Thanks to everyone who has read, followed, faved and reviewed so far! I'm glad you're all enjoying this story :) There's more adorkable Cas to come ^_^
Chapter Two
Meg forced Castiel to eat breakfast first, even though he continually insisted he didn't need to eat and it didn't taste 'pleasurable' but he finally ate a pancake and some fruit under her supervision. After that, she consented to take him outside if only because she knew he wouldn't stop asking if she didn't.
The morning sun felt nice after so much time being cooped up in the mental ward, even Meg had to admit that, and she could see why Cas liked it so much. The hospital gardens were nice too, if you like that sort of thing. A lot of trees and flowers that the patients got to help plant and take care of as therapy. Castiel went to the pond first today, and knelt in the damp grass surrounding it as he bent to look at the fish.
"Don't fall in," Meg warned as he touched a lily pad and smiled at the koi fish swimming happily through the rays of sunlight.
"They are so carefree," Castiel remarked. "Especially here since they do not have to worry about the predators they would in the wild. I suppose it is rather like everyone else here. This place is truly a sanctuary away from the world." Meg frowned at his back. She didn't like it when Castiel waxed philosophic. It wasn't a good look on him. He looked back up at her over his shoulder. "Do you have any bread to feed them?"
"No, you should have brought them the rest of your pancake," Meg told him, folding her arms over her chest. "Look, I'm going to go sit on that bench. Don't run away."
He didn't give any indication that he heard her, simply going back to watching the fish, dipping his hand into the water, and wetting his trench coat sleeve. Meg sighed and made her way over to a shady bench that sat under the trees. There were hardly any other people in the garden this time of day. Usually, the patients had a specified time when they were allowed outside, but Meg had taken to ignoring that for the most part. It was hard enough keeping Castiel occupied without having restrictions. No one really took notice anyway. Anything was better than him using his mojo as entertainment, which she was sure he would do eventually.
Just as she was thinking that, her attention was pulled away from Castiel to a man who was standing off to one side of the garden among the trees, looking like he was watching Castiel as well. Meg frowned. He was wearing street clothes so he couldn't be a patient or staff member. She thought maybe he was a visitor, but then he looked over at Meg and smiled, and she instantly recognized his demonic presence.
"Damn," she muttered, standing up and going over to him, with one last glance toward Cas to make sure he hadn't noticed the visitor.
"Well, well, well," the demon said with a smirk when Meg was within hearing distance. "Look at you. It's almost pathetic."
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, glaring up at him. His meatsuit was at least two heads taller than her and broad, probably some athletic type. But that didn't mean Meg couldn't take him if she had to. She had an angel blade tucked into her jacket for just such eventualities.
"Oh, just checking in," the demon shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Heard a couple rumors that you were still hanging around here for some reason, even though we know Sam Winchester is gone. Heard a few rumors about him too—said he was going crazy and is now miraculously better." The demon's eyebrows rose suggestively at the implication of that. "So I thought I'd see what was up, and lo and behold, I get here and find the angel that Crowley was so sure was dead."
Meg narrowed her gaze at him, shifting into a defensive position. "Yeah, so? Surprise, Castiel is still alive. It must be a product of hanging out with the Winchesters for so long. You know they're harder to kill than cockroaches."
The demon smirked. "How he's alive is of little consequence. I was put on the trail of a miracle healer a few weeks back, but heard he had disappeared with a trail of dead demons in his wake. And now I hear that Sam Winchester is suddenly all well again, and that you were hanging around a mental ward for some unknown reason. Now it makes sense."
Meg shook her head. "Sorry, bucko, I got here first. The angel's mine. He's my safe guard in case the Levis show up."
"Come on, Meg," the demon cajoled. "You can't enjoy being here. What do you say we both take the little pigeon back to Crowley now before others show up? That way we only have to split the reward fifty-fifty without cutting anyone else in."
Meg laughed scathingly. "Yeah, I don't think so. I'm not going anywhere near Crowley, and you should know that anyone who tries to deal with him in screwed. The angel is mine, I got here first."
