***Author's Note: This story takes place after season 8 and before we see anything of season 9. Honestly, I can't remember when Kevin made it to the bunker but he's not in this. It's just a little thing written with my OCs as more the focal point. So if you don't like stuff that doesn't strictly adhere to what's happened in the show, I wouldn't bother reading***
The three of them -Dean, Sam, and Cas- were walking as quickly as they could without drawing attention to themselves, Cas in the lead, his eyes searching for something. The brothers continually checked their surroundings, as if something were following them.
Suddenly Cas stops, Dean running into his back. "What the hell, Cas?" Dean said as he took a step back. "You could warn me next time."
"Sorry, but I hear something," Cas replied.
"What is it?" Sam asked, his body growing tense, ready to fight should he need to.
"It's this way." Cas pointed down an alleyway and started off down it. Dean heaved a sigh at the angel's vagueness as he started off after his friend and Sam obediently followed.
The alley took a few turns but before long the brothers' ears perked up as they began to hear the soft sounds of someone crying. A crease appeared between Sam's eyebrows at the sound and Dean raised an eyebrow but they didn't stop following Cas.
Finally Cas stopped by a trashcan and stooped down. There was a gasp, not from Castiel, and the angel said, "I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Castiel."
"C-Castiel?" a female voice stuttered, thick with tears. "That's an un-unusual name," the voice said with a wet sniff.
"I suppose it is to most. What are you doing here?" He cut right to the chase. "This isn't a place for anyone, let alone a woman."
"I don't have anywhere else to go."
"You can't go to a homeless shelter?" Cas asked as Dean moved around to see the woman.
She shook her head emphatically. "No!" She seemed to visibly shudder. "No." The woman was petite with curly blonde hair that hung to her neck. It, as well as the rest of her was covered in dirt. Dean also noted that she was barefoot. She wore a dingey white sweater and a pair of dirty jeans. She looked fairly young, maybe in her mid-twenties.
"Cas we don't have time for this," Dean said, impatient. He would like to help the woman as much as the next person but she seemed alright as things go and they had more important matters to attend to.
"Hold on, Dean. There's something about her. We have to help her," Cas insisted.
Dean sighed audibly now. "Oh alright, let's hurry up, then." He waved his arm, motioning for Cas to come along. He turned and started back out of the alley, passing Sam who stared at the girl quizzically.
Sam grabbed Dean's arm. "What?" Dean asked, getting a little irritated at all the holdups.
"Does something look...off about her?" Sam hissed. Dean looked over his shoulder at her, watching as Cas helped the woman up.
"No," Dean said.
"Maybe something about her eyes...?" Sam said, trying to lead Dean to the same conclusion he'd made.
Dean looked again, this time focusing on her eyes. They were staring straight ahead, blinking less than he thought anyone would blink and it was as if she wasn't really seeing what was in front of her. "She's blind," he said at last.
"Yes, I'm blind," the woman said, startling Dean. "I can hear you, you know. When one sense goes the rest get stronger."
"Sorry," Sam apologized.
The woman's lips quirked up at one side. "It's alright, I'm used to it."
"We're going to take her back with us," Cas said suddenly.
"What? No," Dean said. "We have to finish what we came here to do and she can't be a part of that."
"You're here about the demon aren't you?" she said.
"H-how did you-?" Sam questioned, shifting his long form from one side to the other.
"I told you," Cas interjected, "there's something about her."
"I can sense things. It started when I went blind as a child." Her face turned to Cas, her eyes moving as if searching his face even though she couldn't see him. "Like with you, there's something different about you. You feel like a human, but not. Almost like a demon but...good?" She chuckled with a shake of her head. "You come across as familiar but I know I've never met you or anything like you. It's strange. You feel oddly comforting."
"Yeah, yeah, Cas is just like a big ol' teddy bear. Can we get a move on?" Dean said, his impatience growing. "She can come with us but she has to stay in the car." He just wanted to get this job done and get back to the bunker to settle in with a glass of whiskey. They'd been out here for hours trying to find this demon who kept giving them the slip.
Castiel led the woman to the Impala and helped her in. "We'll be back shortly. You'll be safe in here," he assured her. She nodded.
As they walked off, Dean muttered to Cas, "We are not an animal shelter, Cas, we don't pick up strays."
