Note: hey, my lovelies <3 it's almost 3am, and my leg is bleeding bc i shaved in the dark, and i have such a strong craving for fruity pebbles, and i'm wicked depressed. but i'm alive! and i hope you weren't too worried at my absence last week.

this chapter inspired by my little brother, who hates soup, which is super weird. 

i'm mostly kidding-- this chapter was written for a request by a total sweetheart, @welgej9007, who wanted to see some Anna and Cas content.

however, my brother's second biggest flaw IS that he hates soup. i did not make that up, unfortunately.

anyway, chaos aside, anna is fourteen.

I Hate Soup

Anna let her heavy head rest against the cold metal of her locker while sneakers scuffed along the dusty floor beside her.

Somebody's toe hit her ankle, and there was a stumble, a curse, and an insult.

Anna glared heatedly after the kid who'd tripped over her. But the moment was over as quickly as it had begun, and she could no longer remember the face of the perpetrator.

She rolled her head to the side and watched from knee-height as the rest of the morning crowd darted toward classrooms at varying paces.

Someone's keys jingled noisily close to Anna's ear, and she had to wince at the effect it had on her headache.

She slipped her phone out of her pocket.

Sam, or Dean?

She weighed her options.

Who would be more likely to give her the green light to come home?

Probably Dean. Sam would think she was faking sick to get out of the hell that was public school.

Anna scrolled up and down the information in Dean's contact on her phone. She felt a little guilty. Her brother had only just dropped her off half an hour ago. She'd had a headache and felt nauseous then, too, and she hadn't bothered to say anything.

But she wanted to go home.

Then again, she couldn't be sure if maybe she was taking a weak excuse to get out of school. She did hate this place with a burning passion.

"Hi!"

The perky voice made Anna want to shove her fingers down her throat. She squinted up at the friendly face above her. She didn't actually recognize the girl, with her strawberry blonde braids and soccer ball eyes.

"Hi."

"I'm Opal."

"Anna."

"I'm running for Class President, and I want to get to know everyone in our class by name. Tell me something about yourself."

Anna's expression darkened. She was out of patience. "I have a headache," she said dryly. "And I find you annoying."

Opal's giant eyes bugged out of her head. "Well, I find you rude," she said huffily. "Vote for me anyway, 'cause..." She trailed off.

Anna couldn't think of a reason to 'Vote Opal' either. She cocked an eyebrow at the girl and waited impatiently for her to walk away. Then her thumb tapped her phone screen a couple times, and she landed on a different contact.

i think you got me sick

Kate took almost a whole minute to reply, which was her slowest response time all day. She was really getting attached to her phone now that she was stuck at home.

Anna didn't mind that in the slightest, though. She felt way less alone knowing her only friend was just a text and a heartbeat away.

Probably.

Are you home?

Anna sighed.

i wish

Kate's answer came at the speed of light this time.

Then go home.

i cant

Y

i just got here

So?

Anna contemplated that for a second. Why did it matter she'd just gotten to school? Well, because... it just did.

good point, she finally typed.

Her phone screen slid over to Dean's contact, and she pressed down on the ten digit number there.

"Yes, Rugrat, school is mandatory."

"Even when it's germ infested?"

"What?"

Anna pressed her head back with a little too much force against her locker. "I think Kate got me sick."

"Why didn't you say something?"

She shrugged, then realized Dean couldn't exactly see her at the moment. "I didn't want to be annoying."

"Anna," Dean chastised. He used that voice on her so damn often these days, she heard it in her head even when he wasn't there.

"I can just stay," she offered. "I know you just left."

"I'll come get you," Dean promised. "You got everything you need? Can you sign out?"

"I have to sign out?"

Dean snorted. "Yeah, kid, they kinda like to know where you're goin'."

"That's creepy," Anna complained. "It's none of their business."

"Just go to the front office and tell them I'm comin' to pick you up, okay?"

