None of us said anything for the car journey back to mine. Dean's eyes stayed fixed on the road, and I felt myself drifting off. Did angels sleep? I didn't think so, which I guessed meant I was still me. I was relieved. I felt anxious, not really understanding what was going on with me, or what had happened, or what was going to happen, and honestly, I needed food and sleep. My stomach rumbled, and Dean turned to look at me.

"You hungry, angel?" He grinned.

"Starving. Does that mean I'm still human?"

It was Castiel who answered. "I am fairly certain you are still you. You needn't worry."

Needn't worry? I laughed internally. I'd been told I'd been given angelic powers somehow, when a week ago I didn't even know angels existed.

"I just want food and sleep and maybe a beer. Maybe." Dean pulled onto my driveway, and I'd never felt so glad to see my front door. Dean helped me out of my seat and unlocked my door for us all. I sighed and threw myself down on my couch, pulling off my boots. Sam and Cas sat opposite, and Dean disappeared into the kitchen. I must have drifted off because when he reappeared he was holding a beer and a grilled cheese sandwich.

I rubbed my eyes. "How long was I out?" I mumbled, sitting upright.

"How long does it take to make a grilled cheese?" he smiled, setting it down on my coffee table.

I took a bite. "Mm. Thank you."

"More than welcome. So, you wanna talk about this now, or later?"

I pondered for a second, taking a sip of beer. "Now. Then I can sleep easy."

"Cas, over to you." Sam said, sitting back in his chair.

"I believe I transferred some of my grace to you when I healed you. I don't know how, but your soul must have been strong enough to accept it."

I pursed my lips. "But if I have some of your grace, then does that mean you're weaker, now?"

"Maybe. Only time will tell."

I thought about it for a moment. "Am I still me? Am I... human? A monster? Will I be dangerous?"

Dean looked up at this question, as though he had been waiting for it to come.

Cas smiled, briefly. "I fully believe that you are still you. Just with the powers that come with having grace. You will not be dangerous unless you chose to be, nor a monster."

"So can I fly?"

The angel smiled again. "We do not fly, as you imagine it. You may be able to heal yourself and others. You may be invulnerable to any physical damage... you may be able to...smite."

I stared at Cas, my mouth agape. "'Like smite me oh mighty smiter smite?"

"Excuse me?"

Dean chipped in. "Bruce Almighty, Cas, it's a movie. Don't worry about it." He turned to me. "Yeah, just like that."

"Shit. What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"

"I say we test Cas' theory, see if you've actually got some angel mojo. Then, we keep an eye on it, keep it on the DL."

Dean let everybody pile inside Maya's place, and headed straight for the kitchen. He heard their muffled voices as he rummaged through the kitchen to find bread and cheese. He stood over the stove-top, minding racing: relieved Maya was back with them, guilt that it was his own fault she got hurt in the first place, anxious for what this was going to mean for her safety. He pulled a couple of beers from the fridge and took a long pull. She was their concern now, they couldn't leave her on her own with all this power. Would the angels find out? Would they come after her? His chest burned and every move bought a flash of sharp pain in his chest: how did this case go so wrong? He plated up Maya's grilled cheese and grasped the beers between his fingers, nudging the kitchen door open with his shoulder.

Dean smiled at how much Maya's face lit up when she saw the sandwich.

"Mm. Thank you."

He waved a nonchalant no problem and she gave him a smile that made his stomach flip. His eyes kept finding hers throughout the whole conversation, and it was then that he decided that she was never going to leave their sides. She could come to the bunker, there was plenty of space. She'd be great on hunts, if she was up for it. He could make her all the grilled cheeses she wanted and he could watch out for her, always, as long as she needed. He needed.

"I say we test Cas' theory, see if you've actually got some angel mojo. Then we keep an eye on it, keep it on the DL."

"How easily can they find me?" Maya asked quietly, her focus fixed on Cas.

"Without warding, very. With warding, it will be a struggle for them. Unless they know your exact location, they will not be able to hone in on you."

"We better sort that out ASAP, Cas." Sam said, his voice serious.

"Angel warding, huh?" Maya's brow furrowed. "Is that like, an anti-possession tattoo?"

