Chapter Three: Bring in the Angel

Dean was busy telling Everly about the Bunker when someone knocked on the door. It opened and he looked up to see Cas standing in the room now, staring at the sight before him.

Castiel frowned slightly, and Dean watched his gaze narrowed as he took in the scene. He knew it was unusual– normally he only needed a hand with hunts. But this was the first time Dean had ever reached out for help with something personal.

"Ev, this is my best friend, Castiel," Dean introduced, standing from his chair as he gestured between the two. "Cas, this is Everly Manning."

"Hello, Castiel," Everly greeted him kindly. "I'm sorry, but Dean hasn't told me much about you. He definitely didn't tell me how good looking you were."

Dean bristled and flashed a jealous glare at the angel, and Cas looked at Everly, clearly taken aback by how bold she was.

"You want me to leave you two alone?" Dean asked Everly, who rolled her eyes at him and laughed.

"Relax, Dean. I figured you'd be the jealous type. I was just testing my theory," she smiled. "I do like the trench coat, though."

"Well, thank you. I like this coat, too. Everly, would you mind if I spoke to Dean in private for a moment?" Castiel asked, and she nodded.

They stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind them. Cas whirled around to look at him, his coat billowing behind him as he did so.

"What are you doing here, Dean? Who is that woman?" Cas started in on him, and Dean heaved a sigh.

"I- I met Everly in high school, and I-" Dean cut himself off quickly before he took a deep breath before he spilled his guts. "I loved her. Hell, I still do, Cas. She was… possessed by a demon and lost her memory because of me, and she's been here for a long time. I come here to see her whenever I can. She- she's not getting better. I don't know what to do. I can't help her-"

"You want me to take a look? See if I can do something?" Castiel asked, and Dean nodded.

Based on the flat look on Cas' face, Dean wasn't sure if he was gonna do it or not, so he kicked it up a notch.

"Please, Cas, you gotta help her," he pleaded with his friend, unsure if he could take no for an answer.

Castiel straightened his posture and nodded in response, "I'll do what I can, Dean."

"That's all I can ask," he smiled gratefully, and the two walked back into Everly's room.

Cas stood beside Everly's bed and asked her what Dean had told her about him.

"He said that you weren't a hunter, and that's it," she shook her head.

"Well, I'm an angel of the Lord," Cas told her as if he was stating the weather, and her eyes widened in response.

"You're a what?" Everly asked, looking at Dean in confusion.

"I'm an angel," Castiel said again. "I was essentially as powerful as God at one point, but now I'm just an angel again. If it's okay with you, I'd like to take a look at your brain injury and see if there's anything I can do."

Everly stared up at him, her eyes wide as she tried to figure out what was going on. This man was claiming he was an angel, and Dean seemed fine with it, so she answered, "Um.. I guess that's fine? My doctor has my file…"

"That's not necessary," Cas shook his head as he held up two fingers to her forehead, closing his eyes as he focused on what he was searching for.

Dean watched in awe as a small, white light glowed from Castiel's fingers, still amazed by the fact that he was friends with an angel, and that angels even existed.

As he waited for Cas to do his thing, Dean's mind began to wander, remembering the first date he had gone on with Everly.


Dean wandered through the halls to the cafeteria, having stopped at his locker to grab his brown paper bag that contained a pathetic peanut butter and jelly, chips, and a Twinkie. Sam was off at the library, eating his lunch while he read, as per usual, so Dean was on his own as he looked around the bustling lunchroom to find somewhere to sit.

He'd been at this crummy school for a week now, and had been keeping to himself per dad's instructions. After the last school he'd been at, Dean was more than happy with avoiding people. It did make it hard to find a seat at lunch, but Dean didn't care too much.

Except for when he heard a familiar laugh, one he had grown to like hearing in his first period English class, as well as a few of his other classes.

His eyes immediately tracked the source of the laughter down, smiling slightly when he saw Everly seated with her best friend, a few tables from where he was standing. Dean made his way over to her table, clearing his throat awkwardly and drawing her attention.

"Hey Dean! Take a seat, Everly and I were just talkin' about you, actually," Shauna smiled up at him, pointing to the seat beside Everly.

Nervously, Dean sat next to Everly and opened his brown paper bag, pulling out his sandwich and taking a bite.

"All good things, I hope," he mumbled, not making eye contact with either of the girls.

"Well, to be honest, Everly hasn't been able to shut up about you," Shauna blurted out, and Everly groaned in embarrassment.

Dean looked between the girls, confusion all over his face as he watched them communicate silently.

"You're the worst, Shauna! Ugh. Just get out of here. I wanna talk to Dean without you being weird," Everly groaned at her friend, shooing her away with a wave of her hand.

Once Shauna was gone, Everly turned to Dean, her bright eyes almost twinkling as she stared back at him.

"Okay, this isn't really how I wanted this to go, but-" Everly took a deep breath, "Do you want to go to the drive-in with me tonight? They're playing this new Nicholas Cage and John Travolta movie called Face/Off and the previews look terrible…"

Everly trailed off, realizing that she had been rambling, and waited for Dean to answer.

"That'd be great," Dean nodded in response. "Do you.. Have a car? My old man needs ours for work."

He watched as she practically lit up, a smile taking over her entire face as she reached out and pulled him into a warm hug.

"We can borrow my mom's. I- Kinda already asked her if it was okay," she mumbled against him before pulling back and turning her attention to her lunch. "Can I pick you up at like 5?"

Dean had her pick him up from a diner down the street from the motel he, his brother, and his dad were staying at, but not before triple checking with Sam that he'd be okay alone for a few hours.

