief to see Duke and Esme standing next to Duke’s truck.

“Oh my god, you’re okay…” She sighed, her voice barely above a loud whisper. “Both of you. You’re okay!”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean and Anya

Dean watched Sam closely, as he sat Anya’s coffee down and made sure to get the pills she had mentioned ready for her to take. Dean had never thought he would see Sam take to someone again, after Anna and the situation in Denver. Seeing him take care of Anya was a welcome change, even if he had a feeling that some hard conversations were coming up, if they hadn’t already happened, between Sam and Anna. It all needed to be settled, so they could both move on.

As Anya stepped over to the mug and the pills, Dean watched as she picked up both pills and tossed them into her mouth, before taking a long sip of coffee, making a face that Dean couldn’t quite read. Either the coffee was bad or the pills were quick melting, which meant that at least she would feel better faster.

Clearing his throat, he took a sip of his own coffee and sighed with relief as Sam confirmed that he had slept well and at least seemed to be telling the truth about how he was feeling. Any other time, Sam would kill himself before he would admit he was feeling badly, but he really did seem okay, probably because Anya was so determined to be tough. It wasn’t as if she would allow Sam to be too down and out about her condition. She wanted to be treated normally.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that at least…” He grumbled, taking a deep breath before Lexi showed up and cut Sam off before Dean could even make his own comment about the cooking and ‘maid’ work. It was almost as if he had read Lexi’s mind. He couldn’t help but chuckle at how flustered Sam seemed. “Don’t have a stroke. She likes cooking. You like cooking…right?”

Anya pulled her phone up, placing her coffee on the table, and rolled her eyes while typing. She then played the message and pointed it toward Lexi, with a look of solidarity, “A bunch of women come into the building, and now they expect us to cook and clean, like there’s skirt work.”

“I didn’t say that. I did not…Sam? You started this.” Dean groaned, shaking his head and glancing up at Sam as Anya smirked teasingly at Lexi, proud of herself for making Dean stammer a bit. Dean turned his eyes back to Anya and pointed, “Me and Sam could easily clean the bunker and cook the food today, if you want me to prove a point.”

“Cook?” Anya typed, raising her eyebrows.

“Alright. Order takeout. But it’s food, right? Food is food. And someone needs to wake Nat up, at some point. I don’t know what she even allows herself to eat anymore. We used to have so much in common.” Dean defended, causing Anya to giggle silently, but then she typed again.

“Calm down. Don’t have a stroke.” Anya echoed Dean, causing his face to fall flat and his eyes to turn up to Sam in annoyance.

“You brought her home.” He grumbled dramatically.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke was a little surprised when Esme not only kept her gaze on him, but she stood from her chair and her gaze wasn’t judgmental or angry. It was the same caring look that she always seemed to give him, when he was hurting. She always was one that he felt he could run to, when he was particularly upset and Mika was in the wind. It wasn’t like Dean would ever hear him out. As she spoke with care, and understanding, as if she knew him like the back of her hand (she did), Duke sniffled and he couldn’t help but nod, as if she was backing him up to some invisible stranger who was judging him.

He flinched, only slightly, when she picked up his hand and squeezed, explaining that she wasn’t going anywhere, and that his fears were unfounded. This wasn’t the same situation, in any way, to the last time they tried to be together. He wasn’t a ‘part’ of a relationship with her…she was his. That part was hard for him to grapple with, no matter how many times she told him.

“That’s good to hear…” He whispered as he glanced down at his hand, and her thumb brushing his skin in such a soothing way. Mika’s name caused his chest to clench roughly, and he let out a quick and anguished breath, struggling to contain the emotions as Esme pleaded with him to just stay open and to not bottle things up, something they had always fought over, in one way or another. The idea of being open, and what felt like a never-ending wave of grief and tears being his every day just didn’t stick in his brain as a good thing. It felt like willing torture, just feeling everything all at once, and not pushing those feelings down. It was like he would never stop crying, or wallowing…

“I can’t promise that I’m gonna do a good job at that. It’s all so…raw.” Duke’s voice broke as he turned his teary eyes back up to meet Esme’s. He took a deep breath and tilted his head, “But I-I think it’s probably a better idea to at least let you know I’m not doin’ great than to start fights. I don’t know how many more hits to the head I can take…”

A tiny smirk threatened the corners of Duke’s lips and he shrugged, “But thank you for not leavin’. And I’ll meet you halfway. You let me keep you sane by not worryin’ about me constantly, and when I feel like I’m gonna kill someone, I’ll at least tell you about it. We can make that decision together.”

Cason cleared his throat suddenly and Duke flenched, not turning his head to look at him, “As much as I hate to break up whatever this…breakthrough is, you’re being discharged and we should probably head out. Nat’s probably freaking out.”

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here. Heard anything from Dean?” Duke asked softly, pulling his hand away from Esme’s to wipe a stray tear from her chin, and her cheek.

“No. No news. So, you might wanna let me take the lead on things when we get back. C’mon.”

