By the time Sam finally made his way back to the room, Dean had cried himself to sleep. He lay slumped over in his chair, his head resting on Castiel’s shoulder and his hand on his chest. Sam grabbed a blanket from the other chair and draped it over his brother’s sleeping form. He was shocked that Dean had fallen asleep, though it didn’t surprise him. Dean hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep since Castiel had been transferred to Harborview, and exhaustion had finally caught up with the hunter.
Sam watched over his family for a few hours, the caffeine he’d ingested keeping him from nodding off, when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Sam fished it out and checked the caller ID. Brow furrowed when he didn’t recognize the number, he answered.
“Hello?” Sam answered, wondering who could possibly have gotten his personal cell number.
“Hey Sam,” A female voice replied.
“Charlie? Is that you?” Sam couldn’t believe he was hearing from Charlie over a year since they’d said goodbye and parted ways.
“Yeah, it’s me. When were you going to tell me?” Charlie interrogated.
“Tell you what?”
“When were you going to tell me that Castiel was attacked? I mean, I know we haven’t talked in a year, but you know how much I care about you three knuckleheads!” Sam could hear Charlie’s anger rising and needed to calm her down before he went deaf.
“Charlie, calm down,” Sam stood and went into the hallway. “How did you know that Castiel was attacked?”
“I was running a nationwide facial recognition for the three of you, making sure you were staying out of trouble, when the program matched Castiel to surveillance footage from a house in Eastern Washington. The footage shows him being jumped by a group of people; two men did the dirty work while another man and a woman stood off to the side and watched. I think they were giving orders,” Charlie explained.
Sam was utterly speechless. Just when things seemed their most hopeless, fate turned around and handed them the Holy Grail. This was exactly what they needed; faces to put with their mystery assailants. Now they just had to put names to those faces.
“We need that footage. Where are you now Charlie?” Sam questioned after a long pause.
Charlie chuckled under her breath. “I’m in Washington actually. I work for Microsoft’s corporate office. What motel are you squatting in?”
“We’re at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Castiel was transferred here from a hospital in Wenatchee,” Sam said. The pregnant pause that hung between them told Sam that the news had startled Charlie.
“B-but he’s an Angel. Why hasn’t he just healed himself?” Sam could tell that Charlie was inching closer to a breakdown, and he needed to derail it fast.
“Whoever these people were that attacked him, stole his Grace. Right now he’s as human as you and me. Things aren’t looking good for Cass, so I suggest you get over here as soon as you can. You might not get another chance to say goodbye.”
“I’ll be there in half an hour!” Charlie said and hung up the phone. Sam shoved the phone back into his pocket and made his way down to the front entrance to meet Charlie.
“Sam!” Charlie shouted as she jumped from the taxi and raced towards him. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Tears soaked into Sam’s shirt as Charlie sobbed openly.
“Shh, it’s okay Charlie. It’s okay.” Sam murmured softly. “Castiel is stable for the moment, but he’s had some touch and go moments since he was brought in. I’ll take you up to see him now.”
Charlie nodded and wiped the tears from her face with the bottom of Sam’s shirt. “Is Dean with him?”
“Yeah, Dean’s with him,” Sam replied as he led her inside and into the elevator. “When Cass was transferred here, Dean stayed until visiting hours were over. We got a hotel nearby so that we could be close in case he woke up. That night Dean got a phone call from the hospital; the swelling in Castiel’s brain had gotten worse and they took him in for surgery to relieve the pressure. It seemed to really help, but Dean was adamant about not leaving Castiel’s side again.
“The hospital sent in a home health care nurse to talk to us about his rehabilitation once he woke up, and told us that the Ronald McDonald House had found a place for us to stay. Dean and I went with the nurse to check out the house, and when we came back … Cass had taken a turn for the worse. He went into cardiac arrest, but the doctor was able to revive him. We don’t know what kind of damage the lack of oxygen has done. Dean’s on the verge of a full-blown break. I’m worried about him, Charlie.”
Charlie grabbed Sam’s forearm and pulled him to a stop. “I’m worried about you, Sam. You seem to be taking this a little too well. Are you okay?” She asked.
