Castiel watched Zoey slump in his arms, frowning. He bent and scooped her up, one arm under her knees, the other supporting her shoulders. She was limp and unresponsive.

"Holy shit," Sam said softly, clearly still in shock. "She gave you your legs back."

Bobby's eyes were wide as he stood. "Holy shit," he echoed. He took a step forward, and his eyes bugged out. "Holy shit."

"I don't believe it," Dean breathed, his own eyes a little wide.

Castiel nodded. "You should be back to complete use of your lower half." He looked down at the creature in his arms. "Is there somewhere she can rest?"

xxxxx

Dean watched with narrowed eyes as Bobby bounded up the stairs, giddy, in front of Castiel, who was much more somber, to show him the guest bedroom. He looked over at Sam. "So?"

Sam, who seemed to still be recovering from shock, looked over at Dean. "So what?"

Dean shrugged. "What do we think? Can we trust her?"

Sam scoffed. "Dean, she just healed Bobby. She did what Cass couldn't. Yeah, I think we can trust her."

Dean shook his head. "Sam, just because she did us a favor, doesn't mean she's on our side. Hell, it might mean she's not on our side, and she's trying to get us to let our guard down."

Sam stared at him for a second. "Dean, you saw what it took out of her. As soon as she…" Sam made a face. "Kissed Cass, she could barely stand up. Why would she go through that just to get us to 'let our guard down?'"

Dean shrugged, irritated and restless. "Well, we'll see."

xxxxx

Castiel placed Zoey on the guest bed gently, frowning at the heat starting to bake off of her. She was silent, but her body was starting to tense.

"Think she'll be all right?"

Castiel turned to see Bobby staring at her from the doorway. "I am… Not sure," he answered honestly. "She used her powers through me. I could feel it fighting her, it did not want to pass into me. She was in an intense amount of pain, it's impressive that she stayed on her feet as long as she did."

"Why did she need the liplock?" Bobby asked.

For some reason, if Dean had been the one asking, Castiel would have been irritated. Dean tended to mock that kind of interaction, and Castiel felt irrationally protective of Zoey. But the only thing in Bobby's voice was curiosity and awe.

"I assume she needed a more visceral connection. The power would not come to me before she was… Kissing me."

Bobby nodded. "Lot of heavy magic requires an exchange of fluids." The older man heaved a sigh. "I'm gonna go get those idjits to help me try to find a way to kill the devil. You mind keeping an eye on her?"

Castiel had already turned back to watch Zoey. "I'll stay."

xxxxx

Bobby watched Castiel watch the girl before he turned away.

Yeah, I'll just bet you'll stay.

Even if Bobby had been the one whose spine was being restructured (something he was still in shock about), you would have had to be dead to not notice the heat in the kiss the angel and the Cambion had shared.

Interesting.

xxxxx

Zoey's body was on fire again.

Every part of her burned in agony. The only reason she didn't wish she was dead was because she knew she had a purpose. She couldn't remember what that purpose was, but she remembered it was important, and she clung to that.

It was the only thing she could cling to.

She was alone in the darkness, in the torment, in the hot, burning pain.

xxxxx

A full day later, Castiel was still frowning as Zoey writhed on the bed, sweat soaking through the sheets. She had begun perspiring and moving late the night before, and hadn't stopped since.

Castiel tended to agree with Dean, she was still not to be trusted. It could have been a ploy to make them let her in, and she could still be working with Lucifer. It was a strange, convoluted plan, but a clever one, and Castiel did not intend to be tricked.

But however much he did not trust her, he did not like seeing her in distress. He didn't know why he had felt compelled to help her as they healed Bobby's spine, but he felt the same urge now.

The only outward signs of her misery were the sweat soaking the bed, her bordering on violent thrashing, and her hair. While it had been a vibrant pink color, it was now flashing through the entirety of the color spectrum in rapid succession. Castiel saw several colors that even the human eye was incapable of comprehending.