Anna

Anna half expected Sam to break, just at the simple touch and request of letting someone take care of him, but when he did, her heart still plummeted into her feet. She watched his face and shook her head as he explained that he believed he could have gotten to Mika before Alastair had ever killed her. She didn’t think that was true at all. The whole situation was very hopeless and it was a miracle that Dean had made it out alive, “Sam…”

But then he stepped forward, leaned and his forehead fell onto her shoulder. With their height difference, Anna was a bit afraid that he would just topple them both onto the gravel, which she would have happily taken, if it meant that he could actually depend on her. What was another bruise when Sam was hurting this bad? She brought her hand up to tangle in the back of his hair and she buried her nose in the smell of his shampoo, crying with him for a moment. She didn’t know what to say. So, she said nothing.

After what seemed like a century, Anna could feel Sam begin to relax, and then he lifted his head and she stared at his face, following his eyes as he quickly snapped himself back into that tough exterior, despite his puffy red eyes. His request for her to help him with Mika’s body was no surprise, even if it seemed like a whiplash decision after the tiny breakdown of his emotional walls, “Alright. I’m with you, okay? Let’s just take it one step at a time. We’re not done here…”

She took a deep breath, letting Sam lead the way back inside. She simply stood near him as he gathered things, allowing him to process the situation as slow and steady as he needed to. As she followed him into the panic room, she expected him to get hit with reality pretty quickly. They were performing funeral rites for someone so important to all of them, especially Sam, Dean and Duke. She took a deep breath, watching Sam peel the sheets open, and state that he was having issues. Stepping forward without a word, Anna grabbed both of Sam’s hands, picking them up and turning her eyes up to his.

“Let me help. Even if you can’t do this, we can.” She said simply, her voice shaky. She continued untying one of the knots, until everything was ready to begin the heartbreaking process of wrapping Mika’s body, the reality of the permanence hitting Anna in the chest, all of a sudden. And then Sam spoke those same feelings out loud, but with the most heartbreaking words behind them.

“I wish there was something I could say that would make this easier, Sam. I do. I wish she was here to tell you some wise words about picking yourself up, but honestly? I have nothing. This is something we have to get through. She would want this. She would want us to be at least tough enough to do this…for her.” Anna explained gently, trying her best to not sound callous and removed, but stoic and mature, the way Mika would be with him, “You’ve lost her, but you haven’t lost what you learned from her. This…this is one of those lessons. Letting go…”

About an hour later

Cason stepped out of the truck as he parked it, reaching down to separate the wires that kept the truck running. Unfortunately, the cowboy wouldn’t be going anywhere until Bobby could get into the electrical systems to fix what he broke, but it wasn’t like any of them would be going anywhere for a bit anyway. He popped the lock down and closed the door, not even bothering to turn around to the other two at first, but then he remembered that he had said he would go in first.

“I’ll go in and see how things are and then text you. Stay put, both of you.” He called back to Esme, as he walked toward the front door of the house. As he stepped in, he noticed that the entire house almost sounded empty. There as still puddles of blood all over the living room floor, and smears on the wall near the stairs, but everyone else seemed to be gone, or in other parts of the property. He heard movement in the basement, assuming it was probably Dean, up and around and downstairs.

“Hello?” He called out, walking toward the stairs, before taking them two at a time to walk up and see if anyone was in the bedroom at the top of the landing. As he reached the top of the stairs, he pushed the door open, holding his breath, as his eyes fell on Natalia, sitting with Dean. “Well, if you aren’t the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen…”

He turned his eyes away from her only briefly to pull his phone from his pocket, after seeing Dean sound asleep on the bed, harmless. He quickly shot a text to Esme, giving her the all clear.

"Dean's out like a light. If you guys want come in, seems safe."

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean was thankful that Lexi seemed to be used to his habit of sticking his foot in his mouth and barely even acknowledged it. Instead, she focused on the fact that he wasn’t happy with sleeping in, which just felt so refreshing, as much as he wanted to complain. He couldn’t help but shrug his shoulders at Lexi’s reasoning for letting him sleep in. Honestly, he could use the rest, even if he wouldn’t admit it half the time. So, he wouldn’t argue too much, “Fair enough. I do feel a bit better…”

When she mentioned that Anna was up and working out, Dean almost frowned in confusion, but he had to remember that this wasn’t exactly the same Anna that they had left in Denver. She was a lot more independent, at this point. She had a little muscle on her and was used to hard farm work and a lot of activity. She wasn’t the ‘mope around the library with a book’ Anna anymore. So, it wasn’t that strange that she would be in the gym.

“Yeah. I don’t think Cason and Nat will be out for a while. If I know anything about Cason, he’ll make her lay in bed until he’s convinced she’s not going to drop dead from being road tired.” Dean scoffed, taking a drink of his coffee as he glanced toward Lexi and watched her every move. Lexi bringing up his lack of resting that typically made him feel like shit made him think of Cason in a little bit of a better light all the sudden. Cason was obsessed with Nat being healthy and being with him as long as possible…considering he was immortal. Dean lived very fast and loose, because he never saw himself living this long. Some days, he could feel every bit of his age. “Well, I’ll accept the care and the spoiling, if you’ll accept that I’m not gonna change. Habits, maybe…but I’m still the same reckless idiot that you heard about. I’m just a little nicer…most of the time.”