The demon suddenly crowded her, pushing her up against a tree. "What's to stop me from simply killing you and taking him?"
Meg quickly retrieved the angel blade from her coat and pressed it threateningly into the demon's gut as she smiled up at him. "Maybe because I have a bigger blade."
She ducked around him and slammed him back against the tree, pressing the blade to his throat. "Like I said, the angel's mine. You tell that to any demon who thinks about coming around. If they do, I'll have a not-so-nice surprise waiting for them. And really, Castiel has taken quite a liking to me. What do you think he'd do to you right now if I were to scream?" She leaned in close to the demon. "Don't think you want a smiting to happen, do you?"
He smirked down at her, despite the blade at his throat. "Way I heard it, he doesn't have all his marbles."
"Maybe not, but he still has his mojo," Meg informed him. "And that's all I need him for."
The demon was still smirking, but he shrugged and raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, then, I get it, the angel is yours. But don't expect Crowley not to kill you if he eventually tracks you down himself. And he will, especially when I tell him the rumors are true. Castiel can't protect you forever."
Meg grinned. "Sweetheart, I never expect anything. How do you think I've survived this long?"
She shoved him away from her, keeping her blade pointed in his direction as he turned and walked off of the hospital grounds. Meg exhaled slowly, in relief. That had been too close for comfort. This wasn't good. If demons had gotten wind of her being holed up her with Castiel, then there was only a matter of time before more showed up, and possibly worse things, as demons weren't exactly the most tight lipped creatures in existence. There was any number of supernatural creatures that would jump at the chance to lay their hands on a broken, essentially defenseless, angel. She had known Castiel would eventually become a target, but had hoped the situation would hold out a little longer than this—preferably after Sam and Dean figured out a way to gank Dick Roman and come back to claim their angel. Maybe she should call the Winchesters after all, see if they had somewhere she could take Cas to hole up for a while.
But then, she could handle a few demons—they were demons for hell's sake. Easily manipulated, and for the most part, stupid. Some, like herself, of course, were exceptions. She didn't get to be one of Lucifer's favorites for nothing. If angels or Levis showed up, though, all bets were off and she and the feather duster would be hauling ass for the nearest safe house.
Meg turned around to see what her angel was doing now, and had a sudden moment of panic when she didn't see him. He wasn't by the pond anymore, in fact, he was nowhere in her direct eye line. Meg hurried out of the shaded area, getting more and more worried when she didn't see Cas in any of his favorite spots.
"Castiel!" she called. "Come on, Cas, don't do this to me, I'm not up for a game of hide and seek!"
Of course, there was the possibility that the demon had not been alone and while he distracted Meg, others had come and kidnapped Castiel, but she was going to deny that theory until she knew if it were true or not.
She spun around several more times, and was about to call hospital security, or even the Winchesters for the little either party would be able to do, when she caught sight of the tan trench coat peeking out from behind the low garden wall. Meg huffed a sigh of relief and ran over to where Castiel was sitting cross-legged in the grass, nose almost buried in the flowers. He had a peaceful expression on his face, making Meg even more angry at her own short-lived fear.
"Castiel! What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded. "I told you not to wander off." Yeah, she was definitely getting a leash the next time.
Castiel looked up at her with those bright blue eyes, which she refused to let stamp out her anger, even though they were doing a damn good job of it. "I was following this honeybee. They are truly fascinating creatures. Have you ever actually sat and watched one?" He motioned to the fat little insect buzzing around a patch of petunias.
"I haven't exactly had the time, Cas," Meg grunted.
"Oh!" he exclaimed and before she knew it, he had grabbed her hand and pulled her down next to him. Meg stiffened at the contact, feeling a buzz of his grace against her skin, but it was only initial and Cas had let go of her hand after a few seconds anyway. She shook herself, as he pointed to the bee.
"They have a very intricate pattern, you know," he told her. "Once a bee learns where the best flowers are, they can even go back to the hive and give the other bees directions by doing a dance. Their song is beautiful." He reached out and captured the bee in his cupped hands, lowering his ear to it with a smile before he held his hands out to Meg. "Listen."
