Max had been silent through most of Alida's explanation and that in itself was frightening. It truly showed how afraid she was, that the girl had nothing flippant to say although she still had her moments.
"Really, you fainted in his arms?" she had asked and Alida had fought the urge to reach through the phone and strangle her.
"Okay, you get your body hijacked by a Ted Bundy fanatic and then you can stay on your feet," Alida had responded quickly, stomach turning at the memory.
"Was it really bad?" Max asked her, and Alida could hear the fear there, could recognize it as the same that was in her own blood. It was in all of them, the fear of having their whole lives taken away from them, their own choices, with their own bodies.
"Yeah," Alida had replied simply, apologetically.
"Well then, I'm glad you showed him who he was messing with," Max had told her sternly, and Alida's smile had wobbled with unshed tears.
"Me too. Although, Sam said that should've been impossible. Just think, if I introduced them you, you'd burn the whole place down and have it set up as a personal spa," Alida had told her and Max had snorted.
"I don't really do spas. Maybe a personal gym," Max had retorted making Alida chuckkle. And with that Alida had went on, explaining how to be safe and what to watch out for with the hunters chiming in with directions.
"Hey, tell Max if anything happens, just to call that number," Dean had told her when the conversation was drifting to a close, and Alida had looked at him gratefully, repeating his instructions.
"Okay, I will," Max had responded easily, and Alida was relieved to hear her taking this so seriously. She sat her independence to the side to make sure that her flock would always have help.
"Can she give it to all of the kids? There is five others," Alida had asked and Dean had bit his lip at the number but gave her a nod.
"Make sure are tech girl puts it in everyone's phone. I'll figure out how to get the tattoo, and I'll give you a call. I'll figure this out, Max. You just take care of them," Alida had told her.
"I always do. You aren't alone now though, you know that don't you?" Max had asked and Alida had been still for a moment, before replying.
"I know I'm not. But Max, the demon. It was expecting me. It knew me, and I don't know if it knows about you and I'm not going to take that chance. I've got this," she promised her fervently but then someone smacked her in the back of the head. She twisted around with a glare, eyes focusing on the angel in surprise.
"We've got this," he corrected her and her gaze softened. She turned to look at the brothers and they each met her gaze before nodding.
"And it seems like I've got some help. They are kind of experts," Alida told Max and Dean gave her his best grin.
"Alright then, keep in touch. Stay safe. Live free," Max quoted at her and Alida smirked.
"Die well," Alida responded before hanging up and although Castiel was scowling at her and Sam was watching her in alarm, Dean was watching her quizzically.
"Did you just quote The Rock?" he asked her and she laughed in surprise, kind of blushing.
"It's one of the boys' favorite movies, okay?" she offered and Dean rolled his eyes.
"The effects were so sketchy, and The Mummy was the best hands down," Dean told her and she propped her head up on her chin.
"But the Scorpion King spin offs were funny, and had some great quotes," Alida told him with a wink.
"But they pale in comparison to Mummy franchise! Except that last one," Dean told her with a mock shudder and she grimaced.
"That last one shouldn't be spoken of. It's just, I mean you can't change who Evy is!" she told him and he nodded enthusiastically, opening his mouth to explain his complaints but then his brother interrupted.
"I'm glad we can agree, and we can have a movie night later, but guys please focus. Demon. It wanted Alida. Why?" Sam asked and Alida fell back in her chair, too drained to even glare at the boy. Why did he have to suck the fun out of everything.
"Well, the spell obviously worked. Does that mean… I'm a demon?" Alida asked, putting the words they had all been dreading out in the open. There was a moment of tense silence, and Alida felt her stomach cramp as she started to shake. Was she really one of those things?
She could still feel it, inside of her head, and enjoying her silent screams. She could be. She was made to kill, she did it effortlessly. It was the first thing she thought, instead of look at this human, it was how to kill this enemy. She had always clung to the fact that that was how they made her, that she could fix it. But if it ws part of her soul… what if it wasn't fixable?
"No," Castiel suddenly said, his voice breaking the tension and Alida flinched at the stern tone. He moved around the table so that she would have to look at him and she tilted her head back to meet his eyes, unnerved at the way he towered over her and made her feel small, and defenseless.