Dean chuckled again as Lexi stepped forward and said she was going for a shower. He was tempted to invite himself, but judging by the peck on his lips that didn’t linger and her request for him to keep the coffee pot on, he figured she wanted the space, something he was trying to learn cues of, “Well, I’d offer to join, but I gotta watch…the coffee pot. So, can you give me a rain check on that shared shower? Tree huggers would love us for not wasting water.”

As he teased Lexi, he leaned close to her shoulder, tilting his head to press a tight kiss against her cheek, “Go get a shower. I’ll be here when you get back.”

After a few moments of being alone in the kitchen again, Dean heard footsteps and he turned his head to the sound, half expecting Natalia, but it was Sam, with poor Anya behind him. In the brighter kitchen light, Dean could see the light bruising around the side of her face and over her eyebrow, as well as some purple angry skin to the shoulder of her injured arm. At Sam’s observation, Dean shrugged and frowned, trying to find a way to play off how late he slept in, and finally settled on just admitting he had slept well.

“Believe it or not…I’ve only been awake about an hour. I slept like the dead. It’s odd. I feel like a lazy bum.” He scoffed and glanced down at Anya, “How’s the arm this morning?”

Anya

Anya was so happy to see Sam smiling that morning, as if they hadn’t completely failed the hunt the night before. She didn’t want to feel like part of their failure or have everyone looking at her like some sort of ticking time bomb. She had never known her voice, and it wasn’t the end of her world if she didn’t get it back. It would have just been easier to communicate, that’s all. And having a cast on her arm just made it worse, because she couldn’t sign as effectively and was stuck with a phone reading out her words in the weird little robotic voice that she was pretty sure most people she knew just assumed was her own voice by that point.

When Sam agreed that they could just get coffee and be lazy together, Anya smiled a bit, not catching any sign of looming awkwardness in his eyes, something she was so thankful for. They were their normal bright hazel, and all she could see was support and empathy…her Sam. With a soft nod against his lips, Anya closed her eyes as he kissed the side of her head and reached across for her pain meds. Of course he had kept them close. He had been hovering within a few inches of her since he found her in the woods.

She reached her hand up and signed a simple ‘thank you’ with her good hand, before scooting herself away from him, with a bit of effort and reluctancy. She was wearing one of his t-shirts, and other than hanging off her bad shoulder a bit, she felt covered enough to face whoever was out in the bunker without feeling naked. So, she reached her good arm up and brushed her curly brown hair to one side and waited for Sam to throw on some pants.

Anya reached over to the desk by the door and grabbed the sling that they had given her at the hospital, a simple black fabric (ugly) thing to help with the initial pain of holding her arm down to her side. She hated wearing the stupid thing, but it really did help her fingers not feel like they were hit with a hammer. She tossed the sling over her shoulder, and slipped her elbow into it, using the deep pocket to slip her phone in, like a purse.

Making a face that said ‘hmph. That’s convenient.’, she looked up at Sam as he headed toward the door and then giggled silently, following him out of the room and into the hallway. As they stepped into the kitchen, she narrowed her eyes at Dean, who not only looked very well rested, but still had messy hair and puffy eyes, which Sam pointed out. What she wasn’t prepared for was Dean asking about her. She zoned out for one moment, which caused Dean to frown and look up at Sam as if asking him if everything was okay. Then Anya pulled out her phone and she pressed a few words with her thumb, holding the phone out toward Dean.

“The arm hurts. And I would like to request that you don’t treat me like a kid over all of this. I know what happened. I know what it means. Can I be a part of the conversation instead of the subject, please? I just want everyone to be normal.”

Dean tilted his head in sympathy, something that he wouldn’t have shown for her if he didn’t feel that she was already part of the family. He nodded, and took a drink of his coffee to show that he was calm and then glanced up at Sam, “I don’t see why not. You’re tough. We should let you be tough.”

“I am tough. I want to stay.” Anya’s phone suddenly blared out to Dean’s face and Dean tilted his head back in a long nod.

“And I don’t see why we can’t talk about that, either. We’ll sit down in a bit and do that. But for now, no kid gloves. How bad does it hurt?”

“Pretty bad.” Anya’s phone played as she snarled her nose and shrugged her shoulders. “I’m going to take some pain medicine with my coffee, I think.”

“Well, I’m sure the hovering giant that is my brother will help with that. Help yourself. Sam, you good? Sleep good…feel good…all that?” Dean asked, giving Sam a face that said he was genuinely concerned about his mental health after how the hunt went.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anna

Anna was a bit surprised when Lexi was so cordial toward her, which just cemented in Anna’s mind that her best friend was a bit aggressive, and that the aggression wasn’t coming from Lexi’s end. Before they left the bunker, Anna would have to work on Natalia’s aggravation with Lexi. If anyone was going to convince her to chill out, it would be Anna…or Sam, but Anna would do it, if Nat would actually listen, for once. Maybe she could offer her contraband snacks.

When Lexi willingly retorted to Anna’s small talk, Anna smirked and stepped onto the treadmill. Judging by Lexi’s words, Lexi was forcing Dean to loosen up a bit. She seemed to want him to rest and wanted to take care of him, something that Dean had needed for months, and Anna was constantly worried about when she was brave enough to call and check on him in the early morning hours before Sam woke up.

