JustAnna

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke watched the awkward interaction between Esme and Anna, and his heart hurt a bit. He could tell that something had happened between them, and he couldn’t quite place it, but Anna seemed shaken. As Anna turned her eyes back between the two of them, and then turned and walked back toward the basement, Duke reached his good hand out and ran the backs of his fingers down Esme’s arm. He tilted his head as Esme spoke, genuinely curious about what had happened in the warehouse. Duke could barely even remember the warehouse, and what he could remember made his stomach lurch painfully. Swallowing down the sudden wave of anxiety and grief, he took a deep breath.

“We definitely need to unpack what all of that means.” Duke muttered, forcing himself to match Esme’s smile. When she confirmed that they would talk about things later, Duke simply nodded, neither having the energy to force the conversation nor the want to make Esme upset after the night they had just gone through. Wrapping his fingers around hers as her hand slipped into his, Duke walked with Esme to the RV. She seemed lost in thought and at that moment, being lost in thought was a fear of Duke’s.

The gravel moving under Sarah’s feet as she ran across the lot caused Duke to turn, but as usual, he couldn’t see her. It was only confirmed to be Sarah when Esme fell to the ground, and began attempting to calm Sarah down.

“I swear, I’ll never get used to that.” Duke grumbled, shaking his head. He stepped around them both, and turned to take a seat on the steps of the RV. To his surprise, Sarah took a break, just long enough to stand and nudge Duke’s face, before turning her attention back to Esme, which caused Duke to freeze, “And now the Hellhound has decided she likes me. I don’t know what I need more…a shower or a stiff drink.”

Dean and Cason

Dean could barely move, because every time he blinked it seemed to hurt. He was almost afraid to move any of his limbs. He wasn’t sure if they were all still there. It was one of the worst fights he could remember having with anyone, even if there were parts he couldn’t remember at all. When Nat confirmed that Duke was okay, but had run off, Dean sighed and closed his eyes.

In the calm of being freshly awake, Dean wasn’t even angry with Duke. It was a strange feeling, going from being willing to kill the best friend he had ever had to feeling an intense guilt in the pit of his stomach. But Nat was right, he couldn’t really do anything to make it better when it was this fresh.

Dean carefully raised his arm and pressed it against his sore forehead, groaning quietly at the sudden movement.

“I um…I feel like I got hit by a truck. Actually, I feel like I died…again.” He sighed, and Cason crossed his arms and stepped forward.

“You got in a grief fight with someone who loves you. That tends to be a pretty brutal endeavor.” Cason explained, causing Dean to open one eye and glance at him, as if he was speaking out of pocket, “Don’t look at me like that. If you fight someone you hate, you want the fight to be over as soon as possible. With someone you don’t hate, it tends to be more…prolonged. You guys wore each other out, or it would have probably been a lot worse. Trust me. Duke was a lot easier to bring down when I found him, than I expected, and he still stabbed me. I had to break his arm. Oh yeah…by the way…I broke his arm.”

Cason turned and pointed at Nat as he confirmed that he hadn’t quite brought Duke back in one piece, but had at least brought him back alive and awake.

“And he’s still walking around. He had a lot of pent up rage going on, but he’s okay. So, don’t worry about him. What we should do is call your angel buddy and…”

“No. No angels.” Dean stopped Cason dead in his tracks, shaking his head. “Angels got us into this mess. No angels. I’ll be fine.”

“You’re in pretty rough shape, Dean…”

“I said no angels! Screw the angels.” Dean raised his voice, causing Cason to sigh and place his hands on his hips in frustration. But he conceded and simply gave a nod and a shrug as if to say ‘alright. Whatever you want.’

Anna

Anna stepped into the basement, crossing her arms the second she came across the threshold of the panic room. She just stood there for a moment, before deciding to try and move Sam, “So, Duke and Esme are back. Duke looks…alright, considering, but I think he broke his arm or Cason broke his arm? I don’t know. Either way, I think….I think you should get some rest. I don’t care where we go, but I think you should rest…with me.”

Seeing Duke and Esme together had given Anna a bit of bravery to attempt to ‘tough love’ Sam into taking care of himself. She didn’t know how Esme and Cason were able to bring Duke back, but Duke seemed, at the least, calm. Considering how he had left, it seemed like he would be okay. And Sam was the only one who wasn’t resting or taking care of himself.