"We couldn't just leave her there, Dean," the angel argued. "For someone like her, it's dangerous to be out alone. Demons don't like it when people can sense them.
A few hours later they'd managed to find and kill the demon and were now on the road back to the bunker. The woman was asleep in the backseat, her head on Cas's shoulder. Dean glanced in the rearview mirror. Castiel's eyes were staring out the window, watching the trees pass by, unperturbed by the stranger's contact. His eyes flicked to Dean's in the rearview mirror and he gave a small shrug and a sort of apology with his eyes. Dean reverted his gaze to the road ahead.
When they arrived, Cas gently woke the woman up and guided her inside. She sighed with relief once the door closed behind them. "This place...it's wonderful!" Her face split into a wide smile for the first time. "I can't feel anything- except you, Castiel," she said, her head turning to Cas. The angel reciprocated her smile.
"I'm glad you like it. Would you like me to show you to your room?"
"I get my own room?"
"Yes, we all have one," Cas said as he took her down the steps and off into the rest of the bunker.
"Wonderful. Oh and by the way, my name is Melanie."
"Hello, Melanie," Cas said, getting a giggle from her.
Dean grumbled as he went to find the whiskey. Sam stood there at the top of the steps and sighed then started down alone planning to find a good book to bury himself in for the night, just as weary as the rest of them.
It was only an hour before dawn when screams broke the heavy silence in the bunker. Sam and Dean were up like shots and running to the source. They barged into Melanie's room to find her sitting upright in bed, her chest heaving, sweat on her furrowed brow.
"What's wrong? What is it?" Dean asked, scanning the room but finding nothing amiss.
"I'm-I'm sorry," Melanie panted. "I'm sorry. I-" then she began to sob.
Cas came up behind the brothers. "What's going on?" he wanted to know.
"Cas?" Melanie squeaked and she got up and rushed to the door, having memorized the path earlier. The brothers moved out of her way and watched as Melanie threw her arms around Castiel's waist, the angel emitting a soft, "Oof," as she made contact and awkwardly put his arms around her, patting her back.
Dean and Sam looked at their friend, puzzled and Cas returned an apologetic look. "We'll, uh, leave you two alone," Dean said, giving a sly, one-sided grin as he and Sam moved out of the room.
When Cas later found the brothers in the main hall, sitting at a table, he sighed as he took a seat. "She's in the kitchen. I got her some hot chocolate."
"That's very sweet of you, Cas," Dean said, the sly grin reappearing as he took a sip of his drink.
"She asked me to apologize to you two again. Melanie explained that she has night terrors. She hasn't slept for days and was too exhausted to stay awake any longer."
"That's awful," Sam said. "She has them every time she falls asleep?"
"Yes. Though she did mention something about not having them when she still had a particular stuffed animal but she said she lost it some time ago."
"Well can't she just get a new one?" Dean inquired.
"I asked her the same thing, but she said it had to be that one toy."
"Great so now we're never going to get any peace around here," Dean said, his voice muffled as he took another sip.
"I'm sorry I've been such a bother," Melanie's voice drifted into the hall. Everyone looked up to see her standing there, a mug in her hands and a blankegt wrapped around her shoulders. "Don't worry, I won't sleep anymore. I don't want to, anyway. I was just so tired."
"Melanie, no, you need to sleep," Sam said. "You can't stay up forever, it'll kill you."
"I've gotten four hours of sleep in three weeks. I think I can handle it." She gingerly walked into the hall. Cas jumped up and went to her, leading her to a seat. "Thank you, Cas," she said and as she sat she put her hand to Cas's cheek for a moment. "You just seem so familiar," she said quietly.
"If you don't mind my asking," said Sam, "why is it that you can't sleep well without the one stuffed animal?"
"Teddy?" Melanie said. "I'm not sure why. I've had him since I was a baby. My parents tried to take him away several times but each time resulted in what you witnessed tonight. I know I'm too old for stuffed animals but I did used to have him with me almost everywhere I went. My parents did draw the line to most public places. Sometimes I insisted and they had no choice but to give in, but most times I didn't put up a fight."
"How long ago did you lose him?"
Dean looked at his brother, realizing Sam was following a trail to something by questioning the woman. Dean didn't think there was anything particularly important about this woman, plenty of people could sense demons and ghosts and such. With a mental shrug he delved back into his glass.
