A/N: Okay, so there's a story behind this one: A while back a reader mistook Aini NuFire as the author of this series and asked her if she would consider writing a story where human Cas and Charlie met. So after Aini told me this, we decided to collaborate on a story where that scenario happens! This is it.
Title: Night At the Meseum (co-written with Aini NuFire-she wrote Charlie's POV and I wrote Cas')
Setting: Season 9 definitely AU, like none of this would fit properly into canon so just enjoy it as a one-shot ;P
Warnings: none besides some destruction of property...
Charlie pulled her yellow AMC Gremlin to a stop in front of the secret hideout for the Men of Letters. The Impala wasn't sitting in the drive, but it could have been in the garage. She hadn't been able to get a hold of Sam or Dean to tell them she was coming, or see whether they were even home and not across the country on a hunt or something. Charlie was hoping they were here, though, because she'd found a case nearby that was right up their alley.
Slipping her bag over one shoulder, she exited her car and crossed the gravel drive toward the steps that descended into a small dugout where the door stood. Raising her fist, she gave the door a few good pounds, then stuffed her hands in her pockets and rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.
A few moments later, the door creaked open a few inches with a grating screech, and a dark-haired stranger peered out at her.
Charlie hesitated. "Oh, hi. Uh, I'm looking for Sam and Dean."
The man roved his gaze up and down her warily, eyes crinkled as though trying to see right through her.
"I'm Charlie," she offered, holding out a hand in a proffered shake.
He stared at it for a moment before his suspicious expression morphed into recognition. "Charlie…oh, that Charlie."
She beamed at his tone, pleased that the Winchesters seemed to talk positively about her. Not that she expected the opposite, but she hadn't presumed they'd mention her to just anyone.
"Nice to meet you…?"
He clumsily took her hand and gave it a jerky shake. "Castiel."
Now it was her turn to gape like a dork. "Wait, you're Castiel? The Castiel?"
He tilted his head. "The only one I'm aware of."
She almost squealed in delight at finally getting to meet the famed angel who rebelled against Heaven to help the brothers, but then frowned at his black turtleneck sweater and jeans. "Where's the beloved trench coat?"
His brow furrowed. "The what?"
"You know, your signature get-up!" Charlie gestured to his clothes. "It's like your super angel cape."
Castiel shifted his weight. "Well, I'm actually not an angel anymore. I lost my grace, so I'm human now. And I lost that coat. Fitting given the circumstances, I suppose."
Charlie's brows shot upward. She'd read about Castiel in the Supernatural books, and the image she'd conjured of the brave, sometimes adorkable angel…didn't quite fit the guy standing in front of her. But then, he apparently wasn't an angel anymore. Which was kind of sadly tragic.
"Um, sorry?"
"Don't be. It was due to my own stupidity." Castiel stepped back, opening the door wider. "Excuse me, I'm still learning the nuances of human customs; please come in."
"Thanks," she said, feeling a little awkward. "Are Sam and Dean here? I tried calling to tell them I was stopping by."
"They're on a case in Montana," Castiel replied as he led the way down the stairs. "Somewhere in the mountains that's out of cell phone range."
Charlie pursed her mouth in slight disappointment. "Oh, so they'll be gone for several more days, huh?"
"Most likely." Castiel paused in the middle of the war room to abruptly turn and face her. "Are you in trouble? Do you need help?"
Charlie smiled at the concerned note in his voice. "No, nothing like that. I'm actually on a case that's nearby and thought I'd see if they wanted to come check it out with me. No biggie, though."
Castiel's frown deepened. "What kind of case?"
"A haunting," she replied, excitement bubbling up again. It was just the kind of hunt she'd always been intrigued by. "There's this really small museum a couple towns over that's been experiencing some weird phenomena—display items getting moved around, strange markings on the walls."
"Has anyone been killed?"
Charlie shook her head. "Not yet. But hey, why let a ghost get that far, right?"
Castiel drew his brows together in contemplation. "So you're going to go searching for this ghost?"
"Yup. Pretty sure I know whose it is, too." She slung her shoulder bag around to the front and dug out the flyer she'd printed from the Internet. "The museum recently acquired a collection from an archeological dig in Egypt, including real mummified remains." Charlie paused, an idea striking her. "Hey, want to come investigate with me?"
Castiel blinked. "What? Me?"
