Destined

Chapter 22

When I came to, I was lying on my stomach in a large room full of empty beds - an infirmary, it seemed. I started to push myself up.

"Castiel!" I looked around to see Hannah standing from her seat next to the bed. "Are you okay? I was so worried!" I sat on the edge of the bed and gave her a smile.

"I'm fine, Hannah. I just asked too much of my wings. But now that I've rested, it feels better," I told her. Hannah hugged me tightly, her wings wrapping around me. I smiled, patting her back.

"You don't have to worry about me, Hannah. I won't be leaving you for a long time to come," I said. As soon as she released me, Hannah was grinning.

"I have to go tell Meg. She'll be thrilled to hear that you're up!" she said, turning and hurrying out of the room. I smiled after her, touched by her concern for me. While I waited for Hannah to come back, I stretched my wings out behind me slowly, trying to get a feel for the effects of my flight. The left wing was merely sore from the unusal demand for activity, but the right wing was stiff on top of the soreness. It seemed to have seized up in response to the abuse. I streched my right wing out as far as I could, grimacing at the pain and effort it took, before relaxing it again. I repeated the process several times before the door opened once more, bringing Hannah, acompanied by Meg and Dean. Meg walked towards me but halted a few feet away, seeming unwilling to approach me while we weren't alone. Dean stopped slightly behind her.

"Cas, are you okay?" Meg asked. I nodded, giving her a smile.

"I'll be fine. Everyone really should stop worrying about me," I said. Meg smiled back at me.

"We'll stop worrying when you stop doing stupid shit," she said. Hannah let out a small laugh. Dean's face remained unchanged.

"Did we find anything about the person who did it?" I asked, turning my attention to Dean as I began stretching my wings again.

"Gone without a trace. This is starting to make me fucking angry. How ignorant are we that this keeps happening? What am I missing?" Dean growled.

"It's clearly Hellas trying to stop the union of our nations," I said, letting my wings rest for a moment before beginning again.

"But how do they keep getting in and how do I stop them?" Dean said.

"It isn't your fault, Dean," Meg said. Dean scowled.

"It doesn't matter who's fault it is, someone needs to stop it before our luck runs out," Dean said. I winced suddenly as a muscle in my wing seized and everyone turned to look at me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Dean asked.

"I'm fine," I said through gritted teeth, bringing my wing around in front of me and beginning to massage it lightly.

"I should go," Meg said, her voice soft. She took a few steps forwards, kissed me softly on the cheek, and hurried out of the room. I watched her go, confused. She hadn't seemed like herself at all.

As the door closed, Hannah stepped forward and took my wing in her hands, beginning to massage it herself. I smiled gratefully at her before turning back to Dean.

"Dean, I don't blame you or any of your family for this, but it needs to be dealt with," I said. "Hannah's safety is my top priority, and it's being threatened. We need to figure this out, and soon." Dean nodded, his face tight.

"I promised that Hannah wouldn't be hurt by this war, and I intend to keep that promise," he said, turning and heading towards the door, pausing when he reached it.

"And Cas?" he started, turning halfway back towards me.

"Yes, Dean?"

"Thank you. You saved my life. You... Thank you." Dean turned and exited the room without waiting for a response. I stared at the closed door for a second before fluttering my wing lightly out of Hannah's grasp and standing up.

"Do you remember what our lives were like before we came here?" I asked Hannah, only half joking. Hannah took a few steps to stand beside me and stared at the closed door like I did.

"Only that times were much simpler then," she said. I smiled and nodded.

"Indeed. Before war was brewing, before such matters of love and marriage were any business of ours. Do you ever wish you could be young again and able to simply curl up next to the fire and have Mother read you a bed time story?" I asked.

"Every day, Castiel. But being here has offered me so many new opportunities. And a chance to do some good for everyone," Hannah responded. I turned my head to look down at her, taking her in all over again.

"Are you happy here, Hannah?" I asked. Hannah stiffened slightly before turning to meet my eyes.

"On some days. And I believe that's really the best I can hope for," she answered. I nodded, my heart sinking slightly. I'd always hoped that Hannah would be nothing but happy for as long as she lived. And here I was, condemning her to marry a man in love with someone else. I pulled Hannah into a tight hug.

"I hope this all works out for you, Hannah. I want you to be happy, I always have," I said. Hannah smiled, giving me a quick hug before pulling away.

"And I hope the same for you, Castiel. Now, I'm going to go find the queen. we have more wedding preparations to attend to. Is your wing going to be all right?" Hannah asked. I nodded.

"I'll be fine." Hannah nodded and walked out the door, leaving me in an empty room. I took a deep breath, enjoying the silence for a moment. After everything that had happened, I couldn't gelp but wish I could go back in time to when I was home, and we were safe. And when Mother was alive. The days were so tiring here, even when I barely left my room.

  I shook my head and headed out of the room. Wallowing was no good.

  It only took me a short time to find Meg. She was standing in front of a window overlooking Lebanon, sat in quiet contemplation.

  "You seem to do a lot of staring out of windows," I said. Meg started and looked around at me. "Is that an aesthetic choice or do you just really like windows?" Meg smirked.

  "It's a good medium for life evaluation. I can think of a few people here who could use some of that," she said. I smiled and took a step forward to press my lips to hers quickly.

  "Are you okay?" She asked when we broke apart, her eyes darting to my wing, then back to my face. I shrugged.

  "The wing is the least of my worries at this point. Someone is trying to kill my sister, who is engaged to marry someone who, I just discovered, is in love with someone else," I said. Meg's smile vanished.

  "So he told you?" She asked, her voice flat.

  "I pulled it out of him. I just wish I knew who it was. Do you know?" I asked. Meg stared at me.

  "You can't tell? God, you're dense. Everyone else knows!" Meg barked, anger beginning to radiate from her. I took a step back, confused.

  "What's wrong? Who is it?" I asked.

  "It's you, you fucking idiot," she said, storming past me. I was too shocked to follow her and try to figure out why she was so angry at me. Dean was in love... With me?