Let's Get Where We're Going

For some reason it had always seemed like the Winchester’s gave Kinsley the shitty jobs. Sam and Dean had become the two older brothers Kinsley never knew she needed. It was only by miracle that the trio had been reunited years prior. Since reclaiming the younger sister role, the Winchester brother’s decided that Kinsley got the low-risk jobs…. Especially because of the possession that had occurred in New Orleans. But, that was beside the point.

Kinsley’s new job was to baby and an angel. Specifically, the angel that pulled her brother from hell. But also specifically the angel that couldn’t possibly understand the infatuation that the girl had with him.

“Kinsley, just don’t do anything stupid.” Dean had warned her. “Cas already has shit going on and he doesn’t need you draggin’ on his damn tailcoat. You just gotta teach him human shit. Okay?”

---

Kinsley walked into the hospital, the sounds of machines beeping and the smell of sterilization hitting her nose. Her eyebrows furrowed with frustration. Her two idiot brothers knew she hated hospitals, so why send her to one? She made her way through the reception and headed in the direction of Castiel’s room. When she arrived at the room, she rapped on the door frame before entering.

“Hey, Castiel.” She grumbled, still slightly agitated from being in a hospital. She set a couple of bags down on the bed side table. Kinsley pulled up a chair and sat beside him. “I, uh. I stopped and got you some food so you can eat.”

Castiel couldn't understand what was going on for the life of him. The last thing that he remembered was banishing himself and the other angels and yet, he was stuck here. The moment that he had woken up, he had tried to transport to Dean and Sam but it hadn't worked. Nothing that he tried worked and it took him more time than he cared to admit to figure out there was another option for him. If he could get his hands on a telephone, he could surely contact Dean and Sam. Right?

Sure enough, after he was handed the cellphone from his belongings by a nurse, Cas made contact with Dean. It was a strange experience - having to rely on a technology that seemed so useless to him prior. He was an Angel of the Lord! He didn't need to use technology normally reserved for humans.

After hanging up with Dean, Castiel settled into bed and all but stared at the wall opposite of him. He didn't blink, he didn't so much as move for the next few hours until he heard a knock at the door. Was he supposed to answer? Clearing his throat, Cas called out a 'come in'.

Kinsley appeared in the doorway and Cas, he felt the smallest amount of relief when he set eyes on her. He didn't want to deal with the whispers or the strange looks from the medical staff.

"Thank you?" Castiel answered, taking the first bag that he could reach. He sat up a bit more and began to rummage through the bag, producing what looked like one of those sandwiches that Dean was such a fan of. "What is it?" He'd never paid attention before, he had never needed to.

Kinsley wanted to laugh at the confused angel sitting in front of her. He looked almost annoyed that he was as close to human as he could be. She looked at him with soft eyes and a smile on her lips, appreciating the way his hair looked messily. Kinsley shrugged her shoulders, snapping herself out of her thoughts. “I know you don’t really eat… So I just got you what we eat.”

Kinsley peered stood up to peer inside of the bag he had grabbed. She placed a hand on his wrist so that he would move so she could see. The bag he had grabbed was from the burger shop down the street, one of her personal favorites to go to. “That’s a hamburger, some fries, and a cookie.” She rolled her eyes playfully at the misunderstanding angel, “It’s kind of like a sandwich. Bread, meat, and cheese.”

Kinsley settled back into the chair, studying him as he tried to figure out how to eat the food that was in front of him. She reached over and stole a fry, popping it into her mouth. “So the nurses said they are gonna check you over one more time and then you’ll be discharged in a bit.”

There had been plenty of times when Castiel sat at a diner table while the Winchester brothers ate and sometimes with another of their companions but Castiel had never bothered to pay attention to what they did. Had never worried about what eating would actually mean because he was an angel, he would never have to eat. That was just outrageous.

Cas picked up the bun first, taking a tentative bite out of it and continued on this way until he had sampled each part of it. He reassembled the burger without the onion because it was particularly bitter and it made him recoil after the initial bite.

"Why cannot we not go now?" Castiel asked after taking another bite of the sandwich. His frown deepened as he set the burger down, pushing it away from him as he sat back up. "I feel fine, I don't need to wait. We can leave now... I'm sure there are more pressing matters to tend to."