"I'm not too sure about the time but I remember the next day everyone was talking about the meteor shower." Her eyes began to fill with tears. "And not long after that my parents went missing. We had been at the hospital because my parents were tired of the screaming in the middle of the night so they decided to have me tested. After the scans were done we went to the park for a walk. I sat down on a bench, too tired to carry on and my parents said they'd be right back, wanting to go grab lunch from a vendor. They never came back."
Dean then took an interest. He looked at Sam then at Cas. Sam looked back at his brother and they shared a knowing look. Cas, on the otherhand, looked as if his mind was working in overdrive as he looked at Melanie.
Sometime after Melanie had gone back to her room, Castiel went to Dean. "I have to go. I will be back as soon as I can."
"Wait, where are you going?" Dean asked as he watched Cas head towards the door.
"I have to look for something," was all he said before leaving.
"Alright, Captain Vague," Dean muttered under his breath.
That night Melanie made her way back to the main hall where she could hear the brothers shifting around in their seats. The acrid smell of alcohol reached her nose.
"You drink quite a bit, don't you?" she asked as her hands fluttered around, feeling for a chair. Sam reached over and pulled one out for her. "Thank you," she said with a small smile.
Dean hmphed as he watched Melanie sit. "Yeah, so what?"
"Just making an observation," she replied. "You're Dean, right?" She turned to Sam then. "And you're Sam?"
"Uh, yeah," Sam answered.
"Okay, just making sure I get it right." She looked around as if she could really see then asked, "Where's Castiel?"
"Out," Dean replied.
"Oh. Do you know when he'll be back?" A slight tone of worry slipped into her voice.
"Nope."
For a long moment, Melanie faced Dean, her unseeing eyes looking right at him. He fidgeted under her gaze for a bit then gruffly said, "What?"
"You don't like me do you?" Her tone was mildly inquisitive, as if she found it curious someone wouldn't like her.
Dean spluttered for a moment, not sure how to answer that. It wasn't that he didn't like her, but he couldn't say that he found her alright. It was just strange having someone else in the bunker. He abruptly stood up. "I'm gonna go find me something to eat." Then he left from the hall.
Sam chuckled, shaking his head. "That means he likes you, if you were wondering."
Melanie's lips slipped into a knowing smile. "I figured. He seems like the emotionally constipated type." This earned a snort out of Sam and he nodded as if Melanie could see him.
"You hit the nail on the head, Melanie."
"So what about you?"
"What about me?"
"What are you like? I already realize you're a sort of quiet, bookish type of person, but you're also a bit of an enigma." She leaned forward on the table, her hands laced together, her face pointed at the table's surface.
"Well, I wouldn't say 'enigma' exactly..." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Your voice betrays a deep sense of innocence, but the way you speak says otherwise. Also you hold yourself so tensely, as if you're ready to bolt any minute. I'd say jaded, but it doesn't quite fit."
For a moment Sam was silent as he looked this strange woman over. "It's been a rough life."
"I can tell." They sat in silence for a while, then, "I feel I've made you uncomfortable. I apologize. I haven't really learned how to be tactful. I'll leave you to your book. Good night, Sam."
Before Sam could say anything, Melanie stood and left the way she'd come. Dean poked his head around the corner a few minutes later. "She gone?" he asked his brother.
"Yeah, Dean, she's gone." Sam answered, not looking up from his book.
"Good." Dean walked over and sat down, a plate holding a sandwich in his hand. He took a bite and chewed it most of the way before saying, "She's weird, that one."
"Cut her some slack, Dean. She's been through a lot the past few weeks."
"Yeah, and?"
Now Sam did look up at his brother, giving him and exasperated expression. "And not everyone is like us. We don't all show our pain by guzzling booze and stuffing our face with sandwiches and pies."
Dean opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, his eyes glaring at his brother. He roughly took another bite of his sandwich.
A week went by and Cas still hadn't returned. Melanie had fallen asleep twice since then, scaring the living daylights out of Dean and Sam when she awoke screaming. Eventually Melanie stopped going to her room and instead sat either in the kitchen with a cup of coffee or at the table in the main hall, a blanket always wrapped around her shoulders. Dean grew more and more impatient as the days went by, wondering where the hell Cas was and why he wasn't back yet.
One day, "Castiel is an angel isn't he?" Melanie said, breaking the silence.
The brothers looked at each other and Dean answered, "How'd you figure that out?"