“I’m glad he has you to look out for him. Honestly, he looks the best I’ve seen him in a while.” Anna admitted, turning on the treadmill. She noticed that Lexi seemed to fall off into thought while she was stretching, and Anna thought it best to drop the conversation, for the moment, but she would definitely poke and prod a bit more later on. If anything, it would help her build her case to Natalia. As Lexi finished up her stretching and called out to her to enjoy her run, Anna smiled and glanced back over her shoulder, turning the speed up on the treadmill to make things a bit more difficult, “Thanks. I’ll be around in a bit!”

After a while, Anna slowed the treadmill, walking to cool her body off as she came down from the heavy run. The whole time she was running, Sam rolled through her brain, a mixture of him leaving, and the time they had spent together the night before. She knew this had to be the end for them, but she didn’t want to lose him. She wanted to find a way for them to bridge that gap the way that her and Dean had, after their falling out years before. She wanted them to all be family, and to come and go as they pleased. She knew Duke would love to see them…

“We’ll be a family again, one way or another. It’s alright to move on…” Anna muttered to herself as she pushed the button to stop the treadmill and then grabbed her phone, texting Duke to let him know that she was at least thinking about things.

Anya

Anya giggled as Sam defended himself from any creep allegations. She was happy that he smiled, even if he was defending himself. She wanted him to know she was mostly teasing him. She was glad he was so close, and hovering so much. As long as he didn’t feel the need to follow her everywhere, if she asked him to give her space, she would let him hover as much as he wanted. It was Sam. And she was pretty sure that there wasn’t much of a chance in hell she was leaving this bunker…

Anya glanced down at the cast on her arm, as she held her phone in front of her with her other hand and Sam teased her about the nurse comment but then asked how she slept. She nodded, raising her arm to show him that she had basically slept on her opposite side the entire night. So, it was a bit easier to sleep than she had expected. Even with the pain in her broken arm, she felt comfortable and safe. Her opposite side was just a little numb.

She typed out another message, and smiled, “As cute as you would look in a nurses uniform, I think it might be a little…short. And I slept. The pain meds helped keep me still. So, I slept. But I need coffee.”

She played the message, delayed for a moment as she listened for any sounds outside the door, which seemed to be the same thought Sam was having. But when Sam sat up and he ran his hands through his hair, mentioning that they should get up, Anya played the message and laid her phone on her pillow, pushing herself up awkwardly with her good arm.

She looked up at Sam as she pushed herself back against the headboard with a hiss of pain, and glanced down at the hideous pink cast on her arm. She knew that he was trying to dance around the conversation that she felt looming as soon as they had returned to the bunker the night before. Even though she had been half out of her mind on pain medication, and Sam had carried her inside, she distinctly heard Dean ask how they were going to bridge the subject of her voice.

Anya reached back and picked up her phone, scooting herself closer to Sam, to make sure that he knew she wasn’t going to break at the slightest touch. She typed and press play, glancing up at Sam with a smile, “I think that resting around the bunker sounds great. As long as I’m with my awesome hovering nurse and he makes me coffee and finds my pain meds, I’ll be bored in the bunker until this cast is off my arm.”

Cason

Cason raised his eyebrows at Natalia’s comment about the night before and he laughed incredulously, “I never said anything about complaining. I’m not complaining. I don’t complain…well…much.”

His eyes crossed as he watched Natalia’s finger tap his nose, but his expression softened as she spoke with some seriousness about the fact that they had been on the road for so long, and hadn’t had much time to be able to just…exist. He had to agree. It seemed like their lives had been pure chaos, even before Mika died. After? The split had made things even more tense and chaotic. It seemed they were all on the edge of the world ending, at all times. One morning wouldn’t kill anyone, even though they had just as much to do later in the day.

Cason only smiled when Nat did, matching her smile with one of his own as he melted into her kiss, bringing a hand up to brush her hair back from her face. As she broke the kiss and rolled on top of him, Cason brought one hand down to squeeze her thigh, and kept the other cradling her jaw with a smile, “Well, I’m sure that there are a million ways that we can just…enjoy the nice comfy bed, and the quiet room, and the absence of brothers, just a little while longer.”

He chuckled and leaned up, pulling her to meet him in the middle as he kissed her deeply, as always, putty in her hands.

Dean

Dean tapped his fingers against his empty coffee mug as he wait for the coffee pot to finish brewing the first caffeine of the day. It was quiet in the entire bunker, and for a moment, it felt like it was just him and Sam again. It felt like the whole place was empty, and Sam was moping somewhere in the corridors, buried in studying, while Dean pretended that he had something to do and was up early. But it was late in the morning, and honestly, Dean was happy that he knew the bunker was pretty full. It was a welcome change from the looming threat of Crowley just calling or showing up at any time, wanting Dean to do this or that.

The light turned green on the coffee pot, showing that it was full and warmed, so Dean pulled the pot and poured himself a mug, taking his time until he heard Lexi’s footsteps against the old wood floor. He smiled softly as she stepped up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, right as he took his first drink of coffee.

