Chapter 1

Meg Masters propped her boots up onto Castiel's bed. He was curled up in a ball on top of the covers, a thin layer of sweat layering his forehead. Cursing under her breath, Meg put down the magazine she was reading and went to grab a wet cloth. The angel had been having nightmares more and more recently, and the stress combined with the crap medication they gave him often brought on mild fevers. Meg was ashamed to admit that she kind of liked taking care of him when he got like this, helpless and sad and broken. She tried to convince herself that she was simply relishing the angel's brokenness, his inability to care for himself. It didn't work as well as she wanted it to. It was his fault. She only kissed him to get the angel sword, and she had wanted to toy with his emotions. How could she have known that he would pick her up and slam her into the wall behind them, kissing her with more fervor than she had bothered with.

She sighed, and went over to him. He was shaking now, his breath coming in shallow gasps.

"Shh, Clarence. Good old Meg is going to take care of you. She's gonna make mean old Luci go away."

"I-I'm sorry… I'm sorry for… for…"

"Hush, my little tree topper. You have… nothing to be sorry for."

This was a lie and she knew it. He had everything to be sorry for. The death of Bobby, the Leviathans nearly taking over the world, Sammy's wall breaking down. But he was too broken to understand, and anyway, he was getting enough punishment up in his head.

Taking the damp cloth off his head, Meg went to replace it with a dry one. When she came back, Castiel was sitting up, his eyes closed. His posture was sagged, and his whole body spoke of immeasurable defeat. He opened his eyes once he sensed her presence in the room.

"Well, wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty," She said with a wink. He blinked his blue orbs at her once then hid them behind bruised purple lids. He didn't sleep much, just pretended to most of the time. Today was one of his better days. There were times when Meg had to call on the other nurses for help, though those were rare. Castiel liked her. He trusted her. Protection from Crowley wasn't the only benefit of this job. She had also gained a new… friend.

Sometimes, when she was feeling particularly demonic, she would contemplate taking advantage of him in his weakened state. She did bathe and clothe him, after all. There were plenty of naked with the angel. Occasionally she would brush her lips against his, feeling a slight spark of their first kiss. But then it was gone as quickly as it had come, and the angel had once again retreated into his mind.

"Are you going to let me feed you today, Clarence? It might help the fevers."

Silence.

"Fine, but if the Winchesters come back and there's nothing left but your meatsuit's bones, I'm blaming you."

She sighed. Castiel never ate, or at least not when she was around. Sometimes she left his food on the tray in his room for him when she went to eat her own lunch. She didn't need it, of course, but she thought maybe if the male nurses that worked in her ward saw her pigging out, maybe they'd stop trying to get into her pants whenever they saw her. So far, no luck.

Another reason she ate was for appearances. If she stayed with the angel all day and didn't come out even to eat, people (meaning Dr Kadinsky,) would get suspicious. She'd always hated the prick for some unknown reason. Maybe it was the way his eyes roamed over her meatsuit, or because he treated Cas like he was a child. Which he basically is, now, but that wasn't the point.

A sudden scream from the angel jerked her out of her thoughts.

"Get away from me! I'm sorry… so sorry. Please, brother, don't do this"

His voice was frantic. He got up off the bed and walked backwards till his back was pressed up against the wall.

"Castiel! Stop this!" Meg walked toward him. His eyes were flicking around the room, searching for something, anything that would protect him. The blue oceans came to land on Meg.

"Shh, Clarence. It's only me and you and Sammy's fucked up soul in here. And, besides, if there was anything else I wouldn't let it touch you, I promise. Now come and lie down."

He obeyed, though his eyes were still panicked, searching. She got him to lie in bed, and eventually, surprisingly, fall asleep.

Resuming her spot in the armchair next to his bed, she got herself comfortable and decided to go to sleep.