A/N
Okay, guys...So I realized that I didn't really give you much in the last chapter, so here's a bit more. Thanks to all who gave it a chance and especially thanks to those who are sticking around to see how it plays out. Still plenty open to feedback, to any who may be interested in handing it out.
Enjoy!
Sam and Dean sat in the front of the Impala while Christiadel was situated in the backseat. Dean took a glance in the rearview mirror and saw the contented look on Chris' face, wondering how she could possibly be so comfortable back there when he had seen Cas squirm in discomfort practically every time he was made to take the long route to any particular destination. His curiosity became enough that he was willing to break the slightly awkward silence that had settled over the entire car.
"Hey, Chris? Pray tell, how are you not uncomfortable back there?"
Chris looked away from the window and met Dean's eyes in the mirror. "You forget, Dean, that when the angels fell a couple of months ago, some of us had to assimilate. Which means, I had to act like a normal teenager for a while. In case you haven't noticed, teenagers tend to spend quite a bit of time in vehicles."
"Wait, so you went to school and everything?"
"Yep. High school kind of blows. I had no idea that human complaints were legitimate. At least when it comes to that." She had gone back to staring out the window, but Dean continued, bored with the lack of conversation in the car. Sam was simply listening to the conversation, not showing any interest in joining it for the time being.
"You seem to have picked up the language of the younger generation."
She responded to his comment without looking away from the less than fascinating view. "How would you react if a girl who looks like a teenager spoke to you as if she were ancient? It might be a bit unsettling, to say the least. Besides, I really didn't have the energy to pretend to be a helpless little girl who got bullied all the time. So I acted normal."
"Smart," Dean replied with an appreciative tilt of his head. "Sammy, why didn't you do something like that?" Dean turned to look at Sam expectantly with a slight smirk on his face. Sam jokingly glared back at him.
"Screw you, jerk. I acted normal enough," he spit out with feigned annoyance.
"Sure you did." Dean missed the playful banter that they had somehow lost throughout the years. These tiny moments made him feel like they were teenagers themselves, if only for a few minutes. Unfortunately, they had to grow up and face the dangerous world presented to them. After a small chuckle, Dean again looked in the mirror toward Chris. She seemed to ignore the last bit of the conversation, opting instead for staring out of the window lost in thought, like something out of a movie. "Chris—"
"Dear Lord, Dean. Are you playing twenty questions?" Unaware that Dean had annoyed her, he immediately stopped what he was saying with a slightly raised brow and they rode the rest of the way in near silence, with only the sound of the Impala's engine accompanying them for the next hour.
Finally, the car rumbled to a stop in front of the bunker. Dean looked back to inform Chris that they had arrived, but was met with nothing but the leather of the backseat. For a few seconds, he frantically searched around, cursing himself for falling into another trap. But luckily, he spotted her standing outside, thoughtfully looking at the door to the bunker. "Don't you guys ever walk?" he asked as he stepped out of the car.
"Oh, sweetie, I have done way too much walking in the past few months. Do you really blame me for stretching my wings every now and then?" Not waiting for an answer, Chris strode forward after Sam, who was leading the way to the door with the key in hand. Dean followed with a shallow chuckle, interested to see how the next few minutes were going to play out.
The three of them entered the bunker, Sam with some hesitation, Chris with determination, and Dean with slight amusement. As they descended the staircase, Cas and Kevin waited patiently at the bottom. Kevin looked like he was somehow forced to be a part of the welcoming party, his eyes half-lidded and his gaze focused downward, like he couldn't care less about who they brought with them. Dean didn't blame the kid. It wasn't his fault that he was forced into this life. Plus, the angel tablet must have been taking a toll on his health, by the looks of him. But, he glanced upward upon their arrival and visibly stilled. His eyes found Chris and his formerly kicked-puppy stature improved and he stood up straighter with interest sparking in his eyes. Dean looked between the two of them, kind of surprised that he hadn't foreseen it. Chris of course had her gaze trained on Cas, the only one with whom she was already acquainted. Cas gave her a polite nod, and spoke up.
"Hello, Chris. Nice to see you again. Sam," a nod of his head, "Dean," another nod, coupled with a lingering gaze that Dean pretended not to notice.
"Hey, Cas. I'd love to say the same, but that fall kind of hurt. Not sure I've fully forgiven you yet." Cas' face fell at that, but in his newly human state, he hadn't learned to notice the subtle humor underlying her words. "Cas," she quickly said, "I was just joking. Too early for that, I guess. It is nice to see you again, too." His face returned to its previous look, politeness barely concealing haggardness. "You don't look well, bro. I take it your humanity has made sure of that."
"Quite right," Cas replied. Kevin took the opportunity in the few seconds of silence that followed to introduce himself.
"Hi," he said, reaching his hand out. "I'm Kevin." Chris looked at his outstretched hand without reaching to return the favor.
Her eyes slowly raised to his and she simply said, "I know, Prophet. But thanks for making the effort." Kevin retracted his hand and stepped back, a look of hurt crossing his face. Chris turned around to look at Sam and Dean, who had been looking on without saying anything, and said, "So, nice place you've got here. Mind if I crash for a bit?"
