Chapter One

"Good morning, brother!"

The upbeat exclamation caused Castiel to sit up with a jolt. Where was he? His memory was rather hazy. Cas slowly surveyed his surroundings, and realized he was still in the mental hospital. Then his eyes came to rest on Lucifer.

"No," he said in his gruff voice, "you aren't real."

Cas was having a hard time convincing himself of that fact. He knew that Sam had been hallucinating Lucifer. He knew that he would too, once he assumed the burden. Yet still, every time Lucifer appeared, his figure and his voice were so lifelike.

"It doesn't matter if I'm not real," Lucifer said with a smirk, using his fingers to make sarcastic quotation marks in the air, "how many times do I have to tell you that? I can still do whatever I want inside your head, and you'll never know the difference."

And suddenly the room was on fire, and Cas could feel the pain that Sam felt in the cage. He got out of bed and turned to look Lucifer right in the eyes. "Bring it on," he said with a wince, "I deserve all this and more."

"Who're you talking to, Clarence?" Meg said, entering the hospital room. Cas spun around on the spot, caught off guard. Meg was dressed in simple white scrubs, with her dark, wavy hair tied back in a bun. Her voice coaxing as always, but her face betrayed her concern.

Then the fire was gone. So was Lucifer. Cas breathed a sigh of relief.

"I suppose you could say I was… talking to myself." he replied, sitting down on the bed and lowering his head in embarrassment. Meg crossed the room and carefully sat down next to him.

"It's alright." she said gently, "You know, you're actually handling this really well."

"I seem to be having trouble discerning reality from the hallucinations." Cas explained.

Meg placed her hand on top of his and gave it a tender squeeze. "Well, no matter what else you're seeing and hearing, just remember that I'm real. I'm here for you."

"I'm exhausted." Cas said, a non sequitur. Meg rolled her eyes as he ruined the moment they were having, but she didn't mind. Angels don't understand this kind of thing, after all.

"Okay Clarence, get some rest." She said, standing up.

"Wait," he stopped her, "please… don't leave."

Cas needed her to stay. Her words to him were so reassuring and so kind. As much as he chastised himself for it, he trusted this demon. He relied on her to maintain his sanity. Maybe, he admitted to himself, he even liked her.

Meg smiled as she sat back down on end of the bed and crossed her legs, and Cas rested his head in her lap. They were both aware that angels do not sleep, but that didn't stop Cas from shutting his eyes, relaxing his muscles, and enjoying the company of his friend.

Meg ran her fingers slowly through the angel's messy hair. He looked so peaceful, but also rather silly. He was still wearing his trench coat over his hospital clothes, even as he feigned sleep. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes as well, slowing her breathing to match his.

She could get used to this.