Hello! I'm home from work sick today and I decided to go through and edit a few chapters I've been working on and post one while I was at it. I binged season 10 a few weeks ago and let's just say I wasn't pleased with it. I will probably incorporate some of the events from season 10 into this story, but I'm not quite sure how yet. I'm excited for what's to come though!
Thank you all so much for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing! It really means a lot to me. I've got some pretty cool things in the works, so enjoy!
Disclaimer: In no way do I have any rights to Supernatural or any of the characters you are familiar with. I only own Amriel and any OCs that pop up along the way.
Chapter Nine: Cold
Amriel woke up with a start, realizing that she was in a strange place on a bed that wasn't the one she had been sleeping on for the past two months. The room is dim and she can hear the low murmur of voices along with something she couldn't place. She sat up and glanced around, first spotting a TV that was playing some show where women were yelling at each other, and then she saw Castiel in the corner of the room, facing the wall as he drew Enochian sigils with some white writing utensil.
"Cas?" she called out, watching him whirl around and a seeing look of relief cross his face. He set down the chalk and made his way over to the bed, where he sat on the edge of the mattress and looked her over. He set one of his hands on the side of her face, his thumb tracing her cheek gently as he smiled down at her, glad she was finally awake.
"You were unconscious for three hours, Amriel. I couldn't carry you back to the house, so I checked us into this motel," he explained, unable to take his eyes off of hers. "You didn't have to use your powers to heal me- I would've been fine."
The blonde looked almost offended at the thought of just letting him heal on his own when she had the power to fix him. Amriel took the hand that was on her face and held it between both of hers, feeling how warm and rough it was as she shook her head.
"I couldn't let you suffer any pain, no matter how trivial you think it is. As long as I have the ability to heal you, I will," she told him in a firm voice, and he knew it was no use arguing with her.
"Then thank you. I wasn't sure of what powers the fallen angels could use." He reluctantly moved out of her grasp and went back to drawing sigils. "I'll have to keep it in mind if we come across any of our siblings."
"I try not to use them unless I need to," Amriel said as she looked around the motel room more carefully now. "I haven't done it in so long that I guess I over exerted myself. I'm sorry for worrying you."
"Just don't do it again," he said with a laugh, letting her know that he was joking with her, but also serious at the same time. "While you were asleep, I thought about something that I'd like to discuss with you. I believe it's time for us to leave that abandoned house. It's far too cold outside for us to stay much longer. The electricity doesn't work and I have no idea when the water will be shut off- truthfully, it's been on for far too long. Would you like to stay here indefinitely? I think we have enough money, and it's pretty inexpensive."
Amriel looked around the room and noticed the couch, small desk and chair, and the kitchenette with a refrigerator, stove, and oven. Maybe she and Castiel could figure out how to cook something other than what they made in the microwave at the gas station. She assumed that combined they would have enough money to stay here, and so she decided that it would be a good idea.
"Let's do that then. Can we return to the house and get our things, though?" She watched Cas glance at the alarm clock beside the bed and furrow his eyebrows before he nodded.
"Yes, we can get them tonight. The snow has stopped for now, are you well enough to go?"
Once Amriel nodded, Castiel said that they would leave as soon as he finished a few more sigils. While he did that, the blonde looked over the ones he had already completed and was pleased to see some she had used at the house that he had complimented.
"Okay, let's get going then," Cas said when he finished, grabbing the motel key and his cell phone. Amriel followed him out of the room and they went to the lobby, where Castiel talked to the woman behind the desk and told her that they would be checking in indefinitely.
Amriel liked living in this motel. It had been two weeks and at first she had found it strange and confining, much like her vessel, but she liked having working heat, electricity, and even a television so she could learn more about humans through their media.
She and Cas would cook things on the stove and so far they had only set off the fire alarm once, and they watched game shows like Jeopardy! whenever they weren't working the night shift. Amriel found that they were quite good at the history questions, but they did horribly at any category pertaining to culture. She liked having the television on all the time- the constant sounds and chattering reminded her of Heaven, and it was comforting.