“Well good morning to you too. You’re…hot. Sweaty, I mean. How long have you been up? Early morning is normally my thing.” Dean teased, as he turned around and leaned against the counter, watching Lexi walk across to the sink. He sighed quietly, just taking in the simplicity of her being there. He took another drink, glancing around toward the door way to listen for anyone else but it was quiet. “I’m assuming everyone slept super well last night. I haven’t heard a peep from anyone since I’ve been awake. I slept like the dead. You should have woke me up. I would have come to the gym with you. I don’t work out much but I could have kept you company. I do…enjoy…you know…bodies.”

Dean snarled his nose at his stupid words, and chuckled, “You know what I mean.”

All Roads Lead To You

Duke

Duke didn’t know if he would ever get enough of the smile on Esme’s face, shining from behind the mask she wore. It was a bit intoxicating, considering how rocky their friendship had been, and how horrible he tended to be at expressing his emotions. If he wasn’t careful, he was afraid he would get too wrapped up in her for the night, and end up having to run off the next morning. He would fight the urge, but the fact that it was already running through his brain almost wiped the smile off his face. He flexed his brow, trying to push the flighty thought out of his mind when Esme spoke up again, a smile still resting on her lips.

He couldn’t help the bright smile that spread across his face and that pushed all other emotions away as she teased him about the accusation of her stealing the jewelry. But then something on her face changed, and Duke relaxed his smile and tilted his head as she explained further. He couldn’t help but follow her eyes as she looked to her left, straight to the guys that he had offered to break in half. Duke could feel a little bit of that nasty tension building in his chest at the way the men were looking at her, as if they still had some sort of chance with her, or at the least, the right to harass her.

“Well…” Duke started, as he turned to meet her eyes again, but the ‘bribe’ part of her explanation made him snarl his nose in disgust, but he could see Esme’s face loosening into what he could only assume was a very proud smile. The thought of her playing men, stealing their hearts and still ending up in his arms caused him to chuckle with a wide smile, his blue eyes twinkling behind his mask. He shrugged, “A bandit of hearts, then.”

The hair on Duke’s neck stood, and goosebumps erupted over the sides of his neck and down both his arms, luckily hidden by his jacket, as Esme stood on her toes and she whispered in his ear. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting a soft breath leave his lips with a slight shudder. Of course she knew the right words to say to keep him on his toes, and to weasel into his heart. The thought of being a bad enough influence on Esme to make her willing to rob a bunch of rich folks with him just made his heart swim, and in that moment, he was pretty sure he was in love with her.

“I will definitely…take you up on that offer. Both. Both offers. I can help you unpack all that. I’m pretty sure I can find you a cute little bag to stash it in lyin’ around somewhere.” Duke muttered, his cheeks flushed but a sneaky smile covering his lips as he scanned over Esme’s head, watching the bar for any loose purses or bags. Duke didn’t even notice that Esme was seeing anyone other than him until her hand slipped from his and she turned to face the men she had been attempting to avoid. He opened his mouth to tell the guys to beat feet, but Esme took control of the situation as Duke simply glared at them. Esme’s hand wrapping around his arm grounded him, and Duke stood still, tilting his head in confusion at how easily she seemed to push the two men away from her, as if something in her eyes had scared them.

He said nothing, simply following Esme’s lead as she drug him away from the area and into a quieter space near a corner. Her hand slipped back into his, and she placed his other against her back, causing him to pull her a bit closer to his chest, before scanning over her face. Apparently, she had read the question he was about to ask, on his face, because she confirmed that she was alright and Duke sighed, “We’ll get out of here in a bit. Maybe get some air? Whatever you want.”

He spoke in a voice close to a whisper as Esme’s forehead rested against his shoulder, bringing his hand up from her back to tangle through her hair on the back of her neck. He massaged his fingers against her neck, doing anything he could to just help her relax and to try and bring back that light air around her again. She was having so much fun, for a moment…

When Esme lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him, he frowned and shook his head, “I’m havin’ the time of my life, sweet pea. Dealin’ with some creeps the way you should deal with them ain’t sourin’ the mood. If you let me buy you a drink, somethin’ nice and fruity, I’ll call it even since I can already tell by the look on your face that I can’t convince you you’re not ruinin’ my night. Call it even with something…peachy? Chocolatey? Maybe one of them…what did Bobby call it? A Cosmo?”

Duke chuckled, a wide smile crossing his lips as he did the best he could to try and lighten her mood back to where it was, and to help her forget the handsy assholes. At this rate, Duke didn’t know if he could let her go when Dean came back. She just seemed so light with Duke, like she could relax and just be care free. It seemed like matching his energy could be good for her.

“What do you say? Drag me over to that fancy bar and order an overpriced disgusting juice drink on a tab we’ll never pay? Bandit stuff.” He asked, bringing his hand from her neck to gently pinch the tip of her nose as he bit his lip, that mischief back in his eyes.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke turned his head from Esme to look at his broken arm that was being worked on as she spoke up finally. He could tell that she didn’t really want to look at him, but that she was also lost in her own thoughts. Any other time, he would have hovered, but he wasn’t sure he had it in him, after everything he had done and dealt with that day. He couldn’t help the small smirk that lifted the right corner of his lips, barely raising his cheek when she mentioned that she felt the need to kick his ass, but was too worried about him to act on it.