"Sure! Just because you don't have your angel powers anymore doesn't mean you don't still have mad skills. Come on, it'll be fun!" It would also give Charlie the chance to get to know the angel she'd only read about in books. Okay, ex-angel, but still.
Castiel rolled his shoulder uncertainly. "Well, I suppose since it does sound like a straightforward case…"
"Awesome!" Charlie exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "And I have the perfect cover for us to go in under."
Castiel watched his new companion as she drove toward their destination in the odd-looking beat up little yellow car that seemed to match her personality. She never seemed to stop talking. Not that it was a bad thing, exactly. She wasn't annoying or anything, it was just strange to hear someone talk constantly. Sam and Dean weren't exactly what one could call garrulous, after all. In fact, Charlie seemed to be the exact opposite of the Winchester brothers, but Castiel had to admit that there was something about her that grew on him. Perhaps it was simply her seemingly perpetually bubbly attitude.
However, he had his reservations about their cover for the hunt.
"I don't understand, why would antique appraisers be better than FBI?" he asked, pulling at the tie and cardigan he was wearing. Charlie had raided Dean's closet for something more appropriate for him to wear. Castiel had been surprised Dean even owned something like this, but then supposed it was probably for the same reason he was using it; disguise.
"It makes more sense," Charlie shrugged. "Besides, I'm uh, not too great at being FBI as it turns out. Anyway, this way we won't have people up in our business all the time. The museum staff should allow us to work alone. And they know we're coming." Charlie had called ahead, telling the museum their aliases and that they would be there within a couple hours.
"I suppose," Castiel nodded. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. He wasn't exactly the best at passing as FBI either, without Sam or Dean to cover for him if he made a mistake. He was still learning human mannerisms.
While Charlie drove, he turned to the information on the museum she had printed off, looking it over. It seemed odd that an Egyptian mummy might be the cause of the ghostly upset, but not entirely unfathomable. They were quite well preserved, after all, and were often kept with some of their most precious and personal possessions, so if this was the case, they could run into quite a problem trying to figure out what the ghost was attached to if simply burning the mummy didn't work. But that was all speculation. They wouldn't know for sure until they actually saw the situation.
They made it to the museum in good time and Charlie locked the car, going over to Castiel and fixing his tie, straightening it and tucking it more firmly into his cardigan.
"Okay, just remember, we are here as authenticators, and you are Marty Herbert and I am Susan Asimov. Got it?"
"Yes, I believe so," Cas said, frowning as she fiddled with his clothes.
"Great! Follow my lead." She slung her knapsack over one shoulder and strode off toward the entrance. Cas hurried to catch up with her.
They went straight up to the desk where a woman was standing.
"Hi, I'm Susan Asimov, and this is my colleague Marty Herbert. We are the authenticators."
"Yes, I was told you would be coming," the woman said, picking up a phone on the desk. "Just a second and I'll call the curator."
Cas looked around the large entrance room. There weren't really any displays there, but there were plenty of fliers for self-guided tours and signs telling about what one could see in the museum. He saw a poster for the new Egyptian exhibit promising ancient artifacts and a real mummy. Overall, the museum didn't exactly look like it was haunted but then in his experience places that were rarely did.
Soon though, the curator, a middle-aged man in a nice suit, walked up to the desk. He smiled and shook both Castiel's and Charlie's hands.
"Welcome Miss Asimov and Mr. Herbert, I'm very happy to welcome you to our museum. You came at just the right time. There are several pieces we need authenticated before we can properly display them. If you will follow me, I will show you to the room where you can do that."
Cas was slightly surprised he had taken to their cover so quickly, but wasn't going to complain. He and Charlie were led down an employees only hallway and to a restricted room with several crates and artifacts laid out on tables.
"These are from the new exhibit, and we just really want to get a date on them for authenticity."
"Well, that's what we do best," Charlie said.
"Before you do though, would you take a look at this?" the curator asked, pulling something out of a crate beneath the table. "We've been having some discord among the workers here as to where they really think this comes from."
He pulled out a small pot that had no distinguishing features as far as Castiel could see. The curator laid it on a cloth on the table and Charlie picked up a loupe from a collection of tools there and bent to look at it studiously.
"Hm, it is an interesting artifact," she said. "Good condition." She turned to Cas and looked at him like she wanted him to add something to the conversation.
He cleared his throat. "Yes, very for its apparent age."
"I think that's what is giving my staff trouble," the curator said. "What is your opinion on it?"