"It's just a guess, really," she said with a small shrug. "I've met quite a few different types of beings, most of them I don't know what they are because I can't see them, but none I've met have felt so good, I guess I could say."
"Well, he tries," Dean replied.
Another day Melanie was the only one in the kitchen sometime after midnight and Dean walked in on her crying. He cursed silently to himself and turned on his heel and started off.
"Wait, Dean, I'm sorry. I'll stop crying," she called out, sniffling.
Slowly walking back in, Dean watched as she swiped her arm over her eyes, wiping away the tears. "How'd you know it was me?"
"You have a strange gait."
One eyebrow quirked at that. "O-kay," he replied as he went to the fridge for a late night snack.
"Have you heard anything from Castiel?" she asked, her voice thin.
"No, I have not."
"I see."
Abruptly Dean turned around to face Melanie. "What is with you and Cas anyway?"
"What?"
"You and Cas. You barely know the dude but you're all over him and you ask about him all the time."
"I'm sorry, I-"
"Stop saying you're sorry, you don't need to apologize all the time," Dean said a bit forcefully, shocking Melanie.
"I-I now, it's just..." she shrugged, her fingers fiddling with the cuff of her sleeve. There was a long, uncomfortable silence.
"I don't hate you, you know. It's just...I don't know. I treat everyone this way." Dean tried to explain his gruff behavior.
"I know. I try not to take it personally." She shrugged a little. "But, about Castiel...well like I've said, he seems familiar."
"Yeah, why is that?" Dean turned around again and grabbed out some milk then headed over to a cupboard for a bowl and a box of cereal.
Another shrug. "I can't place exactly why. I know I've never met him but I feel like his mannerism is vaguely familiar. I guess it's more the energy he gives off, kind of like an aura, if you will."
"Maybe you've met another angel."
"If I have, I didn't know it at the time. So what exactly do you and your brother do? You traipse around with an angel, hunting demons, but what for?" she suddenly added, changing the subject.
They talked long into the night until Dean eventually couldn't keep his eyes open and excused himself to bed.
The brothers began to see the toll that the lack of sleep was taking on their guest after another week had passed. She was becoming fidgety and her hands were beginning to shake. She would nod off sometimes just sitting there, then her head would jerk back up and she'd reach out for her coffee and take another large swill.
By the third week, Melanie had to shut herself in her room after bursting into hysterical tears randomly for no reason too many times. Sam made sure to check in on her and get her food, but he never came back with any good news, just shaking his head, his lips a thin line.
Nearing the end of the third week Sam and Dean sat at the table trying to go about their business but Melanie's crying was begining to grow louder with each passing day.
"We have to find Cas," Dean said, his voice tight.
"Does he have his cell?" Sam asked hopefully.
"No, I've tried it already. How long has she been shut in her room for now?"
"Uh, for close to two weeks? Maybe she should come out here for a bit."
"Sam, no."
"Come on, I think she could use some more human interaction." Sam stood. "I'm going to go get her. Maybe if we make an effort to talk to her more she'll feel a bit better." He started to walk off and Dean stood and bolted from the room.
As Sam tried to talk to the woman, she could only give him small responses, unable to think clearly through her tired brain. She kept apologizing for her current state and Sam assured her it was alright, he understood the effects of sleep deprivation.
He continued to try and keep her talking for a few hours but eventually she burst into tears, apologizing through her sobs. Finally she stood to leave, getting halfway across the room before she stopped, her tears coming to an abrupt halt. Sam looked at her, one eyebrow cocked, his brow furrowed. Then he heard footsteps coming from the front door.
Turning to look he saw Castiel entering with another man, close in height to Cas but with a more muscular build. He had short, curly brown hair, red-brown eyes, and a thick shadow of scruff .
"Cas?" Sam asked. Dean came back in then to investigate, having heard the sudden silence. He gave Cas a questioning look.
"There she is," Cas said to the man next to him. All eyes turned to Melanie who then slowly turned around, her chin quivering.
"I know you," Melanie said, her voice wobbly.
"You do," the newcomer said, his voice a deep rumble.
Melanie started to walk towards him, constantly catching herself as her feet tripped her up. Then she stubbed her toe on the leg of the table and fell. The man was there in a flash to catch her before she hit the floor. He knelt there with her in his arms, her hands tightly gripping his forearms. Then her hands began to slowly slide up his arms, over his shoulder, up his neck, and lightly fluttered over his face. She ran her fingers through his hair letting her hands come to rest on his stubble-roughened cheeks. The man's eyes began to tear up at her touch.