Anna shrugged again, remembered she was invisible to her brother again, and said, "Okay."

She slid her dusty sneaker back half an inch, her knee creeping closer to her chest. Her hand snaked over her backpack protectively as the crowd finally began to clear some. Her temples throbbed, and her eyes drooped tiredly, but her guard stayed up.

Anna loathed high school.

()()()

"What?! Why can't I just come with you?"

"Because."

Anna crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest. "That is so not an answer," she challenged.

"Because you're sick," Sam amended.

"That's dumb."

Sam just fixed her with an unimpressed look. He definitely wasn't going to change his mind. She would have to try to get Dean on her side, then.

As she swiveled toward the doorway, though, Sam stopped her. "Dean already called Cas, Anna. He's not rescuing you this time."

Anna sat on the floor, her back against one side of the doorframe and her feet propped up against the other side so that her body was curled into a little ball of annoyance and fatigue. "This sucks," she complained loudly. "It's not fair."

"I know the speech, Ladybug. I wrote it," Sam told her and tossed a sliver of a smile her way.

Anna caught it but neglected to throw it back. "What am I supposed to do? Just sit here and eat soup all day?"

"Brighten up a little," Sam encouraged with a forced light-heartedness to his voice. He set aside the shirt he was folding and sat down on the edge of his mattress to look down at her. "This is what most kids do when they're home sick."

"No kidding," Anna said with a gasp. "Most kids don't go on monster hunts when they catch a stomach bug? My world just turned upside down, Sammy."

"You're hilarious," Sam deadpanned. He pointed a finger at her and stood back up to keep packing his duffel. "And you're still not coming."

"But I'm not most kids," Anna told him angrily. "I don't want to be most kids."

"You're not," Sam admitted. "But sometimes 'most kids' do stuff because that's the safe thing to do. Like staying home when you're sick."

Anna let her feet drop off the side of the doorframe and hit the floor with a soft thud. She'd kicked her shoes off as soon as she got home, so her socks were light against the hard surface. "Well, then, why do you have to have Cas to stay with me? Don't 'most kids' stay alone?"

Sam frowned like he didn't actually know the answer to that question. Which had to be a first for him. Guy was a genius. "It's just in case something happens. Besides, there's a lot of bad out there. It can't hurt to have backup, right?"

Anna pursed her lips and crossed her arms even tighter over her chest. Phrased like that, it didn't sound so bad. Cas was her backup. Not her babysitter.

Whether for that reason, or because her head hurt too badly to keep fighting, Anna conceded. "Fine. But I'm not eating soup. I hate soup."

Sam snorted. "I think I can live with that, Anna," he said and tugged his duffel's zipper closed.

()()()

The Tylenol was wearing off.

Anna could tell, because her body suddenly felt like a freshly struck match in the process of igniting.

She dragged herself out of bed and over to the doorway with weak limbs. It had been a while since she'd really been sick, and she didn't remember it sucking quite this much last time.

There was no Tylenol in the bathroom, so Anna forced herself to go all the way to the kitchen. Cas was sitting at the table, looking intently at the front page of a newspaper.

"Is that the hunt?" Anna asked in a hoarse voice as she walked in and made for the cupboard.

"No," Cas answered distractedly. "Is mayonnaise a colloquialism?"

Anna shut the wooden door and shook her pill bottle to make sure there was still Tylenol in there. "It's a condiment," she replied without hesitation. She was getting used to Cas asking weird questions. It was pretty refreshing, actually, considering all the snot-nosed know-it-alls she was stuck with at school all the time now.

"I don't understand."

Anna paused had to speak around the two Tylenol on her tongue as she filled her glass of water. "Mayonnaise?" she clarified.

"The newspaper says a man is being held without bail after a mayonnaise incident."

Anna snorted, which made her head hurt even worse. "That can't be real," she said and scurried over to the table. She leaned over Cas' shoulder to read the headline. But he was right. It was right there on the front page. She pulled her phone out and snapped a picture. "Maybe we should get the boys back here. This looks serious."

