Zoey was sitting in the backseat of the Impala, angry as hell. "Why can't I just teleport us there again?"
"Because, Bobby will shoot you," Dean said from the front.
"That won't kill me. I can take the chance."
"They won't let me do it, either," Castiel rumbled beside her.
Zoey quelled the shudder that went through her at his voice. "Well, this is ridiculous."
She snapped her fingers, and Dean yelped and slammed on the brakes as they slid into the driveway of Singer's Salvage. The hunter turned around and glared at her. "What the fuck was that?"
She shrugged and opened her door. "Well, we're here now, no use crying over spilt milk." She gave him a winning smile and got out.
She surveyed the salvage yard, smiling. It had a very… Traditional, American feel to it. She liked it very much.
Castiel came to stand next to her, but he put a fair amount of space between them. She ignored him to watch Sam and Dean get out of the car. Sam was chuckling and Dean was still snarling.
He approached her and got in her face. "Never again, bitch! I almost wrecked the car!"
She rolled her eyes. "I could have fixed it, calm thyself, Winchester."
"God dammit, Zoey, that was stupid! We could have died!"
That pissed her off. She shoved at his chest, knocking him back several steps. "Fuck you, Dean, we were safe the entire time."
"She softened our landing," Castiel said from behind her. "We were in no danger."
Surprised at the defense, she turned and stared at him for a moment. He looked back, then looked uncomfortable. "Well, you did."
She smiled. "Thank you." She turned back to Dean. "So fuck you. Why would I come ask for help and then let you die in something as stupid as a car accident?"
"What the hell is going on out here?"
She spun again and saw a gruff man in a wheelchair sitting on the front porch of the house.
Sam came to stand next to her, on the opposite side of Castiel. "This is Zoey, Bobby. She's… Here to help."
Zoey put on another winning smile and walked up the steps, her hand held out. "Zoey Crane. It's an absolute honor to meet you."
Bobby shook her hand and stared at her. "Where did you come from?"
Before she could answer, Castiel spoke from behind her. "Hell. She's a Cambion, like the boy Jesse Turner was."
Bobby frowned and pulled his hand away, and she let her features settle into an emotionless mask. "Thought the Turner boy was the only one," the older hunter said gruffly.
She gave him a cold smile. "I was just luckier, is all."
xxxxx
Zoey sat in the kitchen of Bobby's house, looking around curiously. The amount of lore in this home alone would put many libraries to shame.
"Tea?" Bobby asked, still gruff with her.
She smiled. "That would be lovely."
He set about making it for her, his movements slow and precise. She let her head rest in her hand and watched, her knee bouncing nervously. You're a half-demon in a house full of hunters and one goddamn angel. You're an idiot, Zoey, you're stupid.
Sam, Dean, and Castiel entered the kitchen. She ignored them, just continued to watch Bobby fill the teakettle.
"So, did you know about Bobby before today? You said it was an honor to meet him." Sam asked, settling into the seat next to her. Bobby turned to listen.
She smiled and nodded. "Oh, yes. Only in hushed, fearful tones from those who dwell in the darkness with me, I assure you."
Bobby snorted. "Not much to be afraid of anymore."
She tilted her head. "Of course there is. You're Bobby Singer. You're the thing that monsters tell their little monsters bedtime stories about so they'll behave." She smiled. "Although, I hadn't heard that you were injured."
"Bobby was possessed by a demon," Dean said from across the table. "He overpowered it and stabbed himself with a Kurdish demon-killing knife to kill it."
Bobby snorted again. "Paralyzed myself in the process," he said bitterly.
Zoey tilted her head again. "That's extremely impressive." She let a beat of silence pass, then, "Would you like the use of your legs back, Mr. Singer?"
xxxxx
An hour later, after much yelling and discussion and Castiel silently brooding in the corner, Bobby agreed to do it.
"They're my damn legs!"
"Bobby, this is crazy!" Dean shouted. "We just met this woman! We can't trust her!"
Hurt, Zoey huffed. "Fuck you, too, Dean."
Bobby shook his head. "Yeah, fuck you, Dean. Fuck you and your two working legs."
With that, he rolled over to where Zoey was sitting at the kitchen table. "Do it."
She nodded and leaned forward to put her hand on his. "Mr. Singer, I need you to know that this may not work. I've never tried this, it's just a theory right now. It may not work."
"Don't care. Let's do this."
She nodded. "All right." She looked over at Castiel. "I need the angel for this."
Castiel frowned. "What?"
She smiled. "Come on, now, this is still too many people for me to bite. Let's go, let's see if we can't get Mr. Singer's legs back for him."
Dean and Sam were scowling, arms crossed, and she rolled her eyes as Castiel slowly made his way over to her. "Gentlemen, calm yourselves. Again, if I wanted you dead, you'd be pink slime on the floor before you even knew it."