Everly drove them in her mother's 1985 Cadillac DeVille, and parked at the drive-in not too far outside of town. Dean had paid for the snacks since she got the tickets, and together they chatted about anything they could think of up until the movie started.

The movie was awful, but they spent the entire time laughing at how ridiculous the plot was, and how insane Nicholas Cage was. Dean soaked it all in, enjoying the feeling of being a normal teenager, sitting in a car with a pretty girl, watching a stupid movie and eating popcorn.

When the movie was over and the credits were rolling, Dean took the initiative and kissed her, beyond elated when she kissed him back. They made out in the Cadillac until a knock on the window broke them apart, and a flashlight shined through the windshield.

"C'mon kids, get a move on," the man that had interrupted them said, and Everly nodded dumbly, turning on the engine and driving off.

They were quiet until Dean directed her to the diner, then asked if she wanted to grab a slice of pie.

"I should probably get home… But who can say no to pie," she smiled, turning off the car and getting out.

Dean opened the door of the diner and allowed her in first, following in shortly after and taking her soft hand with his, squeezing gently and shooting her a smile when she looked up at him.

"You eating in or taking out, honey?" the waitress asked Dean, familiarity in her voice as he told her they'd need a table. He'd been there almost every day.

The teens sat across from one another, and Dean quickly ordered them a slice of blueberry pie and a slice of apple pie.

"This place has some amazing pie," Dean gushed, "Pie is my absolute favorite."

Everly laughed, shaking her head as she said, "The pie here is good, but you should try my mom's huckleberry pie. It's to die for."

"I'll have to take you up on that," he nodded, feeling weird for making future plans. "Listen, Everly… I- I should probably tell you that me being here, it isn't permanent. My dad.. Travels a lot for work. I move around a lot."

"I kinda figured that," she said with a sigh, playing with the napkin she had set on her lap. "You did show up out of nowhere during the middle of the semester. I… I really like you, Dean, and even if you're not sticking around forever, I'd like to spend any time I can with you, if that's okay."

"That's fine by me, Ev," Dean flashed her a small smile as the waitress dropped off two plates with their slices of pie. "And just so you know… I like you, too."


"Dean," Castiel's rumbling voice brought him out of his thoughts, and he looked up at the angel.

"Y-yeah, what's up?" He looked between Cas and Everly, who seemed to be a little worn out. "Is she okay?"

"Yes, my digging may have drained her energy a little bit," Cas nodded. "I think I can help her. Brain injuries that affect memories are… difficult. But over time, I should be able to untangle things in her mind, little by little."

"You can help me?" Everly asked quietly, and Dean glanced over to see a hopeful look on her face.

Cas turned to stare down at her, and Dean noticed a soft smile on his usually serious face.

"I believe I can," Castiel nodded in confirmation. "We'll have to start small, but with time, I think I'll be able to heal your injury and restore your memories."

Everly was lit up like a Christmas tree, Dean noticed, and he couldn't keep the smile off his own face, either. He was glad he had called Cas, that was for sure.

"When do you think you could get started?" she asked, "I- I don't want to rush you or anything. It's getting late, so I'm sure you'd want to get a good night's sleep and start in the morning?"

"Oh, that's.. Kind of you, but I don't sleep," Castiel told her, and Dean fought back a laugh.

"He's an angel, Ev. He doesn't need to sleep, or eat, or… I don't know what else he doesn't do, and I don't think I wanna know," Dean grimaced slightly, looking toward his friend, who was staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"I do think I wore you out a bit, however. We can start in the morning, if you'd like," Cas told Everly, and she nodded gratefully.

She reached out and tugged on his coat, pulling him closer so she could grab onto his hand, squeezing it gently as she said, "Thank you, Castiel."

Dean kept his face straight, ignoring the urge to glare. He knew Everly was sweet- she was always so gentle and caring. It was one of the things Dean loved about her. Her small town upbringing made her a caretaker in some ways, and a rebel in others.

"It's not a problem. A friend of Dean's is a friend of mine," Cas finally answered, pulling away and turning to Dean. "Could we speak outside for a moment?"

"Sure. Ev, I'll be back in a flash," Dean told her, earning a nod in response, and the two walked out into the hallway.

Once they were a few feet from the door, Castiel pinned his friend with a hard look.

"Dean, are you sure you want me to do this? Her mind… it's a mess. It could take me months to sort through everything in there," Cas said in a low voice. "I could instantly heal her injury, but she'd be overwhelmed by everything. I'd rather put everything back in place, then heal the injury last. I just want to make sure you know what I'm going to be doing, and what the repercussions could be."

"And what would those be?" Dean asked as he leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I could make things worse, for one," Cas started. "It's very… delicate, working with a human mind. I saw flashes of memories, some of them involving you, Dean. Are you sure you want her to remember everything?"

Dean's jaw clenched tightly as he glared down at the floor, noticing a scuff on the linoleum.

"I know it's all my fault, man. I know she'll probably hate me, but she can't keep living like this. Everly deserves-" Dean caught himself before he could choke up. "She deserves to live her life, and this ain't it."

"That's all I need to know," Cas nodded once, "I'll let you get back to her. I'll be back tomorrow morning. Will she remember this conversation?"

Heaving a sigh, Dean pushed himself away from the wall, "Her short term memory is good for a few days if you're consistent. When I was coming here three or four days a week, every week, she was good. But things got in the way and I was coming once a month, once every couple of months, she couldn't retain things as well."

"Good to know. I'll do everything in my power to help Everly, Dean. You have my word," Castiel told him.

Before he left, Dean gave him the name of the motel he was staying at, telling him to let Margaret know he sent him. Cas only gave him a confused look and nodded before taking his leave, walking down the hallway like a man on a mission.