"Well," Charlie said slowly, eyes now opened wide and pleading with Cas, who didn't know what to do. "It is possible it could be Greek."
The curator frowned. "Greek? This was found in Central America."
"Of course," Charlie floundered. "I didn't mean Greek-Greek, I just meant, you know, uh…"
"Like Greek, it does share certain similarities in the make up of the clay," Cas said quickly. "Certain tribes in that area were known for their…advanced firing techniques, almost as good as the Greeks."
"I didn't know that," the curator said curiously. "Will that help you determine the exact period?"
"It's difficult to say, let me consult with my colleague," Charlie said and turned to Castiel, turning him away from the curator and lowering her voice. "Can't you just…you know, sniff it or something and tell him?"
"I have no powers, remember?" Castiel said blandly.
Charlie winced. "Oh, sorry, I forgot. Well, we better think of something or we're just going to get kicked out."
"Mayan," Castiel said suddenly. "Definitely Mayan."
"Really?" the curator said.
"Yes, probably around somewhere from 800 to 600 BC," Castiel added.
"We think it was used to catch blood from the human sacrifices," Charlie said. "Hence the red color of the clay."
The curator stared at them for a moment then shook his head. "Well, you know better about that stuff than I do. I never took much interest in the Americas. I suppose I'll leave you to this then. I'll come back to check on your progress in a while."
Charlie and Cas both breathed a sigh of relief as he left and Charlie instantly pulled out an EMF meter.
"Okay, now we can get down to business." She turned it on and started searching the room, already getting readings, especially as she went over closer to the doorway.
"How long do you think it will be before he comes back?" she asked.
"A while probably," Castiel said.
"Let's take a quick tour then," she said and Cas followed her as they followed the readings on the EMF.
They turned a corner at the end of the hallway where the meter was redlining and making a continual whine.
"This has got to be something," Charlie said then stopped and looked up at the wall. "Whoa."
Castiel looked up at what she was seeing and frowned as he saw several deep gouges carved into the wall at about shoulder height.
"What do you think that is?" Charlie asked.
Castiel touched one and shook his head. "If I didn't know better, I would say that it was made with a sword."
"A mummy with a sword," Charlie said, her level of excitement spiking like the readings on the EMF reader. "Maybe it was one of Pharaoh's guards. Or even a Medjay!"
Castiel frowned at her. "We should probably take a look at the mummy before making such conclusions."
"Right, of course," she said quickly, even as she couldn't help but keep grinning. Granted, she knew that a ghost meant they would likely have to burn the mummified remains in the end, which was unfortunate. But at the same time, this was no ordinary ghost, and that lent an air of mystery to the case.
"What are you doing?" a voice called out.
Charlie jolted so abruptly she almost dropped the EMF scanner, which she quickly hid behind her back before turning to the woman who'd walked in on them.
"Oh," Charlie fumbled. "We're the authenticators for the museum's recent acquisition. And we just couldn't help admiring the rest of your collection before we got to work."
The young Asian woman regarded them suspiciously through black-rimmed glasses. After a moment, she adjusted her grip on the cardboard box in her arms and turned her nose up slightly. "Well, don't touch anything or you might be accused of breaking it."
"We'll be careful," Charlie promised, holding up a 'scout's honor' salute.
"May we ask you about these marks on the wall?" Castiel spoke up.
The woman frowned and came closer, the contents in her box rattling slightly. Charlie noticed a stack of folders, pencil holder, and a small potted plant. It looked like the woman had been clearing out her desk.
The staff member's frown deepened as she surveyed the gouges on the wall. "Those weren't there yesterday. Ugh, I'll probably be blamed for that too now."
Castiel canted his head at her belongings. "Your employment has been terminated?" he asked.
Charlie winced at his lack of tact.
The woman drew her shoulders back. "I was just interning here. But with the freaky-ass stuff going on, I'm better off getting out."
Charlie perked up. "What freaky stuff?"
"Like that." The ex-employee nodded to the wall. "Display items getting switched around, broken. I tried to tell them it wasn't me, but hey, blame the new girl, right?" She shook her head and scowled. "I should've gone into pre-med like my parents wanted." Shifting her hold on the box, she started toward the exit.
"Wait," Charlie called. "When did these strange occurrences start happening?"
The young woman shrugged. "I don't know, a few days, maybe a week?"
"Did it begin when the artifacts from Egypt arrived?" Castiel asked.
