Chapter 4
I awoke to an unfamiliar face leaning over me, and saw Dean and Sammy standing behind him talking to Cas. The man sitting on the bed gently removed his hand from my face. I tried focusing on him, his bright blue eyes looked more than a bit concerned. Sam and Dean came around to the other side of the bed and Cas hovered behind the guy at my left.
"What happened?" I finally managed to speak as the blue eyed stranger helped me sit upright. "It appears someone spiked your coffee love. You should be fine in a few hours." His accented voice was soft yet filled with concern, and I looked back into his eyes, trying to figure out the strange sensation I was getting from him.
I noticed the not so discrete looks they were giving each other. Dean didn't look happy and Cas looked resigned. "Okay, someone want to tell me what's going on?" The man gave my hand a squeeze and spoke. "I had to bind some of my grace to you to prevent you from dying." I tried to no stare open mouthed at him. "And who are you exactly?" He smiled and winked. "A friend."
I knew immediately what he meant, but I didn't feel exactly like sharing with everyone so I just smiled back. "Thank you again. It's good to have friends that care." And friends that were attractive I thought.
"We're just glad you're ok, right Dean?" Sammy gave him a look. I remembered what blue eyes had said about the guys not being on the best terms with him. Dean nodded, and sighed. "Of course. You hungry?" I laughed. "Starved, maybe you and Sammy can find me something edible, and no coffee this time." They nodded and headed out.
They were no sooner out the door when blue eyes gave Cas a look, and Cas made a hasty exit. "So, are you going to tell me your name now that we are face to face?" He chuckled, leaned closer and brushed my hair back. "Balthazar." Oh, I had heard that name before. He smirked. "I see my reputation precedes me." I shrugged. "Something like that. But I prefer to form my own opinions based on facts, not hearsay. And maybe you could explain the grace binding thing to me?"
"You understand how Dean and Castiel share a 'profound bond' because he hauled his ass out of hell?" I nodded. "Well, I did basically the same thing, my grace is anchored into your soul, and we will always be able to feel each other. Castiel understands this whole bonding thing better than I do, and it's for the best if you don't mention to the Winchesters exactly how deep our bond goes." I worried my bottom lip for a minute. "Because it's our little secret?" He smiled and took my hand. "Precisely. I have powerful enemies who would attempt to use you against me, and if something happened to you I would never forgive myself." I laced my fingers through his. "How deep?"
He leaned in closer, his eyes searching mine. I felt a strong sensation, I was hyper aware of him, his feelings and deeper things I couldn't begin to fathom. "Oh." Was all I could manage to say. He leaned in and kissed my cheek. "Indeed."
~o~
By about dinner time I felt back to normal. Balthazar hadn't left my side and was still fussing over me, which I found I actually enjoyed, especially since the guys had made themselves scarce for the majority of the day. I wondered how long I would get to keep him by my side, and I prayed that Dean wouldn't change his mind about my hunting with them now that Balthazar and I were bonded.
"Feeling well enough to go out to eat?" he asked as he sat on the bed next to me. "Sure. There is a diner across the street we can hit up." I received a horrified look from him. "Diner? I am most certainly not taking you to a diner that would be abhorrent." I couldn't help but laugh, falling backwards on the mattress and clutching my chest. "Bal, your face, abhorrent, holy fuck…"
I gave a squeal when he pounced on me, pinning my hands above my head with his face so close our noses were touching. "Something amusing love?" I giggled and tried to shrug. "Nope." I giggled again. "Nothing I can think of…"
He huffed. "Humans."
I smirked then leaned up and kissed his nose. "Angels."
~o~
I nibbled at my food, I had so many questions to ask him, and frankly wasn't sure where to start. He sipped his drink and gave me a questioning look over his glass. "Problem love?" I shrugged. "I have so many questions, and I am not sure where to start."
He leaned back and took another sip of his drink. "Perhaps at the beginning?"
I rolled my eyes and sighed. "You are such a pain in my ass, always answering my questions with questions and redirects." I slid over closer to him. "Could you stop worrying so much about letting someone close to you and maybe trust me? Balthazar, you are the only reason I am still alive."
"Forgive me if trust and closeness are not high on my priority list as of late." He fixed his blue eyes on me and seemed to be searching for something. I could feel his internal struggle, and couldn't help myself from reaching over and sliding my fingers through his blond hair. "Maybe it's time they were."
He caught my hand and his lips brushed the back of it. "Perhaps you are right, but we can't expect miracles to happen overnight love."
~o~
It was late when we got back from dinner, and the worn out motel bed was calling my name. "I should really get some sleep." I hoped he was planning on staying, I felt like if he would just let me in we'd both feel so much better. I grabbed my bag and headed into the bathroom to change. When I came out the room was empty, I felt strangely alone and didn't like the sensation at all.
I shivered and climbed under the covers, clutching at my pillow. I tried to get warm under the covers, but soon my teeth were chattering and my body shaking. I got up and reached for my phone, almost dropping it from my shaking. I dialed Cas since I didn't have Balthazar's number.
He appeared immediately and ran over to me, a second later Bal was behind him. "So cold" I gasped. Bal pulled me onto his lap and I buried my face in his chest, gasping for breath. I felt a rush of heat between us, and a slow warmth began spreading throughout my body. I gradually stopped shaking and was able to focus on his face.
Cas's voice was rough and angry. "You should not have left her alone, she is still too fragile at this point!" Balthazar said nothing, guilt written on his face. Castiel sighed. "I know you have no experience with bonding yourself to a human, but they are especially needy at first, as time passes she'll do better being alone." Balthazar nodded, and pressed his face into my hair. "I am so sorry love."
I managed a weak laugh. "S'okay, I know you didn't mean to be abhorrent."
He huffed into my hair "Humans."
I kissed his cheek. "Angels."
