Hannah stepped back from the refrigerator and saw Castiel had fallen asleep on the couch almost instantly. Since angels did not need sleep, Hannah should have found this situation more troubling. But some part of her, maybe a part of her vessel, thought he just looked adorable. She walked closer and draped his trench coat over him like a blanket. She didn't know why she did it, but it felt right, like it would help him sleep.
Now, she didn't know what to do. There wasn't exactly room on the couch to sit down. She decided to walk outside. Maybe she'd be able to better make sense of everything from out there. She still hadn't the faintest idea why Castiel did not want to do something to help himself. If she didn't know better, she would say he was depressed. What could have caused it, she couldn't be sure.
Hannah sat down on the front step and saw that the tow truck was still there. Didn't the woman say she needed to go into town to get tires? Kim, the tow truck driver, came out from around the side of the building.
"Hey, Hannah," Kim said, "What are you doing out here?"
Hannah said quickly, "My friend fell asleep. I didn't want to disturb him."
"Oh, well, you can come with me if you want. My daughter wanted to come with, but it's a little late for that. I could use a co-pilot." Kim said.
Hannah wasn't sure about leaving Castiel alone while he was so vulnerable, but he was still Castiel. He would be able to take care of himself if he saw fit.
"Will we be gone long?" Hannah asked.
Kim shook her head and said, "No, town's only a few minutes away. We'll be back in a half hour at the most."
Hannah stood up and got in the tow truck with Kim. She was certainly an interesting human. She was very kind and generous. She wasn't at all what she'd come to expect from them.
"You have a small child, but there is no father in the house. Why is that?" Hannah asked.
Kim laughed self-consciously and said, "Wow, you're a little blunt, aren't you?"
Hannah stared back at her. She'd just been trying to create conversation as she'd been told was customary among humans. She was genuinely curious. Typically, a man was required when trying to procreate, at least that was what Hannah had come to understand.
"Oh, you're actually asking," Kim said, realization spreading through her features, "He left a few years ago. Being a dad was too good for him anyway."
There was a look of old pain that Hannah could see in Kim's eyes. She'd seen that same look in the eyes of many humans and in the eyes of Castiel. It made Hannah want to embrace Kim, and she had no idea why. She didn't know what the physical contact could achieve. It wouldn't bring back her significant other. It wouldn't fix anything. But she still felt the urge.
Instead, Hannah kept to herself and said, "I understand what that feels like. My father left us as well."
Kim gave her a soft smile that gave Hannah a surprising, warm feeling.
"Deadbeats all around, huh?" Kim said.
Hannah wasn't entirely sure of the definition of 'deadbeats,' but she nodded anyway.
Kim parked the truck and said, "Well, here we are."
Hannah and Kim walked up to a shop with tires lining the walls. Even though it was late, the lights were still on. Hannah followed Kim inside.
"Hey, Barry," Kim said.
"Late night tire repair?" the man behind the counter asked.
Hannah wandered over to a stack of tires as Kim and Barry talked. She ghosted her fingers over the rubber while being mindful of her wings. While they were still healing, it would be incredibly hard to explain if she knocked over a tower of tires with thin air. The rubber had a surprisingly pleasant smell. Human senses were weird.
On the way back, Hannah found herself watching Kim more intently. How did she experience life? Did she also find the smell of tires pleasing? What had happened to make her daughter's father leave? This time, she got the sense that she shouldn't voice these questions.
When they got back, Kim said, "You can sleep in the spare bedroom unless you want to share the couch with your friend."
Hannah said, "Thank you for the offer. I'll figure it out." Hannah, unlike the ailing Castiel, didn't need sleep, so she didn't want to commit to sleeping in the spare room if she wasn't actually going to use it.
Kim went up the stairs, saying before she went, "I'll work on your car in the morning. You'll be on your way in no time."
"Oh, it's no rush," Hannah said. She suddenly felt uncomfortable with the idea of leaving. Castiel was still set on getting to the Winchesters, and Hannah still had her mission of finding the rebel angels, but there was something about being here that was nice, almost like home.
Kim went up to bed, and Hannah checked on Castiel. No harm had come to him while she was away, so that was nice. She decided to spend her night watching over him. If she hadn't fallen, she would've watched over Kim and her daughter, too.
When Kim had said she would fix the car in the morning, she hadn't been lying. Kim was up by 5am, out in the front, taking apart the broken parts of Castiel's car. Hannah watched the woman work from the kitchen window. She found herself watching Kim's arms as her muscles contracted and rippled. It was more distracting than simple motions should be. She wondered what those arms felt like, what her hands would feel like. She couldn't help but watch Kim work for hours.
Something very weird was going on. When had Hannah started being so…so human?
Suddenly, Kim's daughter's fast paced chatter reached Hannah's ears. She walked around the kitchen partition to see Castiel smiling at the small child.
Kim walked inside and stood next to Hannah, watching the girl interacting with Castiel.
"All right, you're good to go," Kim said.
Hannah said, "We appreciate that." Though, there was some odd part of her that wanted to car to break down again. There was something about these humans that Hannah wanted to understand better. She didn't want to leave yet.
"Great guy you have there," Kim said, nodding towards Castiel.
Hannah smiled and said, "Oh, we're not…that." She didn't know why she felt the need to correct her, but it felt right.
"Too bad," Kim said, walking further into the kitchen.
Hannah watched her walk past and felt a pang in her chest that she didn't understand. Feelings were confusing. Did Castiel feel like this all the time? None of this made sense.
Kim stepped past Hannah, brushing her hand across Hannah's shoulder as she walked back outside.
Hannah cocked her head to the side. Maybe it was just Kim that was confusing.
Castiel looked up at Hannah, having seen her uncertainty and smiled. While Hannah was certainly glad that Castiel was smiling, she didn't know why he was looking at her like that. The look on his face told her he knew how she felt.
"Your car is repaired. We can leave," Hannah said.
Castiel nodded and pulled on his trench coat, waving goodbye to the small child.
They paid Kim for the service she'd given them, and Kim smiled warmly at Hannah. Hannah felt her vessel flush as she got in the car.
Castiel looked at her from the passenger seat and grinned.
"What? What are you smiling at, Castiel?" Hannah asked, starting the car.
Castiel sighed and said, "For no reason in particular. Just…remind me to tell you about Dean Winchester some time."
Hannah didn't know why he didn't just tell her then. She didn't know why Kim was waving them off. She didn't know why she didn't quite want to leave, and she certainly didn't know why she had this location memorized for future reference.
Humans…she'd never understand them.