“I don’t know if I’m willing to take ‘no’ for an answer.” She carefully muttered, kicking her boot against the dusty floor as she turned her eyes up to look at Sam, and hopefully sway him to find a car or a couch or even a patch of grass to relax on.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean and Anna

Dean sighed, both from relief and annoyance at Anna’s words. The coldness she had shown off and on the day before seemed to be gone, and she seemed completely open to sticking around for at least a day or two. He still felt that he needed to talk to Sam about whatever had gone down between him and Anna to change her attitude. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to know.

“Fair enough. I’ll take it. And I’ll take the better attitude.” Dean conceded. Anna nodded her head and stepped over to the table, carefully approaching Anya, to attempt to play nice. Dean watched her carefully, tilting his head to the side as she took a seat across from Anya. Turning his attention from the other two girls, he turned back to Lexi and smirked, “So, we’re letting everyone wake up, and get caffeinated, and I didn’t ask how your shower was.”

Dean gave an awkward but sweet smile, obviously worried that the hard conversations coming up were going to take things from tense to boiling over, within the bunker.

Anya and Cason

Anya looked up from her phone, quick to make eye contact and then awkwardly shift her eyes away from Anna. She wasn’t sure if Anna would even want to talk to her, but Anna spoke first.

“So, how are you feeling? I know you took quite the hit out there. You stick around here and you’ll get used to that.” Anna spoke lightly, chuckling at the joke that she hoped would loosen Anya up. Anya rolled her eyes as she laughed at the joke and quickly began typing on her phone.

“I’m assuming you’ve broken a few bones over the years.”

“Oh yeah. I’ve even died a couple of times.” Anna said casually, which caused Anya’s eyes to widen and then narrow, as if she had a million questions. Anna held up her hands, and she stopped the potential questions, “But those are stories and explanations for another time. I’m not sure Sam would want me airing all of the secrets just yet.”

Anya shrugged and bobbed her head back and forth, as if to say ‘fair enough’.

Just as Anya thought of the next question to ask Anna, while she had her alone, Cason and Natalia appeared through the door way. The first thing Cason did was slap the table next to Anya, attempting to tease her and lighten what he was afraid was a sour mood. He had failed to protect her the night before and he still felt a small pain of guilt in the back of his head when he saw her.

“You look alive! And Anna is actually sitting with someone other than a book. Today already feels better!” Cason teased as he ruffled Anna’s hair and Anya rolled her eyes at him. Anya suddenly began to type, and then played a message that settled some of the burn in Cason’s brain.

“I’m not upset with you, if you want to stop acting weird, now. You couldn’t have known that the demon would go off script. You did what you could with the information we had…and I got lucky. So, all is good!”

Cason sighed, turning to look at Anna with a look that said ‘she’s so much like you, it’s creepy’, to which Anna just shrugged and raised her eyebrows with a smirk that silently said ‘does that have to be a bad thing?’

Cason continued their silent conversation by tilting his head with a goofy smirk that said ‘a little awkward’ to which Anna simply shoved him away, waving her hand at him.

“Go cook your girlfriend some breakfast and stop harassing. Be useful but don’t touch the pot hanger…again.” Anna finally spoke out loud, waving Cason away again but reminding him of the last time he was in the bunker and was unaware that the pot hanger was iron. Cason mocked her, rolling his eyes and stepped back toward Natalia. As he stepped away, Anna could see the doorway and saw Sam approaching the kitchen. This was either going to be very awkward or a step forward. The latter, Anna couldn’t see happening until Sam had a conversation with Anya. Anna turned her eyes back down and scanned Anya’s face as the girl watched Dean and Lexi, completely innocent to the world around her…for the most part.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke and Anna

Duke nearly pulled away from Esme’s touch, as the lingering guilt of the day struck him in the gut, with his boots crunching the familiar gravel. He knew that he had scared the hell out of pretty much everyone in the house. Hell, he still wanted Esme to run away from him, after he broke her nose, something he would never do on purpose…ever. He deserved the distrust and the anger, if that’s what was coming. He had turned an incredibly traumatic situation into even more trauma and anguish for everyone by almost killing Dean, breaking Esme’s nose, and then nearly getting himself killed…just to add to the pile.

Her hand brushing his cheek caused him to melt into her touch, much to his surprise. Any thoughts about running were off the table, considering Cason would likely bring him back…again, but this time in more pieces and without being nice or caring. He was also exhausted. Her words only made him melt further, as she made it clear that she wanted to take care of him, whether he liked it or not.

