I am so sorry it took so long oh my god. I'm just.. I don't even know what was keeping me away tbh. Last weekend was so busy and then I got sick and then I finally was able to write again and I lOst mY sToryliNe and I flipped tables and panicked on Twitter and then I finally found it (bleSs) so hERE YOU GO (finally) ILY ALL THANKS FOR WAITING (it's not like you had a choice but still haha oops)
Three days later, Sam found him and Dean a job. They were packing their bags as Charlie walked into Dean's room.
"Dean?"
"Hey kiddo, what's up?"
"You are sure the bunker is safe, right?"
Dean smiled reassuringly. "I'm a 100% sure. Kevin is now in heaven and there's nothing else that could possibly be here. Why that so?"
"I don't know," Charlie sighed. "It's just... you two are always here, and I'm really glad you found a job, but it'll be so silent and I don't know what to do when you're gone."
Dean thought for a moment, and a second later, Cas appeared next to him. "Hello, Dean."
"Hiya Cas, do you maybe have the time to stay with Charlie when we're gone?"
Cas nodded. "Of course I will. I understand it can be cold and lonely in here."
Dean smiled once more and then stood still. "Something's missing..." he mumbled. He shook his head, and walked to his Baby. "See you in a few days, bye guys!" he yelled before getting in.
When they were on the highway, Sam turned to Dean. "What was that about?"
"What?"
"You said something was missing? How do you mean, something is missing?" Sam asked. Maybe, Dean would get back his memory sooner than Cas had hoped.
"I don't know, Sammy. I had the feeling something was missing, but I couldn't point out what. Must be some random déjà vu. Don't worry, I'm all fine," Dean said.
Sam decided to say nothing, and they drove on in silence until Dean put on the new tape he had bought.
"Really? The still sell those things?"
Dean grinned. "Oh yes. No single reason for you to put in some modern technology crap in my Baby."
Sam just shrugged and decided to stay silent in case his mouth was his mind ahead and he accidentally said something about Dean and Cas.
While Sam and Dean were on their hunt, Charlie and Cas were in the bunker. Even tho Charlie didn't like what Cas had done to Dean, Cas had been part of her family for a while now. They talked about how Cas would talk to Kevin when he was human.
They had a good time, together. For an angel of the Lord, Cas had become a very talkative person.
On the end of the second day, Dean had texted Charlie, telling they were done, but needed to catch up on sleep before they were able to drive home. Charlie texted him back saying he was getting old, with a winky face, which Cas didn't understand.
"It's an expression, I didn't mean it literally," she explained and Cas nodded.
"How old are you actually? I've always wondered," she admitted.
"I have lost count in the billions, but I am almost as old as the earth," Cas said. He liked Charlie; not many people had actually been trying to converse with him as if he was just another human.
Other angels would find it offending, to be treated as 'just another human being', but Cas loved it. It made him think of when angels weren't feared creatures, when they could just have conversations with other people.
It also reminded him of the time when he had been human. The beginning was bad, but as soon as Sam and Dean found him, he actually enjoyed the human life. He liked the taste of food, the feeling after a good night's rest, and the feeling of... Dean. Adoring someone.
He still had feelings for Dean, he was sure of it. He still had the same feelings as when he wasn't an angel, which was weird. He had hoped the feelings would go away, but maybe this was Chuck's doing.
Cas snapped out of his trance by Charlie who asked him for help with the pie she was baking. "We're out of cinnamon and I-" before she was even done talking, Cas had disappeared and reappeared a millisecond later with cinnamon.
"here you go," he smiled.
"Thank you, Cas! I'm so glad you're an angel again, I mean, I'm not taking advantage of your powers, otherwise I'd just have asked you to go with me to the store and buy some, but now..."
"It's okay," Cas interrupted her rambling. "You don't have to apologize. I'm glad I have my powers back, too."
"So..." Charlie said, continuing to make the pie. "Why did you do it?"