“Cas,” Kinsley said with a gentle sigh. How could she explain this to him? “They just want to do another once over on you, I guess. I’ll get you outta here soon, I promise. They boys booked us a hotel room down the street.”

After Castiel had finished eating and finally got discharged, he was allowed to change back into his own clothing. As they walked outside, Kinsley began to lead them in the direction of the hotel room. “Hey Cas?” she said as she looked over at him. He was walking at a fairly fast pace, with his head down. She sometimes thought the angel forgot how small her stride was compared to his. She reached out and gently grabbed his arm. “Trying to ditch me already?”

When the neared the hotel she spoke up again. “I got you some clothes. You’ll probably want to hop through the shower.”

Castiel was intent to get to whatever forsaken hotel the Winchester brothers had acquired for them. He hadn't thought about it, not much anyway, so he jerked away from Kinsley touch on instinct alone. A frown formed on his lips and he stopped moving completely until she had caught up with him. His head was lowered and he was timing his steps perfectly to match Kinsley's, so focused on the action that he was startled back to reality when she spoke up again.

"A shower? Right, of course," Cas agreed with a nod of his head. A shower. He could do that. How hard was it? He just walked under the water and wet his hair and that would be it. Right?

Cas stepped into the hotel room and slowly turned around until he was facing her. "Okay. How long should I... stay in teh shower?"

Kinsley giggled softly at Cas, shaking her head as she sat down on the bed. “It’s gonna take you some time to get the hang of this human thing, isn’t it?”

Kinsley offered him a small smile, “So, you’re gonna go in there and get in the shower. Wash your hair with the shampoo and then wash your body with the body wash. Then rinse of with the water. Dry off and get changed. It’s easy, I promise.”

Kinsley ushered him to the bathroom. She realized he probably never had to start a shower before, so she pulled back the shower curtain and began twisting the knobs for him. “When you’re done, just turn them the opposite way to turn them off, okay?”

Cas listened to the instructions for the shower, a small frown on his lips. It seemed so simple, it really did but then, it seemed so beyond unnecessary. Why? His lips parted, ready to ask the question but then it was lost because he followed her into the bathroom. He began to pull his jacket off, not thinking all that much about how awkward it may be for her. Why would it be?

He turned, watching as she started the shower for him. He offered an awkward smile and thanked her before stepping to the side so that she could leave the bathroom.

It was a good ten or so minutes before Castiel emerged in his fresh cloth. He stood awkward just outside of the bathroom, tilting his head to the side as he watched her. "Should we... should we try to sleep now?"

Kinsley nodded, offering the bed to Cas. She knew the angel probably had never slept in a bed before, and considering he was probably unusually tired… The least she could do was give the man the bed. “I mean, you can try and sleep if you want, but I am going to jump through the shower myself.”

Kinsley gave him a small smile before rifling through her bag to find clothes to change into. She went into the bathroom and started the shower for herself. Kinsley took a nice, long, hot shower. She had probably been in there about twenty minutes before she got out. She dried off and changed into pajamas before reentering the room. She sat down on the small sofa and ran a hand through her wet hair. “Tired yet, Cas?”

Cas hadn't done anything to take his clothes off and get more comfortable or anything of the sort. He simply pulled the covers over his body before settling into the bed. He straightened out into a thin line before letting his eyes slip shut. Sleep. He could do that. Was this sleeping? No, he decided it couldn't be because he could still hear the sounds of the shower as it turned off.

His eyes opened, watching as Kinsley appeared. Shaking his head slowly, Cas shrugged his shoulders. "It seems so strange... why would I sleep? Isn't that going to leave me vulnerable? I don't... is there a point that I'm missing?" He asked, his face scrunching the slightest bit as he considered what he knew of humans' habits. "I understand you need to but... but why?"

Kinsley smiled at Cas, her eyes lingering on his figure for a while. How was she supposed to explain sleep? It was just a natural thing that occurred… Wasn’t it? Kinsley sucked her bottom lip into her mouth as she tried to search for the right words. She shook her head and laughed, “No, you won’t be vulnerable. Everything’s locked up and we have traps set…” She trailed off as she looked at him again.

“Sleep is like what humans use to recharge our ‘batteries.’ It makes us more alert and helps us focus and relax.” She murmured. Kinsley let her eyes wander over Castiel once more. She thought he was so damn innocent—to her at least. She knew there were things that he had done that she couldn’t comprehend. As soon as her brothers warning started echoing, she removed her eyes from him immediately.