Castiel came to stand next to her, and she took a deep breath. "All right, put your hand on Mr. Singer's shoulder, then give me your other."
He stared at her. "For what?"
She stood, pushing the chair back, angry. "You know what, I am trying to help here! I'm trying to give this man his legs back, and I can't do it alone. Now, if you really don't want my help, tell me now. Tell me so I can go fight the fucking devil by myself. And when I go down, I'll take him down with me, and you remember that I saved your goddamn asses."
There was a tense silence, and she met each of their eyes. She saved Castiel's for last, and couldn't read any emotions in his eyes, which made her even more angry. "Well?" she snapped, holding her hand out.
The angel hesitantly put his hand on Bobby's shoulder, then took her hand. "What do we do now?"
She sighed. "I suspect, Castiel, that this will hurt you more than it hurts me. Brace yourself."
She closed her eyes and pushed.
When the pain started, she kept her face impassive. She had lied to the angel, it would hurt her much more than it would hurt him. The power always fought her when she tried something like this, when she tried to push it out of her instead of using it. It was like a wild animal, desperately clawing at her insides to stay with her.
No good deed, she thought wryly.
"Bobby, do you feel anything?" she asked, distressed to realize that her voice was tight. Keep it together, Zoey.
"Uh… No, not really. Kinda tingles, though."
Zoey sighed. "All right." She opened her eyes to meet Castiel's confused gaze. "Brace yourself again, big boy," she said softly, just before she used the hand she was holding to yank him toward her and press her lips to his warm, chapped ones.
xxxxx
Castiel felt burning, massive power pour into his mouth where the Cambion kissed him. He grunted, but it was a very light pain, something he could handle.
Use it, Castiel, he felt her whisper into his mind, I can't heal him, but you're purifying my power. I don't know how to heal him, use the power like you would your own.
Castiel pushed the power into Bobby, but it moved slowly, sluggishly. Not like his own quick, clever power. This magic wasn't made for healing, it was made to harm, and it wasn't used to moving through a body.
Castiel guided it, sending it down to the man's spine, toward the injury there, struggling against the power's urge to go back to the Cambion.
As he did, her pain started to seep into him. He didn't feel it like she did, but he could feel her agony. It was almost impressive that she was still standing. He found that, though he did not trust her, he did not like it that she was in pain.
xxxxx
Zoey was struggling to stay conscious, struggling to stay standing. The pain was excruciating, it was all she could focus on. She was very glad that Castiel was taking care of healing Bobby, because she was absolutely certain that she couldn't have.
In the midst of her agony, she felt a feathering, light presence in her mind. It seemed to be coming from where her mouth was against Castiel's. Instinctively, she tilted her head and deepened the kiss, moving closer to him at a great cost. She felt his hand slip from hers and settle at the small of her back.
She didn't know what was happening, but the light presence in her mind was… Not taking the pain away, but it was making her care less.
It's my grace, she heard his gravelly voice in her head, sounding a little nervous. I can't take the pain away, but I can make it less urgent.
She leaned against him, craving both the power and the cool feeling of the angel pressed against her. He tucked her in against his body, his arm like cast iron around her. She sighed as the pain faded into the background, and she was able to focus more on pushing her power into Castiel.
xxxxx
Castiel kept Zoey close to him, vaguely aware of the heat radiating off of her. It was oddly comforting.
He found Bobby's injury, and was able to wrap Zoey's power around it. He painstakingly reconnected nerves, wrapped tendons around, eradicated the scar tissue, and reshaped the bone.
When it was done, he wrapped his grace around Zoey again.
I think this is going to hurt, Zoey.
xxxxx
I think this is going to hurt, Zoey.
When Castiel poured her power back into her, only the kiss they were sharing kept her from screaming. As it was, she did whimper into his mouth a little.
It was like being on fire. The power was punishing her, angry at her for using it for other than its intended purpose. It had wanted to hurt, so it hurt her instead. Castiel's grace helped, but it did not take it away.
When it was all back inside, her body ached fiercely. She stayed against Castiel, but released his mouth and looked up at him. Those striking, really rather hypnotic blue eyes stared into hers, and she smiled a little. She saw the corner of his lips twitch up, as well.
She looked over at Bobby and nodded.
His eyes were wide, and he slowly, gingerly stood. He paled, and he was staring at her.
"Holy fuck," Dean breathed out. She didn't waste the energy to look over at him.
"It… It worked," Sam said softly, awe in his voice.
She looked up at Castiel again, smiling up at him. "I like the way you say my name," she said softly, just before blackness took her and she passed out.
xxxxx
Hi everyone! Here's my notes:
I don't own Supernatural or the characters. (heartbroken)
Reviews and comments give me the warm fuzzies and keep me going.
If there are any mistakes in continuity, canon, or geography, blame me.
**I know, I know, this is the the same half of the last chapter. I just felt like I needed to cut that chapter in two. I'll explain better in the next chapter's notes.