"It's not you, but...it's you!" she gasped, tears spilling from her eyes. "You've come back."
"I'm sorry, Mel. I had no choice before. I was pulled away from you. I've been searching for you ever since. I made it to your house one day but you had long since gone. What happened?"
"Oh, Teddy, it was horrible!" Melanie cried as she buried her face in the man's chest.
Dean mouthed, "Teddy?" to Cas who only nodded silently then turned back to the two on the floor with a contented smile on his face.
The man, Teddy, pulled Melanie into his arms and held her tightly for a moment, then he pulled back to look her in the eyes, his expression one of worry. "How long has it been since you've slept?"
"So long," she replied, her weary voice muffled by his body.
"Come, you may tell me all about your troubles after you have slept." He stood, easily lifting Melanie in his arm as he cradled her against his chest. "If you'll show me to her room?" he querried of Cas.
"This way," Cas said, extending his arm in the right direction and began walking.
"You'll stay by my side the entire time?" Melanie asked as they walked away.
"Of course, I'll never leave you again," Teddy replied.
When Castiel returned, the brothers both asked, "Who was that and what was that all about?"
"That was one of my brothers," Cas replied. "He goes by the name of Teddy now. He is a guardian angel. Her guardian angel, to be exact," he continued, nodding his head towards Melanie's room.
"Dude, they looked..." Dean trailed off with a shake of his head and a raise of his eyebrows.
It took Castiel a moment to understand then he said, "Yes, well sometimes that happens between guadian angels and their human charges."
"Does that happen often?" Sam asked.
"Probably more often than what is known as it's against policy to fall in love with humans, especially if the human is under your care. The punishment is rather severe."
"So, what happened?"
"Sometimes guardian angels take on a physical form aside from using a human vessel. Usually this is in the form of a favorite toy or blanket. They only do this so long as the child needs them that way. After that they go back to their original form and stay out of sight. In this case, my brother was Melanie's teddy bear. Also, she is a rare occurance where the human needs the physical comfort of her angel longer than what is average."
"But how does that explain their, uh, connection?"
"As you know, some humans are attuned to the spiritual and Melanie is one of them. Teddy informed me of how she seemed to grow more and more aware of his precense, or lack thereof when he had to go back to heaven from time to time. Guardian angels are constantly evaluated of their emotional connection to their human's.
"Teddy said Melanie began to seem more attached to him the older she got and not in the way she used to be. It wasn't long before he could no longer fight his own feelings for her. He was away on evaluation when Metatron cast the spell and he had trouble with the vessels he chose."
"So you were away finding him, then?"
"Yes. When I put together Melanie's story, I knew she was speaking of her guardian angel, even if she didn't know that. Knowing he had most likely been forced from heaven I went to find him and then I had to help him find a proper vessel that wouldn't deteriorate. I'm sorry that it took so long. Teddy told me what would happen the longer she went without sleep. We did our best to hurry back."
"So what happenes now?" Dean finally added.
"Well, with Teddy with her, Melanie can leave and go back to her old life. Their bond is very strong, I don't foresee him separating from her easily. He will have to get a job and live as a human, but he's been around them long enough I don't think it will pose a problem."
Melanie slept for four days straight, Teddy staying with her the entire time like he promised. Now they stood by the front door, about to say goodbye.
"Castiel, thank you so much for helping Teddy and me. I can't even begin to express how happy you made me." She settled for throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. Cas patted her back as he hugged her, a bit awkwardly, in return.
"You're very welcome," he said with a smile.
Melanie then turned to the brothers. "I'm sorry I was such a bother this whole time. I'll make it up to you eventually." She hugged each of them in turn, giggling and commenting on Sam's height.
With Melanie's farewells done, Teddy held out his hand to both Dean and Sam and shook their hands. "Thank you both for keeping an eye on Mel." He turned to Cas and pulled him in for a brotherly hug. "And thank you, brother, for returning me to her. I am forever in your debt."
With that they turned to leave. In the silence Dean turned to Cas with a grin. "Well, Cas, you certainly are an old softy, aren't ya?" He clapped the angel on the back then walked off to the kitchen to forage for lunch.