"I may not be able to see it clearly, Alida. The light in your soul is unclear and so entwined that I cannot make it out, but I could see that. Demons do not have souls, and I would be able to see the way it clashed with the light in yours. This… piece of you doesn't merely coexist, it's a part of you in a way that is unique. I have not seen another soul like yours in my millennia watching this earth," Castiel told her and Alida felt something crush her chest.
Her heart ached and her lungs felt like they couldn't get enough air as she listened to him. She wished she could believe it was true, that she wasn't evil in the deepest parts of her, but her past did not eland her to believe in what she wanted. Only in reality.
"Maybe you should take a look at one of the others. See if we are made the same," Alida offered but his gaze never wavered from hers.
"Perhaps, but that does not mean that what I see in you will dim in the least," Castiel told her and she swallowed thickly, trying to control the onslaught of emotions.
"It doesn't really sound like they'd be up for that though," Sam told her and Alida looked over to where he was sitting. She thought about his words before shrugging.
"Chance to meet a real life angel and this test only takes him looking at you? With no sharp objects or chains needed, I'm pretty sure half of 'em would jump on the chance. Convincing Max will probably be the hard part," Alida told them dryly and Dean scowled.
"Kind of controlling isn't it? And when you say kids, you are definitely not old enough to have kids," Dean told her and she sighed, pulling her feet up in the chair. She ignored his glare as she tucked her feet in under her to get more comfortable
"I do not have kids. I know some kids. But I am not going to ask them until we can figure out a safe place to meet them where none of these bastards would realize that they are connected to me at all. Until we figure out who wanted to see me, I can't risk it. I am not bringing that back to them," she told them firmly and Dean nodded although Sam looked like he wanted to object. Dean understood the need to protect someone though, no matter what the cost.
"Then how are we going to figure out why are connection spell summoned a demon if there wasn't anything on this end demonic?" Sam asked and Alida shrugged.
"You're the experts. Last week I was just glad no one had shot at me in a while. When you give me something to kill then I can be helpful but until then I know less than you do," Alida told them and Sam sighed. They had set to discussing who they could call, gogni through a list of names that meant absolutely nothing to Alida. Soon she was dozing off in her chair, still worn out and the second time Dean caught her he had gruffly ordered her to bed.
"Shove off, Dean," Alida had mumbled but at his pointed, "What, we're British now?" she had given in and slunk off back to her room, only stopping to ask Sam for a bottle of water. She hadn't been very hungry anymore. He had quickly gotten her one, bounding off to supposedly the kitchen before returning with three bottles.
She took them gratefully and waved at the gathered men before leaving. Once there she sunk into her bed, door locked firmly behind her, and curled back up. She couldn't sleep though, now that she was no longer exhausted the memory of the demon inside her head seemed to be on replay making her shiver in revulsion.
Her throat still ached and she quickly gulped down her first bottle, the quick rush of water making her stomach ache. After that she only took sips, but the ache never quite went away. It was actually getting hot as well, and no matter how much cold water she drank she was soon too warm. She kicked off her boots, and even stripped off her jacket after shoving the dresser in front of the door. Then she laid on her stomach, fanning out her wings and stretching on the bed until none of her skin touched itself.
When that was still not enough and she only had half of her last bottle of water Alida stripped farther tossing her shirt and jeans to the end of the bed. Even that was only temporary relief and she realized as she continued to shiver that she had to be sick. She had some kind of body jumping demon aids or something. Alida moaned, turning her head to the other side so that her other cheek could cool down but soon she was sweating.
She wearily tugged her hair away from her skin and tied it into a bun before falling back on the bed exhausted. She wondered if her system was strong enough to run through demonic diseases or if they were going to have to bury her in under the shed. She snorted at the thought, but then guiltily realized that finding her dead would probably be a bit traumatizing. Dean would just be disappointed in her. And Max would never know what was happening, what the demon wanted. What if when she died they went after one of the Flock? Angel already read minds, what if it decided they wanted her?
With that thought she pulled herself out of bed, glaring at her clothes with something akin to hatred before giving up on them. She was not putting on those jeans, no matter what, but then she would need to wear a long shirt. Her only shirt was slit for her wings, and just the thought of having to wear a jacket made her want to just light herself on fire instead. She would've went out without anything except for the sweat slicked wings arched away from her skin. What should she do?