Dean's mouth twitched into a small smile. She had an anti-possession tattoo? He wondered where it was.

"Uh. Kind of. Except internally."

Maya shuddered. "Ouch."

"You will be safe for tonight. We can arrange for you to be warded tomorrow, if you wish. Sam, Dean, Maya, I feel I should return to heaven, just to make sure that no word has gotten out about this."

Dean felt a pang of anger. "You're gonna leave us? Tonight of all nights?"

He felt a warm hand on his leg. "Cas is right, Dean. We need to know what's going on up there. Just... please be back in the morning. This is kind of crazy for me." Maya threw a warm smile Cas' way, and he disappeared.

Sam stood up, stretching into a yawn. "I'm gonna get the angel blades out of the trunk, Dean. Just in case."

"Hey, Sam?" Maya said, her voice tired and heavy. "If you're ready to hit the hay, second room on the right, next to the bathroom. I think we all need a better night's sleep than my couch. "

"Thanks, Maya. You feeling ok?"

"Just tired." She smiled

Sam nodded. "Night, Maya. Dean."

Dean looked at her, wondering whether or not she was edging to go to bed, too. She must have understood because she slid her legs onto the couch and took a pull on her beer. "Can't leave these, can we?"

Dean relaxed into his chair a little, with arms and legs feeling like lead, comfortable drowsiness taking over his body.

"So... do you really feel ok? Not just sayin' that?"

"I feel fine. Honestly, truly, completely fine." She smiled again, she smiled a lot, Dean noticed. From the eyes as well, not just her mouth like he or Sam or Cas did so often nowadays. "Anxious, but fine. Tell me about this warding, then."

"That's what you wanna talk about? Angel tattoos?"

"I wanna know what I'm getting myself into here, boy. If this is going to be like one of those times you're at a bachelorette party and get so drunk off tequila you think it's a good idea to get snoopy tattooed on your back, I am not game. "

Dean blinked. "You didn't."

Maya snorted. "Of course not. Although I was at the bachelorette party where someone got so drunk off tequila they thought it was a good idea to get snoopy tattooed on their back. Stone cold sober. Hunting a shifter."

"Wow."

"Oh, yeah. Pretty wild, huh."

"So the warding. Cas uses enochian sigils that'll keep you hidden from any angel, even Lucifer, so he says."

"Lucifer, no shit."

"Sam and I have the sigils on our.. ribs."

"What? Your ribs? How in the hell?"

"Dunno, man, Cas just works his mojo and boom, instant angel repeller."

"And it works?"

"So far. Why d'ya think he has a cell phone?"

"This is crazy. Like, seriously the weirdest situation I've ever been in, and that's saying something..." Maya paused for a moment, adjusting her position so she was facing Dean head on. Her leg grazed his, and he found himself wishing it would stay there, longing for the warmth and comfort of being close to someone. "So how did you end up with an Angel on your team?"

Dean cleared his throat. "I said Sam and I had been to hell, right?" She nodded. "Sam... died. A story I'll save for another night, but I couldn't... I couldn't leave him, I couldn't let him be dead. I, um, I made a deal with a crossroads demon, and ended up in the pit." Dean chanced a look at Maya's reaction. Her face was soft, her brow furrowed in gentle sympathy. He didn't know how much to tell her, about the rack and the things he'd done. He didn't want to risk scarring her away. "Anyway, four months later, I found myself back up top, alive and kicking. Cas saved me."

"Oh, my... Dean." Her hand found its way onto his leg again. "Thats... that's... not what I expected. That's... crazy." He felt her squeeze his leg gently, the warmth spreading to his whole body. "How have you been through so much, and still be able to...do this?"

"I don't think I could have survived if I didn't have this. This job don't give you time to think. That's a good thing."

Maya didn't say anything else, but she kept her hand resting on Dean's leg, occasionally taking a swig of her drink, and eventually letting her rest against the couch, her blue eyes drifting shut. Dean took the empty beer bottle from her hand, and slid her into his arms. Knocking the light off behind him, he carried her upstairs, setting her gently down in her own bed. He closed the door behind him and padded across the landing to the spare room.