She furrowed her brow. "Um, I guess so. Why?"
"No reason," Charlie replied. "And, uh, good luck. Don't give up on your dreams."
The intern rolled her eyes and pivoted around to walk out.
Charlie turned back to Castiel. "We need to take a look at that mummy."
The mummified remains were being kept in the adjoining storage room to the other artifacts, so the two of them made their way there. Charlie pulled out the EMF scanner again and waved it over the crate. The readings edged into the red with a high-pitched squeal.
"I think we've found our ghost," Charlie declared, then frowned in contemplation. "Hm, we'll have to wait till after everyone's gone home to burn the bones."
"The museum staff are not going to appreciate that," Castiel said gravely.
Charlie grimaced in agreement. It was too bad. The museum had been advertising this new acquisition in the hopes of gaining more patronage. It was difficult for small museums like this to get put on the map.
"They could always blame the incident on the curse of the mummy," she said. "I bet that would gain some attraction from the public."
"What curse?" Castiel asked.
"You know, whoever disturbs the mummy will either die, get sick, or have really bad luck," Charlie explained.
Castiel was now regarding the crate warily. "So…if we open this to burn it, we'll be cursed?"
She opened her mouth to refute that, but then paused. "Oh, uh. Well, I don't think it's actually cursed. Just, the museum could play up the hype."
Or so she really hoped. Besides, she hadn't read about anyone at the museum becoming sick, getting into a freak accident, or dying. And unless they counted the poor intern's getting fired as bad luck, there probably wasn't a curse.
Probably.
"We should get back to the other artifacts, pretend to look busy," Charlie suggested.
Castiel agreed, and they went into the other room again. The curator came to check on their progress, to which Charlie assured him that the museum had gotten quite the collection. After he left, she dragged Castiel off to find the public restroom.
"We'll hide in here until everyone's gone."
Castiel gave the Men's door a dubious look. "Why here?"
"Because cleaning crews don't come by until early morning before opening. No one will check in here." She gave Castiel a slight push, and then ducked into the ladies' room herself.
Sitting on top of the toilet tank and watching the digits tick by on her watch was incredibly mind-numbing, and nowhere near as exciting as she thought hunts should be. Funny how the tedious grunt work was never mentioned in songs or tales.
An hour after everyone should have gone home, Charlie finally crept out of the stall and peeked into the gallery. It was dark, and everything was quiet. She slipped over to the Men's room and knocked faintly.
"Castiel."
A moment later the door opened and the ex-angel emerged, looking antsy. "We should finish this quickly and leave."
Charlie grinned. "Easy as pie."
"I never understood that reference," Castiel said as he followed her back toward the storage rooms. "Making pie is not easy. Or does it refer to eating pie? Because Dean has proven that is quite an easy task. If it were humanly possible, I think he would inhale it."
Charlie chuckled. "Easy as Dean scarfing down pie," she agreed. She pulled a lighter out of her pocket. "Okay, here we go."
They had to watch their step as they entered the second storage room, and Charlie clicked the lighter on, casting an orange halo around the area. They both pulled up short. The crate's lid had been pushed slightly to the side, smears of disturbed dust around the tracks. Charlie's jaw slackened as she peered over the edge.
The mummy was gone.
"Um…okay, change of plans?" Charlie inquired, gulping.
Castiel frowned as he peered over her shoulder into the empty coffin. "That is strange. Usually ghosts don't use their actual bodies to move around. Perhaps it is a curse."
"You've been watching too many movies," Charlie said, seeming to try and hide her sudden nervousness.
"Actually, I haven't," Castiel replied truthfully.
"What if it's just using its body to get around because it can?" Charlie said. "Maybe whatever the ghost is anchored to is wrapped up with it. A lot of times, the embalmers would tuck jewels and charms throughout the wrappings. That's why the Victorians thought it was fun to hold mummy unwrapping parties to find the treasures." She shuddered. "Creepy."
"One of the more questionable social pastimes of the Victorian era," Castiel agreed. "This may be an advantage in our hunt, however. Since the mummy is seemingly corporeal, it will not be as difficult to track down."
"Speaking of which, we should probably do that," Charlie said quickly.
Castiel nodded. "Yes, we should."
He pulled out a flashlight and led the way down the darkened corridors of the museum. Every time the flashlight caught one of the displays it sent strange silhouettes across the floor and walls, which caused them both to be on high alert.
