Wanted

Chapter 23

Castiel hasn't left the hospital in two weeks. He's been sitting by his sister's side the whole time, just waiting for her to wake up. The doctors said it's less and less likely with every passing day, but Castiel has faith. He has to.

Michael pops in mosts nights, usually bringing him food because God knows Castiel isn't leaving to get any. Even Hannah comes over sometimes, but she only met Anna once or twice, so he knows she's only coming to check on him.

Castiel wasn't lying when he said he quit. It took Michael days to even convince him to talk to the guy who put his sister in a coma. And, as of tomorrow, he's officially out of the Bureau, and as a civilian, he won't be allowed to talk to the guy ever again — or so Michael says, though Castiel doesn't quite know how that works.

But he doesn't really care All he knows is he's had enough hunting serial killers for one lifetime.

~~

Castiel's still sitting by Anna's hospital bed, holding her hand, at one in the morning. He's half asleep, but his sleeping schedule is so messed up lately, he isn't sure if he's ever fully sleep. He squeezes Anna's hand, more of a half-conscious twitch than anything.

But then Anna squeezes his hand back.

Castiel sits upright immediately, careful not to move his hand. This has happened before, and it turned out just to be his imagination, but he gets excited every time.

"Anna?" Castiel says hopefully.

Anna moans quietly.

"Anna?" Castiel repeats, more enthusiastically. This much hasn't happened before, but he's also never been so tired. He could be hallucinating.

But Anna's eyes flutter open, and he knows it's real.

"Oh my god," Castiel whispers. "Anna?"

Anna looks around, only her eyes moving.

"You're in the hospital," Castiel says. "Do you remember what happened?" No one mentioned anything about memory loss, but he wants to make sure.

Anna hums, a nonverbal "yes."

"Are you okay?" Castiel asks.

Anna pauses, then says quietly, "I don't know."

Castiel squeezes her hand, hoping it'll bring at least a little bit of reassurance.

"How long have I been here?" Anna asks.

"Two weeks."

Anna's eyes widen at that. "Two weeks?"

Castiel nods. "Yeah. Um..." He shrugs helplessly. "Michael was here for the first few days, but, you know, work. But he was definitely rooting for you, just so you know I wasn't the only one here."

"What about you?" Anna asks. "Don't you have to work?"

He shakes his head. "I actually just quit. Today's technically my last day." He pauses, then amends, "Well, yesterday, as of an hour ago."

"Why?"

"Conflict of interest," Castiel says vaguely. Technically, he was pulled from the case for that reason — he can't hunt the guy who tried to kill his sister — but he really quit because this kind of broke him. He can't just go out and pretend that everything's normal after someone tried to kill his sister. "But enough about me. How are you?"

"I can't feel my body," Anna says. "Which I guess is good. I don't think I want to know what my body's supposed to feel like.

"Morphine works wonders," Castiel agrees. "I should probably call the nurses in, actually. They're supposed to be asking these questions."

"No," Anna says quickly, then whispers, "Please don't go."

"I won't, I swear," he says. "I'm just gonna hit the button on your remote, okay?"

He finally lets go of her hand to grab the TV remote, pressing the red call button to get the nurses' attention.

"Can I help you?" a voice says over the intercom.

All Castiel says is, "She's awake."

"I'll be right there."

Castiel puts the remote down, and this time, it's Anna who grabs his hand.

"So, physically you're fine," Castiel says. "How's the rest of you doing?"

Anna gives him a half smile. "Fine."

Castiel raises an eyebrow skeptically, but he doesn't push it. He knows better than to push a victim to talk. It works better when they do it on their own time.

"Are you going to be okay if the nurse kicks me out?"

Anna pauses, then says quietly, "Please don't leave."

"Okay," Castiel says. "I'll see if I can stay." Because he'll be damned if he's leaving her alone again.