Duke didn’t fight her as she kissed his jawline, but an exhausted and amused laugh broke from his chest at the mental image of Esme battling everyone in the house for coming at him. She had to be just as exhausted as he was, at least mentally, but was still willing to fight the world for him.

“I definitely wouldn’t wanna see how worse off they would be in that fight, darlin’.” He chuckled, bringing his good hand up to catch Esme’s hand as it fell to his chest. For a moment, he felt better, lighter even…

Then Esme let him know that Anna was coming. Glancing over Esme’s head, he simply gave a polite nod, knowing that his appearance was such that Anna would likely still be afraid of him. But she didn’t seem to be, at all. She approached them both, awkwardly crossing her arms over her chest as Esme answered her questions. Duke narrowed his eyes a bit at Anna’s demeanor, noticing that she seemed a bit withdrawn from Esme, and although she looked up at her and nodded with a polite smile, she didn’t seem to want to make eye contact.

Anna did, however, meet Duke’s eyes for a split second. He gave a polite smirk, not sure how scary he looked to her, but as soon as she looked at him, she looked away, pulling a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I um…I’m alright. Sam…well…he’s not so good, obviously. I’m just trying to make sure he’s not alone.” Anna explained, glancing up at Duke, as if he was going to just fall apart at the simple mention of what had happened, even without saying the exact words. “I’m glad you’re both okay. I really am.”

“I’m glad he’s got you.” Duke muttered honestly, trying his hardest to meet Anna’s eyes. She simply looked around both Esme and Duke, and then met Duke’s eyes for another split second.

“Yeah. Well, Nat and Cason are upstairs with Dean. I think it’s pretty safe for you to clean up in their room, if you wanted to. And Duke?” Anna’s voice calling his name so softly caused Duke’s eyebrows to raise, and she continued, “Not a single person in this house is upset with you. Not one. Everyone is…not great, you know?”

Duke simply nodded, fighting the stinging tears that were coming up in the corners of his eyes as she reassured him.

“I’m going to go check on Sam. But can we talk later? I um…I just want to make sure we’re good.” Anna took a couple of steps backward, but her eyes raised to look Esme in the eye, finally.

Cason and Dean

Cason sighed at Nat’s continued worried voice, even if she seemed to be turning that worry toward Duke. Cason could tell that she was not happy he came back in damaged clothing, with blood all over him. It was an oversight he would have to remember if he was ever in the situation again. He didn’t acknowledge her worry, simply watching her take her deep breaths, and calm herself. As she opened her eyes, Cason allowed his shoulders to relax, and he pulled his hands down from her face to her neck, brushing his right thumb across her jaw.

Her words caused his head to flash and sear, and he swallowed heavily, but gave a small smile, “I honestly don’t know what you’ve done without me all this time, but you got me now, as long as you’ll have me.”

Cason followed her eyes back to Dean, and he sighed, looking over Dean’s face for a few seconds, before shaking his head a bit, “There’s no way to really help him but to be present, I guess. He’s gotta get through it. Everyone…in this house is going to have to get through it. I hate it, too.”

Cason brought his hand to the back of Nat’s head, and he stroked his fingers through her hair as she leaned against him. He watched Dean’s breathing as he lay there and he tilted his head, “And waking up is going to be the hardest part. I really don’t think that it matters where it happens. He’s going to wake up, and for a few minutes, none of it will be real. When it becomes real, it’s going to hit him the same. But Duke is okay, which he may not realize at first…is a good thing. And he still has you. He still has Sam. He’s not alone. He will need someone to remind him of that.”

As Cason finished his sentence, he winced, as Dean shifted on the bed. Dean groaned a bit, and his swollen eyes fluttered open, just staring at the ceiling.

“Just relax, alright?” Cason called out, letting Dean know he wasn’t alone. Dean groaned and brought his bruised arm over his eyes, his head pounding as if he had been hit by a truck. He couldn’t honestly remember much, other than Duke being aggressive, and he could vaguely remember the fight. Obviously…the fight hadn’t gone well.

“Where’s Duke? Did he run off?” Dean croaked out. Cason reached down, grabbing Nat’s shoulders and pulled her away from himself, just enough that he could nod toward Dean, gesturing for her to be with him, if he needed her.

"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.