"Really, how hard can an ancient mummy be to find?" Charlie asked after a while. "It's not like he can actually run fast."
"Not that we know of, anyway," Castiel corrected and then caught a sound off to the right of them, down another hallway. "Wait."
"What is it?" Charlie whispered, inching closer to Castiel, still gripping the lighter in her hand.
"I heard something." Castiel raised the flashlight, peering into the darkness, and tried to see if anything was there. That was when the light started flickering and finally went out. The temperature also drastically plummeted.
"Oh crap," Charlie said in a small voice.
Castiel was already reaching for his angel blade when a loud crashing clank was heard and a figure rose out of the darkness right in front of them, brandishing a sword.
Charlie yelped and leapt back just in time as the blade sliced a downward arc that nearly cut her in half.
Castiel just barely got a chance to notice that this was not the mummy in question, but in fact, a knight in full suit of armor, before the thing turned on him and raised its sword again. Castiel ducked and rolled, the blade catching him across the upper arm but missing his head. He hissed and leapt back further as the knight continued to advance, raising its sword again for another blow.
"Hey, assbutt!"
The knight turned at Charlie's shout and got a face full of salt. Something roared angrily and a ghostly shadow flew out of the armor, leaving it to clatter to the ground in various pieces.
Charlie looked down at it with an expression halfway between exhilaration and fear before she looked over at Castiel.
"Um, well, that happened."
Castiel began to climb to his feet and Charlie hurried forward, hopping over the pieces of armor to help him. He hissed as she touched his injured arm.
"Hey, you okay?" she asked, plucking at the sweater to see better.
"I'll be fine, it's just a scratch," Castiel assured her, then cocked his head to one side. "Assbutt?"
She shrugged. "Hey, it's a good line. Hope you don't mind."
Castiel shook his head and bent to inspect the armor, turning the flashlight back on. Now that the ghost was gone it was working once again. He touched a slick of dark goo on the flat side of the sword and brought his finger to the light for closer inspection.
"Is that ecto?" Charlie asked, leaning over him.
"I believe so," Castiel replied, straightening up again. "Which means we are definitely dealing with a ghost." That did raise the question however, as to what the mummy ghost was doing in a suit of armor. And where the mummy's body had gone.
"Well, I guess that explains the sword marks on the walls," Charlie mused. "But what the heck? Did the mummy decide to steal a suit of armor or is this something else entirely?"
"I think we need to do some more investigating," Castiel decided. "We came rather ill prepared."
Charlie looked a bit sheepish. "Yeah, I guess I got overly excited. Here, I brought a crowbar though; the iron should repel any ghosties in the vicinity."
Castiel took the crowbar that Charlie pulled out of her knapsack as she kept a firm grip on the can of salt, and they advanced forward again, taking another corridor into a different exhibit. Castiel looked around and caught sight of an empty spot along one wall.
"Charlie, look at this," he said, pointing to the spot. A plaque that sat in front of it stated that it was supposed to be the residence of a suit of armor.
"Well, that answers the question about where the armor came from," she said. "But not why it was taking a midnight stroll."
The flashlight started to flicker again and the two of them took ready positions, brandishing their weapons.
A scraping metal clank sounded out down the hall they had come from, heralding the ghost's return to the suit of armor. But as they listened to the clanging footsteps advancing in one direction, Castiel caught another sound behind them, like shuffling thuds.
"Charlie," he said urgently.
"What?" she asked.
"I think we have more company."
They both cast a look behind them to see what they were dealing with.
Out of the shadows shuffled an actual animated mummy.
Charlie's mouth dropped open at the desiccated corpse shambling toward them. Worn pieces of wrapping hung in tatters from its neck and arms, leaving a brown, leathery face and hands fully visible.
A metallic clang had Charlie whipping her head the other direction as the walking suit of armor made its appearance. She glanced back and forth between them several times, almost giving herself whiplash.
"Um…" There were two ghosts?
The knight stood at one end of the gallery, sword raised, while the mummy blocked the main exit, with Charlie and Castiel trapped in between. Then they charged.
But instead of attacking the would-be hunters, the suit of armor threw itself at the mummy, who let out an enraged shriek as it collided with the bulky body. Charlie and Castiel stumbled backward, their backs hitting the wall, and gaped at the knight and mummy suddenly going at each other. Both animated spirits were somewhat clumsy—the knight with its heavy joints and the mummy with some of its limbs misshapen. They barreled into a display case, knocking over the priceless vase within and shattering it.