"You asked for it and I-"
"No, not the cinnamon. Dean." Charlie wanted to know. She hadn't understood anything of it. Cas had been brought back by Chuck, who apparently was God, he was an angel again, Dean had missed him so badly, and the first thing he did was clearing a part of Dean's memories?
"Oh, Dean."
"Yes. Dean."
Cas sighed. "It's difficult to explain... But I can try," he added as soon as he saw Charlie's face. He might be an angel, but angry women still scared him.
"Dean cant know about... us. He will try to protect me and I need to prove myself. I need to use my grace to help them whenever I can, and to do so, Dean should think of me as just his friend."
Charlie didn't fully understand, but she decided to not ask further. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable or mad, because he was the only one she could talk to.
As she put the pie in the oven, Cas knew almost everything about her, except one thing. She thought she'd tell it later, when Sam and Dean were also back. She still couldn't believe Chuck was God, but if he knew what she did...
After Cas made her promise she wouldn't tell any of this to Dean, she took a shower and thought about all what was happening. She really hoped Dean would somehow get his memories of Cas back, they fitted together so well.
Even though Dean always tried to be as happy as possible when Charlie was around, she knew exactly when he was happy or not. Dean once said Charlie was like the little sister he never wanted, but now, she, Sam and Dean were basically siblings already.
She didn't mind though, she never had any siblings and she wouldn't want anyone other than Sam or Dean. Because of their past, they were able to read someone really well, and they knew when either of them or Charlie needed some space, or just a hug.
They didn't say Charlie could stay in the bunker. She had her own room now, and she didn't really want to go, but it depended on what Sam and Dean wanted. It was their bunker, maybe they didn't want her around all the time.
When she was done, she heard Cas knock on the door.
"Charlie? I think the pie is done, should I get it out of the oven?"
She smiled. The fact that Cas asked her first instead of doing it already showed that he still had his human manners.
"Yes please, there's a plate on the counter, you can put it there so it can cool down," she called back.
When she got back into the kitchen, the pie was on the plate and there was a note from Cas.
I am away for a short while, but I will be back soon. I am sorry to leave you alone.
You also got a new text; I think Sam and Dean are on their way back.
- Cas
She smiled and picked up her phone. It was indeed a text from Dean saying they would be back in a few hours. She texted back that it was okay and that she had a small surprise for when they got back.
During the ride back, Dean let Sam drive while he tried to make up his mind. He had barely slept for the few hours they had.
When their job had been done, they went back to the motel room they hired. Sam fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow, but Dean lay awake. Again, he had the feeling something was missing and he didn't know what. He had tried to sleep, but he simply couldn't.
He had even thought about calling out to Cas, but then he decided against it. He didn't want Charlie to e alone just because Dean couldn't sleep.
Sam and been beyond surprised when Dean told him he could drive.
"Are you feeling ill?"
"No, just couldn't sleep, I can't drive right now," Dean replied. "Hurt her and-"
"You'll hunt me down, yeah I know it," Sam said, laughing. "Trouble sleeping? Why?"
"I don't know, I just still have the feeling something is missing... something important. It won't leave my mind."
That silenced Sam, and he just stared to the road in front of them.
"You don't happen to know anything I don't, do you?" Dean asked. He knew he sounded too suspicious, but he was tired and tiredness and no sleep didn't go well together, that was common sense.
Sam shook his head. "No, I was just thinking, but I don't know. Get some rest, I'll tell you when we're back."
Dean nodded and closed his eyes. He didn't sleep, but he wasn't exactly awake either. Now that they had been in the bunker for so long, he almost forgot what it was to sleep in the Impala and he realized it was pretty crappy. However, the familiar smell of leather and the sound of the engine calmed him down, and with that, hid mind gave him some rest too.
When they arrived at the bunker, Dean opened the door and the first thing he noticed was the familiar smell. As soon as he saw the pie on the counted his face lit up in a smile.