It was a manifestation of her powers, of what her body was going through.

Still with an unsettled feeling, Castiel stood and stepped forward to sit on the bed next to her. He pressed two fingers against her forehead and concentrated on pushing his grace into her.

xxxxx

In the midst of her pain, Zoey felt that familiar, feathering presence. She reached for Castiel desperately, but he was too far away, and she was too hot. She was burning up, she couldn't reach him, she wasn't going to make it.

Zoey was starting to worry that she was going to die for her kindness.

No good deed.

xxxxx

Castiel frowned. He could feel Zoey's pain, the heat radiating off of her small body, and he could sense that she knew he was there, but couldn't reach him. He began to worry, she was getting much worse.

… a more visceral connection…

His own words bounced in his mind as he wondered what to do. He shouldn't care that she was in pain, or that she may not make it out of this. She was a demon, a creature born from hell. This is what happened when such creatures tried to heal instead of harm.

But the urge to comfort her was still there, and it was strong.

Coming to a decision, he snapped his fingers. His trench coat, suit jacket, and shoes disappeared, leaving him in just a white button-up and slacks. He carefully crawled into bed next to her, then paused, unsure of what to do as he lay beside her.

She solved the problem by starting to thrash again. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, trying to subdue her before she hurt either of them. He pressed her chest to his, and slipped his other arm beneath her head.

She continued to thrash, and his mind latched onto the memory of kissing her. Though he was unsure of himself, he tilted his head down to brush his lips against hers lightly. "Hush, Zoey," he murmured as he covered her mouth with his, finally able to wrap her in his grace.

xxxxx

Hush, Zoey.

Zoey felt Castiel's grace wrap around her again, and she submitted to it gratefully. It felt like his strong arms were coming around her, keeping the pain and the terrible heat at bay.

When she felt his lips moving against hers, her mouth tilted up into a smile and she kissed him back for all she was worth.

xxxxx

Castiel carefully tucked Zoey into his grace, making sure the pain was as far away from her as possible. He ignored the way it made him feel when she burrowed into his power, seeking comfort. He just gave it to her.

He moved his mouth against hers absent-mindedly as he cocooned her in a thick blanket of heaven's power, trying to shield her from hell's wrath. Maybe this will let her rest.

When he was done, he was able to turn his attention back to Zoey.

When he did, he was surprised to find that he had rolled on top of her, pinning her to the mattress with his weight. She had one leg wrapped around his waist, and she was pressing into him, her fingers running through his hair. She was whimpering into his mouth, her hips rolling against his.

He gave a little groan of his own as he pulled away, then rest his forehead against hers. He met her wide, lust blown green eyes. "Zoey, I-"

Her eyes widened more and she moved to bury her face in his neck. "I… I'm sorry, Castiel."

He frowned. "Sorry? For-"

"Please don't leave," she whispered.

He tried to lean back to look at her, but she kept her hot face pressed to his flesh. "Why would I-"

"Please, please don't leave, I'm sorry, I'll keep my hands to myself, Castiel, I'm sorry-"

When she started to cry softly, he pulled back enough to press his lips to her forehead. He then feathered kisses across her brow, unsure of what he was doing, following some instinct that was telling him how to comfort her.

"Shh, Zoey, hush, I'll stay."

He peppered kisses across her face, hushing her, keeping up his gentle ministrations until she calmed down. He rolled to his side slowly, hooking an arm around her to take her with him. Her small body, still radiating heat, curled around his neatly. He pulled her head to rest on his shoulder, ignoring the dampness of her still rapidly changing hair.

When she finally settled into a real, peaceful sleep, Castiel allowed himself to relax and his mind to wander to ways to find Lucifer.

He didn't realize that his hand was threading itself through her short hair, combing the colorful locks slowly to soothe her.

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.

**Guys, Zoey is a trifling bitch. She will not do anything I tell her to. She doesn't want long chapters like the rest of my stories, she pretty much just does what she wants. I love her, but she is my problem child.