Sam lowered Ava's petite body onto the long table in the centre of the bunker, her skin blushing with the beginnings of a harsh bruise from her day's battles. Her chest rose and fell gently as the two men watched her closely.

"do you think she is okay?" sam asked, leaning down to listen to her shallow breaths.

"oh yeah, she's fine" Dean smirked at Sam."Of course she's not okay, Sam! Gal's been knocking out Z's since she hit the deck back at that hell hole, I told you we should have just dropped her off at that hospital and bounced" Dean raked his hand through his hair, exasperated at how they have ended up babysitting once again.

"let me take a look at her" Cas spoke softly as he emerged from beside Dean and circled the table once, inspecting the small figure. He had found a new respect for the fragilty of humans and although he was not at full power, he felt drawn to helping this girl. Perhaps it was the innocence of her sleeping form, the way her blonde hair pooled around her or the way her rose tinted lips beckoned. Cas shook the thought from his mind as he held a hand over her, examining the damage and repairing what he could. "there doesn't seem to be anything overly damaging, mostly exhaustion and a mild concussion which I've repaired, it wont be long until-"

Cas was cut off as a hand shot up to grasp his own, before he felt a crashing blow to the head knocking him to the floor below, clutching his head. Ava quickly rolled off the bed and searched her holsters to find both empty. The fury and fear rose quickly within her chest as she pulled the mysterious new man to his feet and pushed him against the wall.

"where is it?" she half-yelled, staring into the man's blue eyes who only stared back, unmoving and unflinching. Her hands roamed his stiff form, dipping swiftly between the folds of his trench coat and tracing the contours of his legs in search of a weapon. Finding nothing her eyes met his once more, his gaze was peculiar, as if he was working out a puzzle or even slightly amused.

"If you're finished copping a feel of the angel, then your gun is on the side over there, you dropped it when you passed out" Dean snorted, gesturing to the weapons on the sideboard. Ava pushed back from the angel and grasped her gun from the side, holstering it before turning to the men once more.

"sorry not used to waking up with strange men looking over me" Ava smiled weakly, peering over at the man in the corner whose eyes had remained stuck to Ava as he took a cautious step forward.

"Castiel" he spoke with a low voice. "an angel of the lord. I'm sorry I shocked you, I was trying to heal your wounds, but I'm afraid I could only do half a job" he finished, gesturing to the taring and bloodstains on her shirt.

Suddenly, embarrassed Ava folded her arms across her chest, her shirt was practically soaked in blood and rain and she felt sure everyone could see the outline of her curves. "um, thankyou Castiel" the words seemed alien to her, nobody had ever helped her before, except for last night. "I'm sorry, did you say angel?" Ava shook her head in disbelief, turning to address Dean.

"That I did Princess" Dean laughed. "and there's stranger crap than that out there, but I've heard you're no stranger to a ghoul or toothy SOB" Cas shot Dean a look of shock, clearly not enjoying being called 'strange crap'. Ava couldn't help but smile at the exchange, how on earth had she ended up here with this group of men? Grimacing she pulled a hand through her hair, pulling a wad of cobwebs out in her hand, she had forgotten just how messed up that last place was.

"Oh" Sam stepped forward and offered Ava a towel. "We figured you'd probably want a shower after that place, sure know we do. We have a spare room down the hall, has its own shower room attached so nobody will bother you. We will find something for you to change into" Sam smiled and showed Ava down the hall to her room, leaving Dean and Cas behind.

"So who is she?" Cas asked, still reeling from his previous encounter with the mysterious blonde who took his breath away in more than one way in the space of 5 minutes.

Dean shrugged and nonchalantly picked up his newspaper "some gal we met on our last hunt, doesn't seem to remember much about who she is or what she is, if anything, but she sure can fight like a Winchester" he laughed. Cas took a seat next to Dean and tried to search his mind for clues on the identity of this girl, something in his mind told him he had looked into those eyes before, felt those hands before, it was as though his grace was reaching out to her soul.