She finally gave up on clothes all together and wrapped the comfort loosely around her. It was almost too thick to handle, but the padding hid the shape of her wings and she let it drape off of her shoulders and held it closed in the front. She weakly shoved the dresser out of the way, stumbling a bit before realizing that she couldn't get it to move. That was when she sunk back onto the bed, panic settling in at how weak she was. She was really sick, far sicker than she had ever been in her life. She had almost died before, but that was from wounds, things that could heal. Not something that felt like it was eating her alive from the inside.
"Castiel," she tried, her voice a croak and she coughed when nothing happened, leaning forward and closing her eyes tight. She had never prayed before. She didn't know how, but she was desperately hoping that this was enough.
"Castiel? Please," she asked him, and she would have be embarrassed later by her whimper of relief when she felt the air stir and his presence suddenly fill the room.
"Cas," she said haltingly, raising her eyes to meet his and he stared at her in shock, surprised by her deteriorated state. And then he was gone and she stared at the spot he had been in disbelief, realization settling in. Then she felt like a fool as she realized that she had begun to believe in them, trust them. She felt the first tear creep down her face with a start and it was a sign of how ill she was that she didn't have the strength to fight them as more silently followed.
Then the door busted in, dresser crashing as it was flung across the room and Alida flinched. Castiel walked in, haloed by the shattered remains of her door, but Dean quickly pushed him aside, quickly followed by Sam as they ran to her side. Dean didn't even take a second look at her state of undress, only pressed his hand to her head. She leaned into the touch, pleased at the sensation of his cool hand. He gently wiped the tears off of her cheeks with his thumb.
"You are so hot!" Dean whispered in disbelief and she cracked a grin.
"Thanks, you're not so bad," she told him and he glowered at her for cracking a joke at a time like this but it was quickly followed by a smirk.
"Cas, I thought you healed her?" Sam demanded and Cas moved forward to stand between them. He touched her as well, firmly pressing his fingers to her temple and this time she closed her eyes as it made her dizzy.
"Is it where the werewolf scratched her?" Sam asked, tugging the blanket slightly down to look at the glossy scratches at her neck. They were almost completely healed.
"No. There is something I can't see. Perhaps it is something to do with the part of her that is not human, but I have healed all that I can," Castiel told them and she started laughing at the absurdity of it. She had never imagined her death surrounded by three handsome men all of them trying to touch her.
"Is she delirious? Are you delirious?" Castiel asked her with a scowl and that only made her laugh harder, the tears drying on her face.
"I'm fine," she answered and she could see Dean's jaw clench. IT was strangely attractive, and he considered making him do that more often if she, you know, survived.
"Will you quite saying that when you obviously aren't?" Dean asked her scornfully and she felt her eyes sting at the harsh way he said it. Who knew she was so emotional when she was sick?
"Hey, look, I'm sorry," Dean quickly apologized much to both Sam and Castiel's amusement.
"Whatever, I don't care," she told him but it was so pouty that no one believe that for a moment either.
"Come on, let's get in bed and covered up. Try to get comfy and we'll go get you some medicine okay?" Dean told her, and Sam stared at him. It was the gentle voice he used to use whenever Sam didn't feel well, and Sam could remember the canned soup Dean had heated up for him before wrapping him blankets and telling him that he wouldn't tell Dad that he missed school.
"Medicine doesn't really work on me," Alida objected and she seemed loath to actually wrap up in the blanket she was clutching to her chest. Sam pointedly didn't look at her exposed legs even though she wasn't actually that exposed, he'd seen girls wear shorts that showed more, but the idea was they did it on purpose, not being cause they were ill.
"Well, then we'll give you lots of it and see if that kills you or the fever does, now get covered up," Dean told her, gently pushing her back onto the mattress but she fought it.
"Look, I'll be fine. I just didn't want to surprise anyone," Alida told him and Dean froze, glaring at her.
"Well, good job, now we won't be surprised. You are still taking your medicine, whether you like it or not. I'm not going through the trouble of burying you if you die of stubbornness," he told her and that seemed to work because then she was grumbling, rolling back onto the bed. Dean pushed some of the stray hair out of her face, and felt her forehead once more, frowning.