The knight swung his sword, but even disfigured, the mummy was quick and ducked under the swing. The blade struck the wall with a thud, taking out a whole chink. As the knight struggled to wrench his sword free, the mummy swept around behind the armor, and looked toward Charlie and Castiel.
Charlie felt an invisible tug, and suddenly her can of salt was yanked from her hands and thrown through the air. "Hey!"
It hit the suit of armor, spilling salt down its side. In a swish of gray smoke, the ghost was momentarily banished and the suit collapsed into pieces with a raucous clatter.
The mummy turned fully toward its audience, waves of malevolence wafting off of it.
Charlie tensed. "Oh crap," she squeaked.
Castiel stepped in front of her, brandishing his crowbar, but before he could get close enough, the mummy waved its arm and Castiel went flying through the air to crash into another display case, at least this time with less fragile items.
Charlie's gaze snapped back to the mummy, terror making her heart jackhammer behind her rib cage. She was now weaponless, unless one of these artifacts was made of iron. She started frantically scanning for one nearby while the mummy advanced on Castiel, who lay in a dazed heap of broken glass.
Charlie caught a glint in the dim light, and straightened as her eyes registered a bronze amulet around the mummy's neck. It was the only object she could see on the corpse, and dearly hoped that was what they needed to destroy.
Sucking in a sharp breath, Charlie took a running leap at the mummy, scrambling to yank the chain off. The mummy's dried, gnarled fingers clutched at her jacket and flipped her over onto her back. She gasped as the wind was punched from her lungs.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Castiel push himself up and stumble forward with the crowbar again. The mummy took a step back from Charlie and flicked its hand again. The iron crowbar went flying out of Castiel's hand. Then the ghost strode forward and grabbed Cas by his throat, lifting him off the ground.
His legs kicked desperately as he clawed at the mummy's wrinkled arm, to no avail. Charlie was still trying to catch her breath while Castiel struggled for his. Then she spotted the pieces of armor rattling as they began to reassemble themselves.
Oh no.
The crowbar was too far away, so Charlie started crawling toward her container of salt left lying on the floor. For some reason, the reanimated knight ignored her, and lumbered toward the mummy. Charlie's heart seized in fear. Could ghosts sense an ex-angel?
She'd just reached the salt and scooped it up, rolling upright to get to her feet, when she saw the knight swing his sword and deftly cut the amulet from the mummy's neck. One of the chain links caught on the edge of the blade, and then the knight was flinging the piece of jewelry Charlie's way. The mummy dropped Cas and whirled on the suit of armor.
Charlie had no idea what to make of all this, except that Castiel was coughing on the floor as two enraged spirits duked it out practically on top of him. Charlie fished out a lighter from her pocket and fumbled to get a flame ignited. She slapped the amulet down in the spilled pile of salt and threw the lighter on top of it.
It took a few seconds while the knight seemed to be distracting the mummy, but then the dehydrated body jerked, and a horrible wail went up as the ghost inside burst into flames. The now vacated mummified remains toppled to the floor, dark gunk leaking out of it.
The suit of armor straightened and turned toward Charlie. She went rigid, her lighter now unreachable in the flames still consuming the amulet, unless she wanted to risk burning her hand yanking it out.
Before she could decide whether it was worth it to maim herself, the suit of armor relaxed, half turned, and began clanking back to its empty display case where it climbed onto the platform and settled, limbs slackening with a final grating sound.
Charlie blinked stupidly, but then shook herself out of it and rushed over to Castiel. The ex-angel was starting to sit up, one hand rubbing at his throat.
"Are you okay?" Charlie exclaimed.
Castiel opened his mouth to speak, but ended up coughing instead. He nodded.
Charlie glanced at the mummy corpse, then at the suit of armor, now back in its proper resting place. "What the heck just happened?"
Castiel cleared his throat, voice coming out particularly rough. "It seems the…suit of armor was…" He coughed and grimaced. "Protecting its territory."
Charlie's brows rose. So all the weird stuff that had been happening—the broken artifacts, marks on the wall—they were just signs of two really old spirits duking it out?
"Um, should we try to salt and burn the…?" She surreptitiously jerked her chin toward the suit of armor.
Castiel frowned, and he started to push himself up. Charlie grabbed his arm and helped him all the way to his feet. The ex-angel was silent for a long moment as he gazed at the now silent suit of armor. "The ghost seems to have become dormant."