Of course she wanted to take a bunch of that frustration out on him. He had put her through, what he could only assume was, hell that night. But then the conversation turned toward heavier things, like his bottling of his feelings, something that had always been a problem for him, and had always been a sore spot for Esme.

After a moment, he opened his mouth to speak, to defend himself, but the nurse was manhandling his arm, smoothing out the bandaging on the thick cast that was going to put him in a weird spot with hunting for the next six weeks, all because of his temper. He had no one to blame for that, but himself. He hissed in pain as she rolled his arm over without asking him, but then announced she was finished and left the room.

Duke reached down with his good arm and pushed at the lever to lower the bar on the bed he was tired of laying in. He then sat up and slung his legs off the side of the bed, placing his hands in his lap as Esme continued speaking, but not looking at him. He watched her face closely, his own calm and willing to listen, for once. He sighed, flexing his hands as she finally looked up at him, and her words sunk in. What was supposed to be a simple conversation with Dean had turned into the worst and most brutal fight they had ever had. He had physically hurt Esme in the process and then ran off, like always, as if putting himself in danger would somehow help the situation and make amends with Esme…as if she wanted him dead for making a mistake.

“I know…” He said quietly, frowning as he battled with the tears that he was too tired to fight back. He didn’t shift his gaze from hers just to keep her from seeing those tears, instead, he kept his gaze solid and fixed, with a lot of effort. “I um…I know things are out of control. They have been for a while. I don’t…I don’t know how to fight that, really. I never have. I quit tryin’ a long time ago, and maybe it’s my next step, you know?”

Duke paused, turning his eyes up to the ceiling, as he tried to find the next words he wanted to say. He wanted to push it all down again, to bottle it up and focus on her wellbeing, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he was reminded that she was hurt…because of him. Her nose was bruised, and probably broken because of him. So, he sighed and turned his eyes down toward hers again.

“I think I’ve always just tried to be whatever people needed me to be. I’ve never been anyone’s first choice. I always screw up. I always let people down and then? I have to rely on the people I let down to save me…from monsters, myself, judgement, life?…all of it. I don’t know how to break that cycle and with Mika…” Duke paused, taking a shaky breath as all those fresh emotions bubbled up in his chest and he felt overwhelmed and nauseated all over again, “I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to just move on, not from this. But you’re all I got left, Esme. I r-ran off because you’re all I got left and I can’t tell if you’re havin’ trouble lookin’ at me. I can’t tell if that nastier side of me is too much, and I’m gonna lose you all over again. I wouldn’t survive that, either…”

Anna

Anna shook her head as Sam apologized for taking a moment with Mika. Having him apologize wasn’t her intention, at all. She just wanted to make sure he was alright, and wasn’t off somewhere crying alone, for fear of showing that emotion to either of the girls…specifically the two that would support and love him through it. But she nodded her head at his explanation of why he was in the basement, not that he needed to explain. Anna frowned sadly as Sam leaned forward and kissed Mika’s forehead, her stomach cramping painfully at the thought of helping him wrap her body for the funeral. She knew she had to be tough for him, because it didn’t seem that anyone else had it in them, and the last time she had seen Bobby, he wasn’t even looking any of them in the eyes. He had buried himself in work.

Anna sighed as Sam wiped his tears, once again trying to hide them from her, but she reached her hand out and took his, letting him lead the way as they left the panic room and walked back up stairs. As they walked out the back door, Anna nearly gasped at the feeling of the cold damp air ruffling her hair and she pulled herself a little closer to Sam’s side, just staying close as he started to speak. Was he actually going to get this off his chest? Was he actually going to open up about how he was feeling about the way things happened? It was something Anna wasn’t sure he would ever be capable of.

But as he spoke, Anna stayed quiet, and held his hand a bit tighter, just letting him talk. She glanced down at the gravel as their shoes crunched against it, and sighed, thinking back to the first time she had ever met her little family, way back when she and Sam were kids. Mika had come to her full defense, as if she was the best thing Sam had ever found, even though they had just met. Mika seemed more worried than anyone about Anna running off, and it was something she always held close to her chest, especially when they met again.

“She always seemed to be the most reasonable of the two of them. Maybe that’s why they worked so well.” Anna spoke softly, the past tense hitting her in the chest as well as she thought about Dean, and the pain that she couldn’t even imagine. She could only assume it was a similar but more intense feeling to the one she was experiencing in the barn, when she wasn’t sure if Sam was coming for her, or if he was even alive. “I think that Dean will have to take his own time, maybe even alone, before he will process things. This is a shock to his system. I can tell by the way he was speaking to me…all of this is going to hit at once, and I don’t think it’s going to hit him in violence, like Duke. I think we’re going to have to worry about him just…sitting around, stewing, not eating, drinking himself to death.”

