When the light began to dissipate, her knees felt wobbly, and her head ached, but Cassie was more confused than anything else. Her eyes hadn't fully adjusted when she felt a hand on her shoulder pushing her down. Unable to fight it, she plopped down on something soft—the hospital bed, she realized. Wait, how do I know that? Oh, right, med school, genius. She'd just started her mental ramblings when her eyes finally refocused and locked on stormy blue orbs above her. Oh right, my patient. What the hell is going on? She thought. She began to massage her temples before speaking, "uh, Mr. Nov—." Just then, something in her brain, something she was fairly certain hadn't been there before, clicked, and she suddenly knew Mr. Novak was not Mr. Novak. "Castiel?" she whispered up at the man before her. The angel sighed slightly, seemingly in relief before speaking. Wait, how did I know he's an angel? How do I know angels even exist? What. The. Fuck. Her confusion was visible on her face, as he started,
"Cassie, I apologize for implanting so much knowledge. I know it can be quite jarring for humans, but we don't have time for me to explain so much. Now, why is your soul marked?" She merely blinked up at him, not fully absorbing anything. She wasn't stuck on the fact that angels exist but on the fact that she wasn't stuck on the fact that angels exist. It was like her brain had already processed the information and accepted it as truth. She now just knew everything about Castiel, why he was here, how he'd gotten into the hospital and even the reason why she knew those things. Angels had the power to implant information in a human's brain in order to hurry along the learning process. They could also apparently mess people's brains up to the extent that they let a 19-year-old student take on her own "patient" and control their body temperature in such a way to convince humans they have a life-threatening fever.
"Castiel." She said more confidently. "Did you just Vulcan mind-meld me?" Had the situation not been totally confusing, she would have laughed at the perplexed look on his face. She now understood the weird mannerisms she'd written off before he'd fucked with her brain.
"I am unsure of what a Vulcan is, though I believe I've heard some humans reference a television series about them. However, mind-meld is not the appropriate term. I merely supplanted necessary information in your brain so we could skip over the classically tedious mortal response to learning about the existence of angels. Now, again, why is your soul marked by a demon?"
Cassie's breath hitched at the question, as the conversation she'd had with Jack just minutes before came back to her mind.
'You did what?' She whisper-screamed in the hospital lobby where Jack had met her. He looked like he'd had a long night of gambling and hadn't even shown up for rounds. His eyes widened at her reaction, and he put his hands up in mock defense, letting a chuckle escape his lips.
'Chill out, babe. He didn't take any money like I said.'
'No, you just bet my soul, you absolute fucking moron.' She grabbed at her hair in anger, knotting her finger in the strands in an attempt to not physically harm him in front of the hospital staff and patients. He let out a surprised laugh.
'C'mon, Cassie, the dude was crazy. Even you with all your superstition can't think some random jackass from a bar will somehow take your soul." A small scream of frustration burst from her lips before she kneed him in the crotch.
"We're done," she whispered into the ear of his bent over form and walked away.
"J-Jake," she stuttered out, holding Castiel's gaze. "H-he bet it in a poker game. I'm assuming he lost - per usual," she mumbled the last part, switching her gaze to her fingers which were currently balled into tight fists in her lap. Castiel's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"But he has no ownership of your sou—unless. Cassie, look at me." Her eyes slid up to meet his. "Did this boy mention the demon's name?" She shook her head slowly, still overwhelmed by the situation, though she had a feeling she knew whom it'd been.
Castiel's face turned serious while Cassie shook off the beginnings of panic. He stood directly in front of her seated form, causing her to be eye-level with his chest, which she noticed was no longer sheathed in a hospital gown. He was dressed in a suit and jacket with a trench coat thrown over it. Before she could stop it,
"A trench coat, Castiel? What are you, some angelic flasher?" popped out of her mouth. He gave her a look.
"I don't believe this is the time to comment on my vessel's wardrobe choices. I do believe you and Dean will get along, though." Cassie blushed at the light scolding before processing his entire sentence.
"Whose Dean?" she asked.
"We must go sooner than I anticipated," he stated, not answering her question. He went to grab her shoulders again, but she backed up on the bed, saying,
"Go? Go where? And answer my first question, please, before you get all handsy. Who is this Dean, and why will we be getting along?"
Castiel released a long sigh but decided to divulge what he could to make her more comfortable.
"Dean Winchester. I'm taking you to him and his brother." Cassie stopped shuffling backward, her green eyes widening in recognition.
"Dean Winchester? Of the Sam and Dean Winchester monster-ass-kicking duo? Sons of John Winchester?" It was Castiel's eyes' turn to widen.
"You know of them?" Cassie released a small scoff.
"Duh. They're hunting legends. My dad used to tell me about them, mostly stories about their father though." Her eyes seemed to twinkle slightly, and she sounded almost excited. The angel's gaze turned pensive, as he eyed Cassie. He cleared his throat, an annoying human habit he seemed to have picked up.
"Yes, well that's where we're going." Her eyes refocused at his words. She'd scooted to the other side and was now standing with the bed between them.
"Castiel, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm kinda in the middle of something here." She started gesturing around her body, "You know? Med school and all? I can't just up and leave because 'my soul is marked'." She said the last portion in a horrendous impression of the Angel's deep voice, trying to make light of a situation that actually terrified her. The angel hit her with another pointed look.
"Cassie, I don't think I have to remind you of the danger this demon poses. Besides, before this issue arose, I'd already arranged for your absence from the program for a few months to not affect your progress as a student. Besides, you're already substantially ahead of your peers." Cassie was stunned.
She was able to mutter a simple, "How?" Castiel could see she was once again slightly overwhelmed and tried to proceed gently.