"Maybe we should leave it, then," Charlie suggested, eyeing the thing warily. "I mean, only the mummy tried to kill us."
Castiel's mouth pressed into a tight line. "I don't think Sam and Dean would advise that."
"But he was like, a good ghost!" Charlie protested. "He helped me salt and burn the amulet, and like you said, he was just protecting the museum." She nodded resolutely. "I think we should leave him to his noble charge."
Castiel arched a dismayed brow at her, but didn't try to talk her out of it. "I…suppose that is acceptable. We can keep checking in, make sure the ghost stays dormant."
Charlie beamed, and hurried around to gather up the salt container and crowbar, which she stuffed back into her knapsack. They should probably put the mummy back in its crate, but she didn't really feel like touching the thing. Maybe the intern could get her job back when the museum staff realized she wasn't responsible for the mess, though good luck finding an explanation for…this.
Castiel was still rubbing his bruised neck, so Charlie decided it was better if they left quickly, get him back to the bunker. On their way out, she paused by the suit of armor and gave it a Girl's Scout salute.
"As you were, soldier."
They got back to the bunker by dawn and Castiel felt utterly exhausted. He was getting more used to the overall aches and pains that accompanied the typical hunt, but that didn't make it anymore comfortable to experience.
"Well, that was exciting," Charlie commented as she parked the vehicle and they got out to head inside. She had a surprising glow in her eyes that made Cas even more tired just looking at it.
"You seem very energized for having been up all night fighting territorial ghosts," he told her, slightly envious. He had never appreciated the concept of pure exhaustion until he had become human.
Charlie waved her hand dismissively. "Please, pulling all-nighters is kinda what I do. Hunting is just a perk. Way cooler than sitting and staring at a computer screen for hours."
Castiel shook his head with a small smile. He had to admit that there was something catching about Charlie's enthusiasm. She made a very enjoyable hunting partner.
They cleaned up and Charlie insisted on patching Cas up, though he really hadn't been hurt that badly. The cut on his arm didn't even need stitches. His throat was still sore though from his near strangulation, and Charlie got him an ice pack so it wouldn't swell dangerously.
"I don't know about you, but I'm starving," Charlie told him as she cleaned up the first aid kit. "Hunting really gives you an appetite. How about you?"
"I could eat," Castiel smiled in reply, his stomach grumbling at the mention of food.
"I can make pancakes," Charlie informed him and set to work, rummaging through the kitchen and pulling out the proper ingredients.
Fifteen minutes later, they were enjoying tall stacks of pancakes dripping in butter and syrup and the exhaustion was starting to overcome Castiel. He saw Charlie trying to stifle a yawn.
"You wanna watch a movie or something?" Charlie asked him. "I'm kinda too charged to sleep but I think we deserve to relax."
Castiel nodded and they headed into the den. He sat on the couch as Charlie found a movie and started playing it before settling next to Castiel and grabbing a pillow to hug against her chest.
"Thanks for going on the hunt with me, Castiel," she said. "You're a pretty awesome hunting partner."
Cas smiled and turned to her. "You are too."
It wasn't long before Charlie nodded off and slumped against Castiel's shoulder. Castiel fondly watched the red-head sleep for a few seconds before he too nodded off, exhaustion taking over.
A few hours later, Sam and Dean returned from their own hunt, waking Castiel and Charlie as they clomped down the metal stairs.
"Hey!" Sam grinned as he saw Charlie. "Look who's here."
"What are you doing in our neck of the woods, kiddo?" Dean asked with a fond smile as she got off the couch and gave them both a hug.
"Oh, ya know, just stopping by to say hi," Charlie told him. "Gotta check up on you two every once in a while."
"I see you met Cas," Sam added.
"Yep, we've been having a great time." Charlie winked at him and Cas smiled back.
"So what have you been up to?" Dean asked with a slight frown.
Castiel shrugged. "Oh, not much."
"Just hanging out with my new BFF," Charlie added nonchalantly.
"Well, while you're here, Dean and I think we found another case, you two want in?" Sam asked.
Cas and Charlie looked at each other and shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
They all sat down at the library table, discussing the case and laughing about various things, and Castiel decided that being human wasn't entirely terrible after all.
Thanks to Aini NuFire for writing this story with me! If you want more awesome Cas and TFW centric stories, slash free and with lots of feels, check out her profile!
Hopefully more stories will be along soon!