Anna stopped walking, and pulled herself to stand in front of Sam, reaching up to place both her hands on his cheeks. She scanned his eyes, brushing her thumb across his lower eyelid to remove a stray tear that refused to fall, “But you…you have to take care of yourself. You have to talk to me. Let me take care of you. You do so much to make sure everyone is safe, and that I’m okay, and that I am sane, at the very least. Let me? Let me take care of you. Don’t shut me out. If you just want to lay in bed and be? We can do that. You want to break something? I’m sure Bobby wouldn’t mind, but let me help you through this. I’ve got you.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean yawned, after the quiet of his room woke up the next morning. He had slept in. He could feel it. His body could feel it, and he was stiff and sore from sleeping in the same position too long. He turned onto his back and stretched his arms, moving his feet around until the quiet actually dawned on him, and he realized that Lexi wasn’t in bed. Glancing over to her side of the bed, he frowned with confusion, and reached over, picking up the note.

Not only was she up earlier than him, but she was in the gym. Dean scoffed at Lexi’s assumption that he would panic, but his calming racing heart actually just verified her suspicions, and it caused him to smirk to himself. She already knew him too well…

He reached over to the night stand and picked up his phone, checking for messages. There were several from Crowley, which he swiped off the screen, completely ignoring him as he scrolled through the rest of his notifications with a sigh. Eventually, he was going to have to bridge the conversation with Lexi and especially Cason, about Crowley. Eventually, he would have to answer Crowley back, or the dumbass would show up in the parking lot, basically strong arming himself into the bunker with some sort of bait. It wasn’t exactly easy to just ignore the King of Hell.

Dean groaned, dropping his phone on his chest for a moment, as he ran his fingers through his hair and then sat up in bed, swinging his legs over the edge. He was normally up three hours earlier, and so his entire morning routine was shot, but he also wanted to give Lexi a little space to get some frustration out of her system if she needed it. With all of the tension between her and Natalia, being back home would either be bliss (if Nat could be civil) or it was going to be Hell.

Dean quickly pulled on some sweats and a black t-shirt, and scratched the back of his head, opening his door and stepping out into the hall, on his way to the kitchen for coffee while he waited for Lexi.

Anna

Anna had slept soundly, after sitting in her room, staring at her bulletin board of pictures for what felt like hours. She was glad Anya was okay, and she was glad that Sam hadn’t lost her, but at the same time, she was still quietly grappling with the fact that she was home. She was in the bunker, and Sam wasn’t with her. It just seemed off, even if she knew it was how the future looked for them. If she was going to remain part of the family, she had to accept that Sam…wasn’t hers. As she woke up the next morning, she stared at her ceiling fan for a long few moments, trying to decide if she would be able to handle seeing Sam and Anya together, or if her mind was going to play ‘clingy’ all over again.

With a sigh, she shook her head, and spoke to the ceiling, “No. Remember what Duke said…Duke’s never wrong. You are allowed to move on. You’re allowed to acknowledge that no one will measure up to Sam Winchester. But you’re allowed to move on. C’mon. Up.”

She sat up in bed and placed her feet on the floor, staring at the door for a long moment as Duke’s words and his reassuring bright smile flashed behind her eyes. Maybe this wasn’t home. Maybe…just maybe, Denver was home. Duke and Esme were home. The horses, the snow, and the creaky floorboards of the cabin were home. Maybe a run, like she took every morning on the farm would cool her off before the others woke up.

Anna walked over to her bag, grabbing a fresh t-shirt and a pair of shorts. She quickly changed and then pulled her sneakers, dropping them next to her bag. She stepped into them, and pulled the door open, all in one movement, walking quickly down the hall toward the gym. As she approached, she could hear someone punching a bag, and at first, she assumed it was Natalia. She and Nat had spent what felt like forever in that gym, just practicing strikes and holds.

“You’re feeling nice and spry this morning!” Anna called out, but then she noticed it was Lexi and her smile dropped momentarily, before turning into a softer smile, “Oh sorry. I assumed you were Natalia. I hope you don’t mind if I um…if I go for a jog? I don’t really like running the streets around here.”

Anna pointed toward one of the large treadmills Sam had installed when they had first moved into the bunker. She stepped toward it and then turned to Lexi and decided to strike up a bit of casual conversation with the woman she didn’t know, “Dean’s not up yet? He’s usually fully caffeinated by now.”

Anya

The night before had been full of a lot of hovering, and making Anya very aware of how scared everyone was of her being mute, in crisis situations. Sam had requested that she sleep in his room, not that she minded, because without her voice, she would have to physically get out of bed and walk to his room to wake him up, if she was in pain. Once she finally convinced him to rest, she was able to get some heavy sleep, partially due to the good meds that the doctors gave her.

As she stirred awake, she could already feel that Sam was looking at her, before she ever opened her eyes. If she had a voice, she would have made fun of him for the concern that she could almost hear in his eyes, but when she opened her eyes a bit, she smirked because he actually didn’t seem that worried. He seemed pleased. Her head was still swimming from the pain medication and the throbbing in her wrist made itself known the second she moved it from her stomach to her pillow.

She scanned Sam’s face, noticing how much closer his body was to her, than even the first night they had spent together. She had a feeling that if he wasn’t careful, he would mold into her like putty, before all of this was over. At that moment, she didn’t mind. Reaching under her pillow with her good hand, she pulled her phone, and quickly used her word bank that Cason had set up on her phone to type a simple message with a bit more ease.