"Cas?...CAS!" Dean's yelling brought Cas back to the here and now. "Don't get too comfy, you gotta go shopping for Little Miss Handsy, try to pick something up for her to change into hey buddy" Dean winked.

"I'm an angel of the lord, Dean. Don't you think I have better things to do then shop for panties and tank tops?" Cas's pleas were ignored as two 50 dollar bills were pushed into his jacket pocket. "and why don't you buy yourself something pretty too honey".

Cas found himself stood in the women's section of a Hot Topic bewildered at the numbers, prices and selection of clothes available. Having only ever worn a trenchcoat and suit, he had never found much interest in shopping for alternatives. He tried to search his memory for what she had been wearing when he met, but through the blood and mud it had been hard to tell. Skirts? Too flouncy. Dresses? Too formal?

Reaching up he grabbed what looked to be a simple pair of denim shorts, not too short, but not too warm for the current summer weather. He made his way to the shirts and rifled through a few racks before finding a simple black vest, narrowly avoiding a shirt with some kind of giant mouth and tongue on it. A group of girls nearby were whispering and pointing as he swiped a further 5 more items from the shelves. "Good" he whispered to himself as he put the items in his basket and made his way to the till. However as he reached the desk he realised he had forgotten some pivotal items of clothing... underwear. Taking a deep breath he pushed his way towards the back of the store, passing mannequins with various articles of lingerie on their grey bodies. This was certainly no place for an angel. Unsure of the protocol for underwear he snatched various types and sizes, as well as a few bras and marched to the till dropping his items on the desk, the cashier raising an eyebrow as she beeped the items.

"for a friend" Cas explained as he shoved the items into the bag, paid and practically ran out of the store.

Ava sighed in pleasure as the warm water ran down her back, erasing the mud, debris and blood from her skin. She couldn't remember the last time she had taken a long hot shower and was able to properly care for her body. It must have been a month, maybe two. Mostly during the summer months she would camp out by lakes and wash in the springs by her tent, which she actually enjoyed at the time, but nothing can compare to the steam surrounding her or the shower stream massaging her skin. She finished washing her hair and shut off the water, stepping out and wrapping the dry fuzzy towel around her body. Wiping off the mirror she took a look at herself properly, her skin was bruised in places, but clearly the angel had worked wonders on some of her more drastic injuries. She toweled off her hair and let it fall in tangled golden waves around her shoulders. Opening the door, she stepped out into the cold air and was greeted by Castiel laying out clothes on her bed.

"I'm so sorry" Castiel jumped back, covering his eyes as he backed towards the door. Ava chuckled as he tripped over her old clothes and almost toppled into the furniture. Instinctively she reached out and grabbed his hand steadying him.

"Easy" she smiled, holding her towel against her skin, she swore the angel blushed as his eyes travelled the bare skin of her shoulders and legs. "Its no big deal, thankyou for the clothes I appreciate it".

Cas smiled, relaxing a little "I wasn't sure on sizing so I just got a bunch of things, my apologies if they're ill fitting or not to taste".

It was now Ava's turn to blush as she pulled a black lacy bra and panty set from the pile and turned to the angel. "and these are?"

"underwear" castiel said in his most matter-of-fact voice.

"sure, if you're looking for a night of raunchy sex" she laughed but the angel stood quietly, his head cocked to one side like a child who is trying to figure out a knock-knock joke. "never mind, these are great, thanks Castiel. I'll just ... get dressed". Castiel nodded and slowly closed the door behind him as Ava changed into the shorts and vest he had bought for her, amazed that he had mostly gotten her sizing correct. She pondered the angel, noticing the way she had relaxed around him, the way she had reached out to touch him as though she had done so many times before. There was something about the way he moved, spoke and touched her that made her feel as though she was home. There was something different about this angel.