Cas was currently asleep in bed and Amriel had showered and gotten ready for her morning shift as quietly as she could so she wouldn't wake him. He had been lethargic lately and he seemed to be coughing a lot for the past two days. Amriel was worried about him, but of course Cas waved it off like it was nothing.
He had walked back from the gas station in a snow storm, having forgotten to bring gloves or a hat with him, and after that he had been less than healthy and Amriel didn't know what to do about it. Maybe she would ask Nora about illnesses when she was at work.
Slipping on her shoes and picking up her phone, Amriel sat on the edge of the bed beside Castiel and shook his shoulder gently.
"Cas," she said softly, watching as he began to stir. He rolled onto his back and rubbed his face, but his eyes were still closed. Amriel frowned and said in a firm voice, "Castiel."
"Hm?" he asked, blinking a few times until she came into focus. Cas stared up at her, wondering if he was still dreaming. She was wearing a dark purple shirt that complimented her hair and the blue gas station vest, and she looked absolutely ethereal.
"Are you okay?" Amriel looked at him curiously and pressed her hand against his forehead like she had seen on medical shows. He seemed warmer than he normally was, and his face was flushed as he yawned.
"I'm fine, Elle, just tired…" his groggy voice trailed off and Amriel's breath caught in her throat. What did he just call her? Was this a nickname, like how she called him Cas?
"You are ill- I'll see if I can get you medicine before I leave work. Text me if you need anything and I will return as soon as I can."
Amriel pressed a kiss to his forehead and she saw a brief smile cross his lips before his eyes closed again and she knew it was time to leave.
"Hello Nora," the angel smiled four hours into her shift, when her manager walked in through the front doors appearing for the first time that day. Amriel had been refilling the ice in the soda machine, so she had a good vantage point over the store from the top of a step stool.
"Hi Amy. You haven't heard from Steve today have you? I tried calling him but he didn't pick up," Nora said as she walked over to her employee, taking the empty bucket from her hands so she could get down safely.
"Oh, yeah actually. He told me that he's sick, so I offered to take his shift tonight and tomorrow. I told him I'd bring over some cold medicine during my break since he shouldn't be leaving his house."
Nora didn't know that her employees were actually staying together, but she was glad to hear that he had a place of his own. She had been worried about him for a while, and once Amy showed up it seemed like he was doing better. Nora could tell that there was something going on between Steve and Amy, though. She saw the way he looked at her, entranced by every move she made, though she wasn't sure if Amy felt the same way. Nora shook her head- she was thinking into it way too much.
"Why don't you go now? I'm sure you could use a break anyways," Nora moved down the aisle containing medicine and grabbed a box of strong cold meds, then she took a few of those microwaveable soup cups too and put them in a bag for Amy. "Take these for him and tell Steve I said to feel better."
Amriel took the bag and thanked Nora for letting her go, and the older woman said it was nothing. Nora watched the girl grab her coat and shrug it on over her vest, wrapping her scarf around her neck a few times and zipping her jacket so she was bundled up.
"Come back in like an hour. Have some lunch while you're gone. I'll watch the store."
The former angel nodded and left the gas station, trudging through the slush for about ten minutes until she got to the motel. She walked into the room and closed the door behind her gently, looking up to see that Cas wasn't in bed where she had left him.
"Castiel?" she called out, her gray eyes frantically searching the small room for any trace of him. She noticed that light poured out from underneath the closed bathroom door and the water was running from the shower, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Tossing the bag onto the bed and kicking off her shoes, Amriel knocked on the bathroom door and cracked it open just barely, making sure she didn't invade his privacy, something they had talked about extensively after she walked in while he was showering once before.
"Cas, are you okay in there?"
The man peeked out from behind the blue shower curtain, his hair soaked and skin red from the hot water, and he stared at Amriel for a split second before nodding.
"I'm fine," he rasped, his throat aching as he spoke. "Give me a minute?"
