Alora raised her face from the sink and watched water drip off her chin, she was trying not to think about the Angel who had tried to choke her to death, or Cas who had killed him to save her except now it was too late and she was thinking about it as her eyes caught sight of the bruises around her throat then suddenly her eyes were glowing faintly. She gasped and backed away from the sink as the bruises around her throat started to fade out, she carefully touched the marks as they disappeared along with the ache and the pain when she breathed.
She was so fascinated by the process that she jumped and gave a little yelp when someone knocked on the door then Castiel's voice. "Alora… can we talk please?"
She tried to slow her breathing while her heart hammered in her chest. She'd been so sure that once she found Cas again everything would go back to normal but after the cut on her head healed and the fight in the warehouse she felt completely off balance. Nothing was right anymore and she didn't know if it would ever be ok again. She heard the door shift a little but Cas didn't try the handle, she thought he might be leaning against the door. "Alora, I am so sorry you got involved in this. It is my fault, please just tell me you are healed, let me know you are not injured."
He sounded so beaten down, so lost and she pressed her hand against the door. "I'm ok." She finally answered. "The bruises are gone... Are… are you ok now?"
"My wounds are healed." He replied his voice muffled through the door.
She let out a breath, when she'd seen him surrounded by fire, his back pierced by lances of light in her vision she had been terrified that he would die from the wounds, he had still been covered in blood during the car ride and it had made her stomach roil knowing that it was all his blood, that he'd been injured so badly. "Alora…" Her heart stuttered at the catch in his voice when he said her name. "Alora, I know I have no right to ask you for anything but please, I need to explain."
She frowned remembering the way her eyes glowed and she was angry. He had done something to her without asking and she wrenched the door open. "Yeah, you do need to explain. What did you do to me?"
She stared up at him hands on her hips, he had cleaned the blood off his face and with his trenchcoat missing he looked half finished and a little menacing in a torn blood stained shirt, all that kept him from looking like an extra in a slasher flick was the heartbroken look on his face, he took a deep breath and she tried to steel her heart against the urge to grab him and smooth that pain away but she needed answers. "I imbued your soul with a small fraction of my Grace." He replied.
"Why?" Her voice was flat and hard.
He closed his eyes and swallowed. "Because I couldn't lose you. I'm an Angel, I have lived since the dawn of time and I will live until the end of time but I could not stand the thought of living one more day without you so I had to do something."
"How? How did you imbue my soul with your Grace?"
"A spell…" He replied softly. "I put you in an enchanted sleep and took your soul out of your body and bonded a fraction of my Grace to it then put it back."
Her mind spun and she took a step away from him. "That night… when we watched Godzilla… I woke up feeling strange. I thought it was the spaghetti…" She pressed her hands against her chest and stared at him.
He nodded. "I needed you as open as possible so I could remove your soul and add my Grace."
She wanted to scream at him, to hit him and to run as far and as fast from him as she could but she knew no matter how far or fast she ran he' be able to find her. He was an Angel after all. Her breath was coming fast and her eyes burned while she struggled to process it. Tears started to slid down her cheeks and he reached for her. "Don't." She said her voice cracking. "How could you? How could you do that without even talking to me?! After everything you know about me, after all the things you've told me you've done and regretted and you didn't even ask me!"
She backed up and her back hit the doorframe stopping her. "You tricked me." She whispered. "You gave me that amazing night just so you could take my soul…"
"No… no Alora…" He rasped and took a step forward reaching for her. "I didn't take it, you still have it. I just added my Grace. You are the only thing in my long life that has made me feel worthwhile." He couldn't decide where to put his hands and settled for putting them on her shoulders.
She wouldn't look at him and he took a shaky breath. "Before you I was lost, so lost and nothing seemed to matter anymore. I couldn't see how the world was worth saving anymore until you gave me a sandwhich and a reason to keep living. And then my Grace was returned and you still loved me even though I was an Angel, even knowing my role in all the terrible things that had been happening in the world the last few years. I was stupid and blind and selfish and so desperate to keep you." He was crying now too staring down at her as she stared at the floor her shoulders shaking.
"I was wrong Alora. I was selfish and I knew better than to do this to you and I am so sorry. I know you can't forgive what I have done but please, please let Sam and Dean help keep you safe. You won't ever have to see me again I promise."
He let go of her shoulder and backed away wiping his face. "I am sorry Alora. I will always be sorry that I broke your trust in me."
He turned to walk away and was stunned when her arms wrapped around his waist her body slamming into him from behind and her tears painted themselves hot down his back. "I am still mad at you, and I'm not ready to forgive you for doing what you did but I still love you Castiel. You saved me too and I'm not ready to give that up yet."
He turned in her arms and held her close against him. "I love you Alora. And I will do whatever it takes to earn your trust and forgiveness."