"Well, in your own terms, I 'vulcan-mind-melded' them into thinking you need time off for a death in the family. You know, your teachers were very forthcoming with their sympathies even under my influence; I think you've quite impressed some of them, I…" Castiel trailed off, as he realized he was diverging. He needed to get on with the plan, or the new plan in order to get her safe. Cassie simply nodded, accepting the information. She seemed to collect herself after a minute, her mind filtering through what he'd told her. She was caught on one detail.
"Wait, Mr. Nov—Castiel, I mean, I can't just go stay with the Winchesters." She brought her hands up from her lap to start counting on her fingers.
"One, I don't actually know these guys, and while they're great hunters, apparently, they could still be psychotic. Two, it's just plain rude to show up unannounced on someone's doorstep, demanding their help with my problem. Thre—" before she could continue, Castiel interrupted, obviously starting to get antsy about the time.
"Cassie, I have already informed Dean and Sam of your arrival, though they are not aware of the specifics, and I can assure you they are no more psychotic than any other hunters; they are even capable of being quite sensible. Also, if you are concerned about imposing, my original purpose for your presence was to help them." His words were effective in halting Cassie's monologue.
"Help? How could I help them? I haven't hunted since I was nine." She asked, slightly exasperated.
"Look," Castiel answered, "I can clear everything up as soon as we arrive." Cassie felt her stubborn streak begin to emerge.
"No. If I'm staying in some strangers' place because an angel has decided my presence is necessary, I would like to know the specifics befo—" before she finished, the angel reappeared next to her on the other side of the bed, gripped my shoulders tightly and sent them both into a weightless darkness.
"-ore I go anywhere with yo—" Cassie trailed off as she started taking in her surroundings, which she noticed were definitely not the hospital room. She was standing in the middle of some kind of war-room with a massive map-covered table in the middle of it. She was distracted momentarily by the realization that the table wasn't covered by a map, but was actually a map itself. As she shook off the thought, her eyes wondered up and locked onto those of a man sitting at the head of said map-table hybrid with a tablet in hand and a small mountain of books on the side. He looked at her with only mild surprise, his eyebrows raising, before sending a small wave. However, Cassie was not so composed. She quickly whipped around to face Castiel again and growled out,
"You asshole. You can't just zap me here against my will. I'm not comfortable asking for their help, and it's beyond rude to just expect them to take me in. Why did you even bring me, really? I can't possibly be that useful. Can't you just zap me somewhere the demon won't be able to find me? Ughh," Cassie let out a grown, seeming to get more worked up the longer she rambled, which began to speed up;
"you have to take me back. I don't even know what I made on my exam, I'm expecting a call from the Chief of Medicine at UNCH, I have an interview on Friday, I—" For the third time that day, Castiel grabbed her and gently pressed two fingers to her forehead.
Cassie immediately crumpled to the floor, though Castiel caught her before she could hit her head on the concrete and placed her limp form in a chair next to them. Her head fell back over the seat, and her arms dangled uselessly at her sides.
"Cas! Come on, man," Sam exclaimed, getting up to check on the girl that'd just popped into the bunker.
"Was that really necessary?" he asked the angel while bending to check her pulse. It was really just a force of habit; he knew Cas wouldn't hurt this girl. The angel didn't look phased in the slightest.
"I apologize. She was becoming hysterical. I fear I may have slightly overloaded her. Hopefully, she'll be calmer when she awakes. Based on her history, I thought she would handle it a bit better. Where is Dean? There have been some new developments I need to make you both aware of."
Sam rolled his eyes at the angel's calm demeanor but answered,
"He's taking a shower. We just got back from a hunt."
"Actually, he's grabbing something to eat!" they heard Dean call them from the kitchen where he'd just appeared with a clean flannel and wet hair. He walked into the war room with a plate loaded up with sandwich fixings in one hand and an already-open beer in the other. He froze briefly at the scene in front of him.
"Why's there a girl on the floor?" he asked, using his beer hand to point to the spot next to where Castiel and Sam were standing. Both men looked down surprised to realize Cassie's form had slid from the rigid pine chair to the floor without their noticing. Sam shot Cas a pointed look before bending down to scoop her small form up off the ground. This was the first time he'd gotten a chance to really look at her. He noticed her light green scrubs seemed slightly big on her and her dark brown hair had nearly fallen completely out of its bun. He also noticed that she seemed to be extremely young or simply short for her age (or both), not what he was expecting from Cas's original description. He walked over to the sofa, laying her down gently before turning to face Castiel.
"I thought you said she was almost out of medical school? This is a kid, Cas. She doesn't even look old enough to drink."
By now, Dean had placed his meal on the table and glanced at it longingly before walking over to join his brother and Cas. From what he could see, Sam was right. Cas had told them that he needed them to house a woman nearly done with her M.D., but the girl he was looking at splayed out on the couch looked to be a teenager, 20 at the oldest. She also looked oddly familiar, though he couldn't quite put a finger on why.
"You are correct about her age, Sam, she is only 20; however, I am not mistaken about her academic progress. She is in her final year of medical school. She seems to be a highly advanced human, intellectually speaking, and she is now in need of protection, more so than I first mentioned."
Sam's eyebrows rose, slightly impressed. Dean merely shrugged, more concerned about what was after this kid and if they needed to be worried.
"What's that mean, Cas?" he asked. "She's here now, so we need the full story."
The angel nodded before replying, "Yes, I agree. I would like Cassie to be awake before I begin, though. There are some important points she needs to know as well." He moved closer to the couch and bent down to press his middle and index fingers to her forehead.