I Don't Deserve Love: Alternate Ending

Chapter 67: Best Friend's Approval

I woke up the next morning to a strange pressure on my hand and arm. Turning my head and wincing at the dull pain radiating from my bruised throat I felt my eyes widen as I looked down to see Castiel slumped over on the side of my hospital bed. He had interlocked his fingers with mine and his cheek was leaning against my forearm while his other hand rested gently against our intertwined fingers. His breathing was deep and even. I felt a small tremor go through my heart as I studied his handsome face which was covered with gauze patches covering the wounds he got from my father.

After a few silent minutes my hand he was not holding twitched and I slowly reached out and ran my fingers through his recently cut hair. The gel he used to spike it seemed to have loosened and my fingers slid easily through the longer portion of his deep red hair. It was softer than I was expecting, and after making sure his breathing pattern hadn't changed, I let my fingers drift from his hair to trail down the side of his face. His cheek twitched as I brushed against it and I held my breath, hoping that he wouldn't wake up. It was not to be, though. I watched with embarrassment as his grip tightened on our joined hands as he pushed himself up and blinked looking around him until he met my eyes with his steel grey ones.

"Opal?" he asked with a slight croak in his voice.

I began to retract my fingers from his cheek but he quickly reached up and grabbed them. He looked deeply into my eyes for a few seconds before pressing my hand firmly against his cheek and giving me a teasing smirk. The look sent butterflies racing through my stomach and I could feel my cheeks begin to heat up.

"I didn't mean to wake you," I whispered, once again trying to pull my hand from his cheek. However, his grip tightened as his eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Do you always touch people's faces when they are sleeping?" he asked with a smirk. 

My cheeks grew a little warmer and I shook my head, but that caused a stabbing pain to go through my chest so I reluctantly settled back against my pillows. Castiel seemed to have noticed my reaction though because he instantly let go of the hand he was pressing against his cheek and straightened. Deftly he moved from sitting on a chair next to my bed to resting on the side of the bed so he could reach out and stroke my cheek with the back of his knuckles.

"You okay? Should I get the nurse?" he asked with more gentleness than I could hardly believe. Thinking better of shaking my head again I tried to smile naturally.

"I'm fine. But are you alright?" I asked in concern as I looked at the bandage across his right cheekbone, the scabbing on his split lip, the splint across the bridge of his nose, a dusting of a bruise around his right eye, and a small bandage underneath his hairline. Castiel squeezed my hand that he was now resting against his thigh and smirked imperiously.

"It'd take more than that to take me out," he said arrogantly. 

I could tell that he was trying to make me laugh, but his comment caused a lump to form in my throat and I looked down at our joined hands. His thumb slowly caressed my cheek and I flitted my gaze back up to him to see him frowning slightly.

"I'm fine, Opal. I would do it again in a heartbeat if it was to protect you," he said seriously. "I'm really sorry I couldn't do more to keep him from hurting you so badly." I blinked in surprise at the depth of regret that I could hear in his voice.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Castiel. I'm sorry you've had to come to the hospital twice in two days because of me," I said guiltily. Castiel gave me a confused look and I chewed on my bottom lip briefly. "You don't like hospitals, right?" I asked in a hushed voice, just now realizing that Auntie was lying on a makeshift cot next to my bed. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully and I didn't want to wake her.