She rolled her eyes but bent to listen to the stupid bee song. Castiel must have been insane, because all she could hear was buzzing, and probably angry buzzing at that because it was caught in the angel's hands.
"I can't hear any singing, Cas," she informed the angel. "Now let it go before it stings you."
He smiled as he let the bee free once again. "You should take the time to enjoy the simple things in life, Meg. It has been many decades since I have been able to do so and I almost forgot how peaceful it was." He reached up to touch a butterfly and it lighted on his finger. A sad, distant look came over his face. "Seeing so much war, so much bad, I never realized the toll it took on me. I think it might be best if, from now on, I simply stick to watching the bees. It is certainly a much more pleasant pastime."
Meg stared at him for a long moment. She didn't know what to do with melancholy Cas. It reminded her too much of what she could become if she allowed herself to dwell on the past, or even the future too much. Meg had long since decided to live for the present. It was the only way to stay alive, to keep going. It had been for so long that she wasn't sure she ever could just sit back and relax. She almost envied Castiel that.
"Well, you just enjoy your happy hippy pastimes, Clarence," Meg told him. "I've got other things to worry about." She stood and dusted off her clothes. "Come on, it's time to go back inside."
Castiel looked slightly disappointed, but he got to his feet as well.
"Oh, I almost forgot," he said and reached into the pocket of his coat, pulling out a red rose and smiling almost shyly as he handed it to her. "This is for you."
Meg raised an eyebrow. "You start giving me flowers and the hospital staff are going to talk."
He simply reached forward and tucked it into her jacket pocket. "It reminded me of you. Beautiful, elegant, yet not without its thorns." Castiel quickly amended that. "Not that that's a bad thing. The rose's thorns are there for defense and not offence." Those eyes were staring at her in the way they did when she knew he was looking inside of her, at her true self, and it always made her uncomfortable. "A sort of tragic beauty."
"I'm not into poetry, Clarence," Meg told him, narrowing her eyes. "Now come on."
He followed her dutifully back inside and Meg left him in the day room, hoping he would find something to occupy himself as she did a quick sweep of the hospital for any other sign of demons. Unfortunately, she couldn't ward against them without keeping herself out too, but she'd just have to keep extra vigilant.
A full sweep of the hospital and no sign of demons—that was a good thing. She relaxed a little after that, hoping that the demon from the garden had been a one-time occurrence. Of course, she wasn't that stupid. She hadn't survived this long without being cautious and smart. And this time, she didn't just have herself to look after but a crazy angel who seemed to have turned to the side of peace, love, and whatever. At this point, she wasn't even sure how much good he would do if it came to fighting. He would probably try to get the demons to watch the bees with him, and they would tear him apart. Or take him to Crowley and then the King of Hell would be more than delighted to torture Castiel for info if not just for fun, after their partnership had gone south. Meg suddenly thought of Castiel crying out in his sleep when he had nightmares about Lucifer tormenting him, and the thought of the creative ways Crowley would torture him left a sour taste in her mouth. Okay, she wasn't exactly attached to the feather duster by any stretch of the imagination, she just…Meg wasn't sure what she was. She only knew she was growing continually disgusted with herself for her indecisive feelings toward the angel. She couldn't wait to return him to the custody of the Winchesters.
It wouldn't make it any better to dwell on it, though. Cas was only there as a failsafe if the Leviathans showed up and she didn't think that was all that likely. And by the time Dick was back in Purgatory, the Winchesters would probably be back to claim their angel, and Meg would be long gone, back to doing what she did best—lying low.
She forced all those conflicting thoughts away again, and went to grab some coffee. While she was in the staff room, she happened to look down and realized the rose was still in her pocket. She snorted, and almost threw it away, but as she plucked it out, she hesitated and dropped it into a cup of water instead, refusing to think anything of the why of her action.
Now, she had to think of how she was going to keep Castiel entertained for the rest of the afternoon.
I will also be posting a Halloween fic for my series "A Thing or Two About Being Human" sometime this week, though as I haven't quite finished it yet, I'm not sure which day lol. Sometime before Halloween happens :P