"I'll just get everything," he told her and she glared, the expression dimmer than he liked out of her fevered eyes. They quickly stepped out of her room as she drifted off into a doze probably prompted by her fever.
"Looks like she'll be down for a couple of days," Sam told them, and he was prepared to stubbornly tell Dean that she had to stay until she got better but Dean surprised him with a nod.
"Yeah, we might need to get soup too. She hasn't eaten that much, and it's going to get worse, but she'll need the food to fight it off. More than usual probably," Dean told him and Sam gave him pointed look, accompanied by a small smirk.
"Learn all that from Dr. Sexy?" he asked and Dean gasped in denial before giving him a glare.
"Shut up, Harvard, go law or something," he told him huffily and Sam rolled his eyes.
"That didn't even make sense, you are so lame," he told him but then he bumped his arm him in the shoulder as they walked.
"I will go get the provisions," Cas announced and before either of them could say anything he was gone. Dean looked to where he was before sighing. He was probably feeling guilty that he couldn't heal her, and was trying to make up for it the old fashioned way. Dean would have to talk with the guy when he got back, and the thought made him squirm. His pep talks never really went smoothly.
"So, Alida's nice?" Sam asked blithely and he carefully kept a straight face as Dean gave him a fierce look.
"Yeah? Got a point Sam?" Dean demanded and Sam gave him the bitch face, not even pretending anymore.
"Come on, you are like suspiciously nice to her and you've only hit on her approximately three times. She is attractive, and kind of your type in more than the usual way, so what is it?" Sam demanded and Dean glared at him.
"IF you like her so much, why don't you go date her?" Dean told him and Sam lit up like he had told him something.
"Oh! You think she likes me?" Sam asked and Dean floundered for a minute, somewhere in between making a glare and grimace before he gave up and walked away.
"Whatever, you like the monster chicks, have at it," Dean told him and Sam glared at his back before following.
"Uh uh, you totally like her. You know, she doesn't actually like me, you could tell if you ever got out of your 'no one could possibly think I'm worth something' mentality. She barely takes her eyes off of you," Sam told him, smirking triumphantly when Dean turned back around to face him.
"So, what, Sammy? If she isn't your cup of whisky, just don't drink it. Don't drag me into this," he told him and Sam glowered again.
"Okay, now this is your roundabout way of saying, Sam I won't like her if you like her, which is pretty damn precious considering what happened with Lindsey," Sam jabbed and Dean pointed at him.
"That doesn't count. She came onto me, they were twins, I was drunk. But that is also not the point!" Dean told him in exasperation and Sam squinted at him.
"Dean, you went home with both of them," Sam reminded him and Dean grinned, before rubbing his jaw.
"Yeah, like I said, they were twins, man!" Dean explained and Sam groaned.
"You know what, your right leave her alone. You're such a slut," Sam told him, and Dean rolled his eyes.
"Exactly, I can just be nice to the girl. Her life is messed up enough, and she needs it. How old is she anyway? She just needs someone to help out, not hook up, Sam," Dean told him and it was surprisingly insightful and compassionate of him. Sam was calling bullshit.
"So, that's it! You think she is too young and you'll just cause her problems, but you don't have too Dean! There is this thing called a relationship, where you can actually enjoy being with the person. I know it's been awhile but you deserve to be happy, Dean," Sam told him and Dean pursed his lips, licking the edge as his thought.
"You know what, quit trying to get in my head, you'd think you were my shrink," Dean told him in disgust, actually walking away this time.
"You don't have a shrink!" Sam exclaimed in aggravation.
"Exactly, I don't want one," Dean threw over his shoulder without breaking stride, and Sam grit his teeth in annoyance. If Dean wouldn't listen to him, then it was only his job as his loving little brother to make him realize what was happening. They obviously liked each other, in an annoying obnoxious we both won't admit it kind of way. Even Cas had noticed! He was so socially awkward he still took hints for romance from porn.
"IF this goes badly, it's all your fault, Dean!" Sam called after him, knowing that he was already long gone. With the best intentions and perhaps a little bit of glee Sam turned to go back to Alida's room. She needed the company after all.