Castiel's frown only deepened at the explanation that Kinsley offered him about sleep but he decided that it wasn't worth arguing over. If that was what it took to keep humans alert, to go completely unconscious to the world for hours on end, well, he couldn't understand it but who was he to judge? He was not God.

Shuffling over to the other bed, Castiel climbed under the covers and pulled them straight up to his shoulders, setting his arms on either side of him. He blinked as he stared up at the ceiling before turning his head to look at her. "What is the plan for tomorrow? Are we to meet up with the Winchester brothers?"

Kinsley shrugged her shoulders at him. They boys were working on a case and had given Kinsley strict instructions to stay put until they called her. “Dean told me yesterday that he would call me when it was time to meet up with them.” She got up from her place in the chair and made her way over to the other bed. She climbed in and snuggled down into the covers. She peered over at Cas, noticing he did in fact look tired. She hoped he would be able to get at least some type of sleep.

“We need to get you where you are able to juice up, Cas.” She mumbled, letting her eyes slip closed for a moment.

Castiel tilted his head to the side, setting his hands on his stomach as he listened to Kinsley speak. They were to stay put until the Winchesters appear. He could do that. Lacing his fingers together, Cas let out a small huff when he shifted around on the bed.

There was something he could do to gain his energy back faster, the thought flashed through his mind but he dismissed it just as quickly. No, that was not something he would do to someone so innocent. He couldn't. Clearing his throat, Cas gritted his teeth as he nodded slowly. "It will take time for me to heal but I assure you, I will be fine."

Kinsley looked at Castiel for a moment, watching his face as he began to think about something. She could always tell when the Angel was deep in though. The way his lids closed half way and the way his lips pursed so perfectly…. She shook her head, willing the thoughts away. She rested her head on her arm, resisting the temptation to go sit by him.

“What are you thinking about Cas?” She questioned. “Is there another way that we can get you healed faster” She sat up, pooling the blankets around her. “Because if there is anything I can do just let me know… Please, I would love to help you.”

Castiel pushed himself into a sitting position, his mind racing with the possibility. He had done it a few times before - when things became so dire that he had no time at all left that he could use to gain his strength. But here, he had time and there was no reason to put Kinsley in such danger. He was confident in his abilities but the pain he would put her in, it wasn't necessary.

"No. I will not put you into a situation like that. It's unnecessary - I will heal with time and that's all that matters," Castiel finally forced himself to say. The offer, as tempting as it was, he couldn't quite bring himself to. "Besides,the Winchesters will be here surely. Of this, I am sure."

Kinsley eyes Castiel suspiciously. She knew he was laying; he had to know a way to heal faster. Her eyes drifted away from his as she tried to make herself more comfortable. She knew she needed to get some sleep as well, her lids were growing heavier and heavier as time went on. She had had a long day trying to get to where Cas was, and now she just wanted to try and relax.

Kinsley peered through her half-closed lids at Castiel, “Are you going to be able to fall asleep? Or?” She stifled a yawn as she continued to look at him. “Is there anything I can do to help you get to sleep? Cause you are gonna need it.”

Castiel inched down the bed until his head rested against the pillow. His eyes slipped shut and he willed himself to sleep before Kinsley was speaking again. He gave a nod of his head as he let out a quiet yawn. It wasn't as if he was truly tired by any means but it was what humans did when they were tired so perhaps it would help him sleep.

"Thank you, Kinsley. It's a generous offer but I'll get to sleep in time," Castiel answered. He gave a shrugged his shoulders as he sighed, "you should get to sleep yourself."

Kinsley fell asleep quite quickly that night. When she woke up the next morning she peered over at Cas, who seemed to still be sleeping. She slipped out of the bed and made her way to the bathroom to do her usual morning routine. After using the restroom, she began to brush her teeth. She walked out of the bathroom, the toothbrush still in her mouth, humming softly to herself. She went over to the small coffee pot and began to make some. She glanced back over at Cas, his eyes still closed. Would the angel want coffee? She shrugged her shoulders and made a little extra just in case.

Kinsley returned to the bathroom, rinsing her mouth and putting her belongs away. She made her way back to her bed, sitting on the edge of it. She scrolled through her phone as she waiting for the coffee to be done, making sure that her brothers hadn’t contacted her yet.