Last Hope (Supernatural fanfic)

Chapter Eighteen

Sam sat on his bed, it was well past midnight and Dean was asleep. Meg had walked out hours before to do God knows what and Hope was mumbling incoherently from the couch, lost in dreams, again. He stared at her, Sam had trouble remembering she wasn't human when she was asleep. He was torn. Now she was part angel, part demon, she had a price on her head, so they couldn't just take her back to her cabin. But, she never would have become this... hybrid. In the first place if Dean hadn't dragged her along. If she'd never met them she would be back in her cabin, she'd be safe, she'd be HUMAN. Sam wasn't sure he could forgive himself for what they had done to her.

"It is not your fault Samuel", Hope said softly.

Sam jumped and looked over at Hope, but her eyes were closed and she was still asleep.

"It is", he whispered, not expecting a reply.

"I was always meant to be this way, there is nothing you could have done to prevent this. I am safer with you and your brother,Dean, than I would have been alone".

Her voice was soft, like the smallest gust of wind could blow it away, but empty. No emotion made it's way into Hope's usually expressive voice and Sam shuddered as he realised she sounded like just another emotionless angel.

"Good Morning!", Hope chirped happily as she rolled off the couch.

She noticed Sam staring at her strangly and she raised her eyebrows questioningly. He didn't say anything, but Dean's deep voice sounded from the desk near the window.

"Afternoon, actually". He was flicking through a thick journal, papers spilling out of it's pages.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't sleep too well", Hope hadn't even realised what time it was and and she felt instantly guilty for sleeping so long.

Sam picked at a stray thread on his sleeve and asked, "Why didn't you sleep well?".

She was so surprised Sammy was talking to her, and sounding CONCERENED, she almost gasped. But Hope looked at his hunched figure, he was staring dejectedly at his hands and looked sort of sad. So she replied, "I was having really vivid dreams". Hope shuddered remembering some of them. "I actually had one about you".

"Really?", Sam sat up, now looking at Hope with curiosity.

She smiled slightly, "Yeah. You kept saying it was your fault I was like this. You know, all human/ angel/ demon. Anyway, you kept blaming yourself and I tried telling you it wasn't your fault, but you couldn't hear me".

Sam raised his eyebrows, "Oh".

Dean chuckled from the window, "Yeah... Sammy's like that. Blames himself for everything, then ignores you when you tell him it's not".

"It usually is my fault".

"No it's not. Sam we've talked 'bout this, and it is not your fault", Dean argued.

Hope sat quietly on the couch warching the boys bicker. By the looks of it Sam blamed himself for their current situation and Dean wouldn't listen to a thing Sam had to say on the matter. A quiet flutter of feathers alerted Hope to Castiel's presence. She turned to him smiling slightly, but as she opened her mouth to speak her voice failed her. How had she not noticed how blue Castiel's eyes were? Hope marveled silently at Cas, her eyes raked over his features, apreciativly noticing his tousled hair and slight stubble, his concerned expression and twisted tie. Somehow his eyes seemed to soften slightly when she looked into them and Hope could feel the blush creeping up her neck and across her usually pale skin.

"Hello Hope".

"Hi Castiel", she replied quietly.

Cas looked away from Hope and stared at the boys instead, "Dean, Sam. I am going to be teaching Hope more about being an angel today. Is that okay?".

Dean raised an eyebrow and looked confused, but shrugged and replied, "Uh, sure. Hope, take your knife with you".

She nodded, stripping off her sweatpants and exchanging them for a simple grey dress, she didn't care that the brothers had seen her underwear and Castiel was too embaressed to look. Grabbing a small leather bag of Sam's she threw in her knife, her journal and a handfull of pencils from the desk, she waved to the boys.

"Have fun!", she said, as she walked to the door.

Sam snorted, "Yeah, research, fun fun fun".

Hope waited patiently by the door for Castiel, but he had other plans. He walked towards her calmly, slowly and once there was barely two incges between them, he raised his hand and gently pressed two fingers to her forehead.