I wish you'd hold me when I turn my back...

Sam's hands followed her tangled hair, down to her neck, and traced the indention of her spine, as their passionate kiss lit the room on fire. At the moment, AnnaBeth's brain was thinking so many things that this was right. This…this was what was supposed to happen.

She jumped, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist as her shirt was wrenched over her head and thrown against the window, where it pooled on the floor below. She grinned against Sam's lips, and what she received in return was an animalistic growl, before she was thrown onto a bed, her hands held above her head by one of his.

"Sam…", she said softly, in protest, breaking away from the kiss to look up at his vice grip of a hand. He didn't stop his assault, kissing his way down her bare chest and stomach, while his free hand skillfully began unbuttoning her jeans. She bit her lip, beginning to feel a little uncomfortable in the position he currently had her. She was happy to see him, but this…this was off, even for Sam.

As he began tugging at her pants, she pressed her back against the mattress, keeping her pants securely on her body. He looked up toward her face with a puzzled look, "What's the problem?"

"What's the problem?", she repeated him, wrenching her hands from him with a bit of force, "…Aren't you happy to see me? I mean…you come out of hell and the first glimpse you get of me turns from a happy to see you kiss, into rough sex?"

"I mean..Yeah. Why not?", he asked her, as if her question was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard in his life. Shrugging his shoulders to make sure she knew her question was dumb, he kept staring at her.

"Don't you want to…like…talk?"

"No. I don't want to talk about what happened. I went to hell. It sucked. I'm fine. I'm alive, and this is my body. You can do any test you want…", he said, sitting on the side of the bed in frustration.

"I know you're not a demon…I can read your mind…", she said to him, "Although, there's not much there…except sex…and the fact that you are craving a beer…"

Sam laughed, but it was empty and cold. Sighing, AnnaBeth stood from the bed and looked around the room for her shirt. Once located, she walked over to it, throwing it over her head.

"Look. I'm so happy to see you. I'm so happy…that you're okay, and Dean will be ecstatic, but you're acting a little off…", she said as simply as she could.

"Off? Off how? Just because I'm not all mopy, like Dean was, doesn't mean anything is wrong with me. I'm fine…You just think too much."

Sighing, she read his mind, and all that was there was sex. Sex…and beer. He was remembering how she looked the last time they had had sex. In his mind, he was thinking about the fact that she had lost weight, and he didn't find that sexy. He wished she would eat more, and maybe work out a bit. She was lacking in the abs department, compared to when he had left. She closed her eyes, and shut his brain out, before groaning in frustration.

"Look. I'll come back, under better terms. Right now…I just…maybe…this was a bad idea, to see you…", she said slowly, before calling Cas in her mind.

"Well, next time you come…try to be a little less proactive, and a little more happy to see me…Maybe it's you that's off…"

Without feeling Castiel's hand touch her, AnnaBeth appeared back at her house, and slumped onto the couch, in shock. Gently, Castiel leaned down and touched her knee, before sitting beside her. It was a gesture that she wasn't expecting, and it was a gesture that she honestly didn't know how to react to.

"What's wrong with him, Cas?", she asked him, closing her eyes for a second, and then opening them to look him in the eyes. He closed his own eyes, before looking down at his shoes.

"I've been asking myself the same question for weeks. He's changed, since coming back, but I can't quite place it. I thought at first that it was coming back from hell…it must have some adverse effects on him, which wouldn't be surprising, but this isn't that sort of reaction…", he said to her in one breath.

"Will he ever be the way he was?", AnnaBeth asked, closing her eyes again.

"Only time can tell…At the moment, I'm more worried about you…"

AnnaBeth opened her eyes quickly, giving him a creeped out glare. Castiel just said he was 'worried' about someone. Better yet, he admitted that he was 'worried' about her.

"I'm fine, Cas…I've just had a lot thrown at me…"

"No more than usual. That's why I'm worried. You're quiet. Quiet, for you…means you're not handling things.", Cas retorted, almost sounding human.

"Because I'm not. I'm choosing not to handle this. There's a chance that I'll never have him…even though he exists on this planet…it's like it's just his body. I don't know how I'm supposed to cope with that…"

"You may have to let him go…It may be in your best interest to let him come to you…", Cas removed his hand from her knee, as her mind began to wonder about all of the things that had happened in the past few days. Her life had come back to her, but was still turned upside down. The one person she never wanted to speak to again, now felt like her only true ally. It was odd, and it was painful…but it felt better than dealing with the Sam issue. She didn't want to deal with it. Cas was right. Sam needed to come to her, when he was ready.

At the moment, he needed space, and she needed to take care of herself.

"Thanks Cas…", she mumbled, moving to the edge of the couch to stand. She glanced at him, ready for him to leave, and something hit her. She couldn't repeat the process in her mind if she tried, and it was one of the most shocking things she had ever done in her life. After staring at Cas for a second, attempting like an idiot to read him, and not his brain. She leaned forward, and placed a light, but meaningful kiss on his lips.

Obviously not knowing how to react, Castiel stared blankly, until she pulled away, and then continued his stare.

"What are you doing?", he asked her, narrowing his eyes.

"I…um…don't know…", she answered, placing another light kiss on his lips, then his nose, and his forehead. The gesture caused his eyes to flutter shut, this time. Pulling away, she smiled, reaching up and loosening his tie. As he opened his eyes, she unbuttoned his shirt and placed light kisses on his cheek, down his jaw line, and his neck.

"…What are you doing…", Cas said, awkwardly, his hands still folded politely in his lap. Leaning back, AnnaBeth sighed. She didn't know how to answer him.

"Honestly? I'm coping…I apologize…"

"For what?", he asked, looking down at his bare chest, and then back at her, "It's just a shirt…"

She giggled, rolling her eyes at his innocence, "Not the shirt…for kissing you…"

"It's a thing that humans do, when they're attracted to one another…", he recited, as if he was reading it from a book, "…though I'm not sure where that leaves you…"

"That leaves me in an awkward situation, with my only friend…", she said, reaching across the arm of the couch and grabbing a bottle of whiskey from the side table. Popping the top, she took a long drink and offered Cas the bottle, which he accepted, taking his own drink.

"If it would make you feel less inclined to apologize…you're a very attractive woman…"

"Thanks Cas…", AnnaBeth said simply, rolling her eyes as she took a long drink from the bottle. Let the awkwardness in sue...