“Please tell me you slept last night and didn’t just stare at me.”

As she pressed play, she raised her eyebrows in an accusatory way, her smile spreading a bit more. She then used her thumb to push a few more words, to put together another message.

“I do appreciate the attention, though. You’re a good nurse.”

Cason

Cason felt Natalia stir the next morning, and he sank himself back down onto the pillows behind him, pulling the blankets up around them a bit further as she turned to him and draped her leg over his. He smiled, a bit of relief flooding in through the burning worry in his mind about everything. Her eyes were puffy and she seemed to have slept pretty well, after they had their fun the night before, for what felt like the first time in ages. He brought a hand up to brush her hair away from her face and down the side of her head, before tracing the same hand around to her jaw, pinching her chin.

“Morning. You seem pretty rested.” He murmured, placing a soft kiss to her nose as he watched her eyes. He didn’t really care what time it was, most of the bunker occupants seemed to still be asleep. The only sound that he had heard coming from anywhere was Anna and Lexi moving around and ending up in the gym together, and Dean walking toward the kitchen, for what Cason assumed was coffee. “Your brother is getting coffee. His…Lexi is in the gym, and from what I heard, Anna is also there. Sam and Anya? I haven’t heard them at all yet. Anya’s pretty quiet.”

At his little joke, he chuckled, “And us? I need to…find more ways to get you to make things up to me. But seriously, we can stay here all day, if you want. Tough conversations need to be had, but what’s the rush?”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean calmed just a bit as Lexi spoke to him, trying his best to be the strong leader he used to be. His detachment ability was a lot lower than it was when he was younger, and he knew that. What he was feeling, was likely helplessness toward someone that he barely knew, but that his brother was so attached to, he could only hope that she came out of this basically unharmed…other than the obvious broken arm.

“Alright. So, if she can come back to the bunker, we can have those hard discussions then. No need to worry.” Dean reassured himself using some of Lexi’s own words. As he finished the words, he glanced up to see Nat returning with drinks and his shoulders relaxed even more. She seemed to be doing her best at diplomacy, but he could tell from the way that Cason furrowed his eyebrow at the cup of coffee being given to Lexi, that the cup wasn’t originally meant for her. So, it was definitely diplomacy.

Dean reached his hand out and patted Nat on the arm, subtly telling her thanks for trying to be nice to Lexi. Cason on the other hand stepped back and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as they waited for Anya to be released.

“Cason, you wanna go grab something for yourself? I can come along.” Dean offered, but Cason chuckled and shook his head.

“Nah. I will be alright. I don’t sleep, remember?” He reached out and grabbed the back of Nat’s jacket, pulling her close to his chest and then wrapped his arm around her like a stuffed animal. Dean smirked and shrugged his shoulders, turning back to Lexi. He wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t just sound like insane anxiety. So, he nudged her knee with his and sighed.

“Are you good? Everything’s good?” Dean asked, but then Sam’s message came through and Dean’s shoulders dropped a tiny bit as he read the quick message. He dropped his phone back onto his leg and wiped a hand down his face, “She’s gonna be alright. She’ll be out when they finish wrapping up her arm.”

Anya

Anya watched Sam’s face as he smiled, and confirmed that she was coming home with him. She was going to stay. He wanted her, even after everything that had obviously happened with Anna, to stay. He wanted her to stay. Her smile widened and she leaned into the kiss to the side of her head, keeping herself as close to Sam as possible. This was how things should be. No matter how much her arm hurt or how heartbroken she was deep down that things had gone so badly, she was safe.

She noticed that Sam was thinking about something, and although she wished she could see inside his mind, she had a feeling it was something to do with the hunt, and the fact that she wouldn’t get her voice. But then he texted Dean, and Anya remembered that Sam had said everyone else was still there. The fact that they were all worried about her, despite barely knowing her warmed her heart and made her eyes well up with tears a bit.

She turned her eyes back up to meet Sam’s scanning them, before nodding as a tear slipped down her throat. The family cared.

“Alright little lady! You’re wrapped up and as soon as that hardens, you’ll be good to go. Why don’t you let the nurses get that pick out of your arm. I will give your partner the papers for home care, and you’ll be out of here.” The doctor suddenly spoke up, squeezing at the hardening cast as he stood up from his stool and then removed his gloves. He nodded toward a nurse and she took off toward the printer. The other nurse that had been hovering stepped over and gently removed the needle from Anya’s arm, shoving the IV pole to the side.

“Home…sounds…good…” Anya signed slowly, the cast on her arm making it a bit harder for her to get the words out, but she hoped that Sam would at least understand the basics of what she was saying. A bit quicker than expected, the other nurse came over and handed the folder of information to Sam, and then touched her cast.

“You are pretty much good to go. Don’t get the cast wet for at least twelve hours. Get that medication filled, or you won’t be feeling so hot in a few hours. Keep an eye on her?” The nurse turned to Sam, and then nodded her head expectantly.

“Let’s go.” Anya signed quickly, sliding off the side of the bed and against Sam’s chest. She wrapped her arm around him, finally able to hug him.