“I’m fine Charlie. Dean may not realize it, but he needs me to be strong for him. He needs someone to turn to when all this gets to be too much. To be completely honest with you Charlie, whenever I tell Dean I’m going to get coffee or some fresh air, I always find myself sitting in the Impala crying. I just … I don’t want Dean to see me like that and think he needs to be the protective big brother. Dean needs to be able to just grieve and work through this,” Sam explained.
Charlie threw her arms around Sam’s waist. “I understand.”
0-0-0-0-0
Dean awoke at the sound of Sam’s footsteps. He rubbed his bleary eyes and plastered on a tired smile, hoping Sam wouldn’t want to talk about what had happened to Cass after they left. His smile grew genuine with a hint of surprise when he saw the small red haired girl in tow.
“Charlie? What are you doing here?” Dean asked. He stood just in time to catch Charlie who hurled herself into his arms.
Charlie launched into a recollection of how she had been running the boys’ faces through facial recognition and had come across the surveillance footage showing Castiel’s attack, and how she’d called Sam nearly hysteric over it. She explained what she had seen in the video, and how she had downloaded it to an external hard drive.
“God, we’ve missed you Charlie,” Dean muttered, placing a hand on her thigh.
Charlie swiped at the tears that ran down her face. “I missed you guys too. I know the last time we parted ways I said to lose my number, that I didn’t want to get dragged into this world … but I changed my mind. I don’t ever want to leave you three again. You’re my family.”
“We wouldn’t want it any other way, your highness.” Dean smiled as he handed her a tissue. He knew that would get Charlie smiling.
“Thank you Dean. It means a lot to me that you want me back too.” Charlie’s gaze fell to Castiel. “Do you think it’d be alright if I have some time alone with him?”
Dean tensed visibly. The last time he left Castiel, the man had almost died. But he knew that Charlie needed to have a moment with Cass. “Sure Charlie. We’ll be in the lounge if you need us.” And with that, Dean and Sam left the room; Charlie could hear their receding voices down the hall. She took the seat Dean had vacated and rested her hand on Castiel’s arm. It was a long time before Charlie found the courage to speak.
“Hey Cass, I’m not sure if you can hear me, but it’s Charlie. I came as soon as I found out you were hurt. You have to get better, you hear me? You need to get better so you can tell Dean how you feel about him. And don’t think that it isn’t super obvious to everyone what your feelings are. Well, maybe it’s not to everyone because Dean seems to be oblivious to it,” Charlie rambled as she stroked his arm. “Please Castiel, you gotta wake up. I don’t want this to end like it did with my mom. You both deserve so much better than that.”
Sam and Dean smiled to each other from their place in the hallway. They had been on their way back from the lounge when they heard Charlie’s soft voice filter through the air.
“Was Cas really that obvious with how he felt? Am I really that thick-headed?” Dean questioned.
“Yeah … at least you used to be.” Sam chuckled. “But that’s what makes you who you are, Dean.”
0-0-0-0-0
Charlie closed her eyes and stroked the top of Castiel’s hand with her thumb, humming a song from Lord of the Rings softly. It never failed to make her feel better, like when work was especially stressful or the times she thought of her mom.
“Charlie? W-what are you doing here?” A soft, raspy voice called. With wide eyes, Charlie turned towards the sound.
“Cass? You’re awake? You’re awake!” She shouted in joy, jumping to her feet. “Sam! Dean!” Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed onto Castiel, holding him tightly. “We thought we’d lost you.” Charlie untangled herself from Castiel and wiped her cheeks with shaky hands.
Sam and Dean raced into the room, stopping short as their gazes fell on a pair of bright blue eyes neither thought they’d ever see again. Dean broke down in sobs as he raced towards Castiel. He cupped his Angel’s face in his hands and kissed him fiercely.
He pulled back slightly, their lips just centimeters apart. “I thought I’d lost you Cass. I love you so, so much. I’m sorry I was such a blockhead before. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I love you sooner,” Dean whispered, tears shining in his emerald green eyes. “Don’t ever leave me. I need you. I love you.”
Castiel smiled at Dean’s love-filled words. He had waited years for Dean to realize his true feelings and admit to himself that he deserved to be happy.
0-0-0-0-0
**Yay! Castiel has finally woken up! Things start to look up for our beloved boys from here.**