Amriel did just that and shut the door, deciding that she was going to heat up the soup Nora had given her. Reading directions seemed easy enough, so Amriel followed the instructions and removed the plastic film underneath the lid, replaced the lid, and stuck it in the microwave for a designated amount of time. She figured that it would be ready to eat by the time Castiel got out of the shower and dressed, so she looked around for the plastic spoon she made sure to bring for him.
The microwave dinged and Amriel knew better than to grab something immediately after it finished in the device. She had burned her fingers several times in the past two weeks and she wasn't going to again.
When Cas finally appeared from the steamy bathroom, he emerged wearing a pair of plaid pajama pants and nothing else. Amriel glanced up to look at him and her eyes widened slightly at the sight of his exposed upper body- she noticed there was an Enochian protection sigil on his lower stomach in black ink and squinted at it briefly, realizing that was why she hadn't been able to locate him when they had been separated in a grocery store once.
She quickly looked down at the floor, feeling a warmth spread through her for some reason. Cas walked over to the dresser that the TV sat on, which was right in front of where Amriel was sitting, and went into his designated drawer, grabbing a shirt and pulling it on.
"How are you feeling?" Amriel asked, busying herself with the box of medicine and reading the instructions on that as well, trying to get the image of his damp skin and toned body out of her mind.
"Like I'm in a fog. I can't breathe and my throat hurts, but the shower helped a bit," he shrugged, turning and leaning against the dresser. "What's that?"
"Cold medicine. Nora sent me here to make sure you take some and get better soon, which reminds me…" Amriel got up and opened the microwave, hesitantly touching the side of the container before picking it up. "She told me that you need to eat soup. Apparently it's comforting?"
Once she took the lid off she handed him the cup along with a spoon, then she went about opening the package of medicine and popping two pills out of the foil.
"You need to take two every four hours," she told him in a firm voice as she handed him the capsules. Amriel made sure he took them, watching carefully as he swallowed the pills with a swig of water.
"Amriel, you didn't have to do this," Cas said tiredly, taking his first spoonful of soup and bringing it to his lips, sipping at it carefully. The blonde rolled her eyes, knowing it was something she had seen both Castiel and characters on television doing constantly.
"I want to help you, especially after everything you've done for me. Just eat your soup and go back to sleep. I told Nora that I have taken your shift today and tomorrow."
Cas opened his mouth to argue, but once he realized that it would only make his throat ache even more, he nodded. The room was silent save for the sounds of what was called a "soap opera" playing on the TV, and Amriel watched Castiel carefully as he ate, making sure he was going to be okay. She wondered if she could heal him of something like a common cold, but she was sure he wouldn't let her after what happened the last time.
"Maybe if you're better by the weekend, we can go buy liquor and see how much it takes to get me drunk," Amriel offered as an incentive, wondering if it would encourage him to take the medicine and get rest.
They hadn't had any alcohol since their first date, despite having been on two more since then. She enjoyed these dates, especially since they made her feel closer to Castiel for some reason. Was that the point of them? She wasn't exactly sure, but it seemed like that was their purpose.
Castiel made an "mm" sound, agreeing with her as he continued to wolf down the soup. He had no idea chicken and noodles in salty broth could taste so amazing, and it made his throat feel much better than it had before. He wondered how food could make his entire body feel warm from the inside out, and he filed that question away for the next time he saw Dean. If he ever did see Dean again, that was.
They sat together until Amriel had to leave, and as she tied the laces of her shoes, she realized that she really didn't want to go and leave Cas here all by himself. She knew that he would probably just sleep the entire time, but she wanted to watch over him in case he needed her.
"I'll be back late tonight. I'm closing the store," she told him once he was back in bed, "Please let me know if you need anything."
He nodded in response and Amriel kissed his forehead before pressing a quick kiss to his lips and smiling when his eyes widened and a small grin spread across his face.
"Bye, Cas," she whispered softly, brushing his damp hair out of his face and returning to her full height, grabbing her things and walking out the door.