Dean hesitated, but Sam was the one to reply, "Sure, Chris. Stay as long as you like." Chris gave Sam a small smile of thanks before turning back to Cas. While they caught up a bit, Dean grabbed Sam's arm and brought him to the side.
"Dude, what the hell? 'Stay as long as you like'? We have enough people here as is. There's no need to bring a freaking teen angel into the mix. One teenager is bad enough. I am definitely not up for double the hormones. Are you?"
"Dean, chill. She's an angel, not some angsty teenage girl. Besides, it's not like Kevin gets much interaction with others. It might be good for him." Oh Sam, always the considerate one.
Dean turned to look at Kevin, who had gone back to reading his books at the table toward the side of the room, occasionally glancing up at Cas and Chris. "Kevin needs to keep working on translating the angel tablet. The last thing he needs is a distraction."
"Come on, give the kid a break. He didn't ask for this."
"I know, I know. It's just kind of important that we figure out how to fix this mess and right now, he's our best shot."
"Maybe not. Chris said she might be able to help, right? Let's see what she has to say about the situation." Dean and Sam started making their way back to Cas and Chris, when suddenly someone stepped out of the entrance to the kitchen. They stopped in their tracks and looked toward the person, confusion slowly seeping into their features.
A moment of silence. Then…
"Charlie?"
"Hiya, peeps," Charlie said as she stepped down the stairs to join the party. "What's up? Wait. Don't answer that." She looked toward Chris and raised her eyebrows just slightly. "So this must be the new angel, huh?"
"Yep," Dean answered. "Don't get me wrong, Charlie, because you know I'm always up for your nerdy company, but why are you here?"
"Thought I'd drop in and say hi. Plus, I noticed a bunch of weird crap going on all over the globe, so logically I thought of you two." She smiled as she again moved her eyes to Chris, and said, "Since when are angels into inhabiting teenagers? I thought they went for the whole 'death by intimidation' thing."
Chris chose to answer this one herself. "I'm younger than most of the other angels you may have met or heard about, so my vessel is of a younger age. I kind of like it, though. Much easier to get around in this meat than some old lady." Dean noted a hint of surprise flicker across Charlie's face. Good to know he wasn't the only one who was amused by the snarky attitude.
"Alrighty then. Moving on." Dean swiveled around to face Cas. "No offense meant to Charlie, but you did the usual drill, right?"
Cas smiled at Dean and calmly replied, "Yes, Dean. Holy water, salt, silver. She actually performed the tests herself. There is no need to worry."
Dean again looked at Charlie. "That's my girl." He smirked as he looked around the room and found Kevin. "Charlie, you've met Kevin, right?"
"Now I have. He's quiet." Kevin looked up at the mention of his name, but deciding that what they were saying wasn't really worth his while, he turned back to the books. "So, prophet, huh? Interesting…Well, who's going to show the new girl around? She's staying, right?"
"Yeah, she is," Sam said, "are you?"
"Of course. Can't bear to be without my boys for too long." Everyone was starting to relax and settle down. Charlie had that effect on people, Dean knew. Sam started making his way to Kevin to get in some helpful research before heading to bed, Cas offered to show Chris around the place and they headed down the hallway, and Dean and Charlie sat down at the table with a couple of beers that Charlie brought out from the kitchen.
"So, how's life?" Dean asked as he kicked back his chair and crossed his feet on the table.
"It's okay. Been tracking you guys to see what kind of trouble you'd get into next and saw that angels started popping up all over the place. Figured it had something to do with you, like I said, so here I am."
Dean took a swig of his beer before saying with a smile, "How's the LARPing? Still kicking their asses with your almighty rule, Your Majesty?"
Charlie's eyes fell to the bottle in her hand at that. "No, I've actually taken off for a while. Handed over the crown. After my mom, I just sort of threw myself into cyberspace. It's comfortable. I'm comfortable."
"Well," Dean said with a caring nod of his head, "that's good, I guess. How's the love life?"
"Hmm…since my last romantic interest was sent back to her faerie world, I haven't really been too keen on searching for relationships. Instead, I've mostly kept it to one night stands."
Dean's eyes widened. "Wow. Okay then. Maybe you should start up hunting, after all."
She knowingly nodded her head, which Dean took to mean she knew what this life entailed, for the most part. No relationships for hunters. Not lasting ones, anyway. "How about you, Dean? Have you taken a special interest in anyone lately?" Her lips pulled to the side in a small smile, which made Dean feel as if she knew something he didn't.
Dean bunched his eyebrows together and looked at her, having no idea what she was going on about. Absolutely no idea at all. "No," he said with a tone that indicated she should drop the subject. Luckily, she caught on and stopped prying for the moment. When they both had gone their separate ways, Dean was left to his thoughts of a certain blue-eyed angel, a tingling sensation running through him. When he realized where his thoughts were headed, he mentally slapped himself. "Get it together, Dean."
The silence of the night crept its way into the walls of the bunker while everyone settled in for the night. Tomorrow, Dean decided, they would talk about the angels. For now, sleep beckoned.
A/N
Alright. I should have another chapter posted soon, so stick with me! Thanks for reading.