"Yea, I was kinda bored and I thought, why not make something for when you two get back?" Charlie said from behind him.
Dean turned around and wrapped her up in his arms. "Thank you," he whispered, suddenly emotional. Charlie just hugged back and squeezed his shoulder.
30 minutes later, both Sam and Dean had taken a shower and they were sitting around the table. Charlie was just cutting the pie when Cas poofed back in.
"Hello Dean, Sam," he said.
"Hey, Cas. How was your time with Charlie?" Dean asked.
"It was very pleasant, she is a lot more talkative than you," was his answer, at which they all laughed.
"Do you want some too?" Charlie asked, gesturing to the pie. When Cas nodded she cut off another part, and brought it all to the table.
"This is very nice pie, Charlie. Good job," Dean complimented as he tried not to moan at the first bite.
"So... there's actually something I wanted to tell you..." Charlie said when they all ate a few bites. She had been procrastinating this for too long and needed to get it off her chest.
Cas instantly looked worried and Charlie almost invisibly shook her head. Dean noticed it but decided to ignore it. They wouldn't tell it anyways of he asked.
"I have been wanting to tell you for a while, but so many things happened and I just didn't have the time for it, and I thought now that we're all together..."
"It's okay, Charlie," Sam reassured her.
"Okay, well... When I left here, I went to Oz, and it was all nice, me and Dorothy had an awesome time and it really was an adventure. But then, something happened. I don't know what it was, but one morning I just woke up alone. I waited for 2 hours, but she didn't come back.
I started walking, I walked so far, I walked alone for days. And then Dorothy came back, and she was... different. She acted like she wasn't herself. One second she was so nice, and the other second she could be so... bitchy. I can't explain it otherwise. She could just ignore me, or say mean things.
Later, she explained it. She did something wrong, and now there were two sides of her. One bad, dark side, and one good and bright side, usually, both sides are together, but they were split and she couldn't help it. We travelled a long time to visit the Wizard of Oz, maybe he could help, but during our travelling it got worse and worse.
When we finally arrived at the Wizard's place, the sides changed so fast, I couldn't keep up with it any more. She had so much trouble sleeping; speaking... everything was so difficult. The Wizard... he said I had two choices. Leave her behind, or get her peace..."
It was silent for a moment. Charlie swallowed a few times before she went on with her story.
"Dorothy fought so hard, and for a minute she won it from her bad side. She told me I was amazing and that I had to find the adventure in everything. She told me I could do more than I thought, and she thanked me for the adventure we had together.
I thought I couldn't do it. I thought I'd be too weak. But I did it. I saved her from her pain."
None of them said anything for a solid five minutes. They didn't move either, until a single tear slipped over Charlie's cheek, and Dean immediately stood up and wrapped her in a hug. That's when she started sobbing, so loud; he just walked her to the couch and sat down.
Cas immediately stood next to them, and awkwardly patted her shoulder. He wasn't really sure what to do, but apparently it helped because Charlie smiled through her tears. She sat somewhat straighter and wiped her tears.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Dean smiled; she had needed this, like he needed the apple pie when they came back earlier. It wasn't really about the fact that it was pie; it was the fact that this was the first time someone had done something like that since their mother died. It was an act of kindness he appreciated so much.
When Charlie was sure she was doing alright, she freed herself from Dean, and stood up to wash her face. She was almost out of the room when she suddenly turned around, and walked back to give Cas a hug.
Cas was surprised, but it felt really pleasant. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her and patted her back. He hadn't hugged many people; in fact, she was the only one besides Dean. When she let go and walked away, she left Cas with one of the biggest smiles on his face they had ever seen.
loOk haPpinEss (ok and sadness I admit, but forgive me this fic is becoming nothing but sadness jfc where am I even going with this fic)
Also, this (about 2.4k words) was actually 3/4 of this chapter but I decided to put the other part in another chapter so hopeFulLy it will be updated sooner.
So yea I hoped you liked it :)