Castiel frowned at her. "Was that a joke?"

Anna giggled and nodded. She grew somber again before long. "Cas, do you wanna teach me something?"

Cas frowned. "Something like what?"

Anna shrugged. "Anything. Like... I don't know... something about angel blades or sigils or banishing demons."

"Are you asking me to train you? To go hunting?"

When he put it like that, it sounded a little too much like she was going against her brothers' orders... So, "No," she said. "I'm asking you to teach me something that I don't know. Because I'm so desperate to learn something, because I'm so sad to be missing school today."

Cas stared at her for a moment. "Anna, you're lying," he finally said.

She didn't have the energy to look affronted, so Anna collapsed into a chair across from him instead. "Come onnnn," she groaned. "I'm so bored, Cas. And I feel like shit."

"If you really want to go back to school, I can heal you."

Anna shot up in her seat. "No," she said quickly. She felt a little dizzy and rested back again. "I'm good, Cas. I just took Tylenol. Wouldn't want to damage my liver for nothing."

In reality, Anna didn't give a shit about her liver. She figured it would get a hole blown into it sooner or later even if she managed to keep it safe from substance abuse. She just didn't want to go to school, which was exactly what she would have to do if Cas healed her.

"What else can I do?" Cas asked. "What will make you feel better?"

Anna shrugged. "I feel fine," she lied. "But, you know, a distraction would be cool. Like a hunting lesson, maybe."

"I'm not going to train you."

With an exaggerated sigh that left her light-headed, Anna gave in. She rested her head on the table, face pressed against the wooden surface. "This sucks," she complained. Her eyes were hot around the edges from fever, and her skin felt papery and sensitive. Sick skin, she'd called it when she was a kid. "I hate being sick. Can you heal me but not make me go to school?"

"I can heal you," Cas said willingly.

But he made no promises about the second part of her question, so Anna just lifted her head to glare lazily at him. "Did Sam get in your head?" she accused.

Cas looked guilty, his eyebrows pulling together in sympathy. It was interesting the way his emotions appeared. They always showed up in pieces on his face. With her brothers and Kate, Anna usually saw the emotions in every line of their face or hidden solely in their eyes. With Cas, his mouth might stay still, but his eyebrows would move. Or his nose would move up slightly, but the rest of his face wouldn't move. It was like he didn't feel things in his whole body, just in one corner of it.

Maybe angels expressed things differently. Maybe the only reason Cas frowned or smiled at all was for the Winchesters.

"Dean asked me how you were feeling."

"Tell him to shut up," Anna said unapologetically. She let her face touch the table again, and she groaned for no particular reason. This day was dragging on, and she'd only been home for five hours or so. School wasn't even out yet.

She didn't notice Cas texting until his phone vibrated with an incoming message.

"What did he say?" she asked suspiciously when Cas' face gave nothing away.

"He says he is sorry that you're grumpy."

"I am not," Anna cried indignantly. "Tell him I'm not four."

Cas looked puzzled. "Anna, I believe he knows that already."

Anna pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose, staring steadfastly at Cas. He didn't seem to get the message, though, and eventually just looked back down to his phone.

When it vibrated again, he turned to her. "Would you like to watch a movie?"

That wasn't what she'd been expecting. But she kinda thought she would enjoy that. "Sure," she said. "What do you wanna watch?"

When Cas started typing, Anna frowned. "Did he tell you to ask me that?"

Cas paused and looked carefully at her. "No," he said slowly.

"Cas, you're lying." She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. At least we can watch something cool since Dean's not here to pick some dumb action movie." Not that she would have minded an action movie if it meant cuddling with Dean, but she could pretend. "Have you seen The Sandlot? Who am I kidding? Of course, you haven't. It's a classic. You're gonna love it."

()()()

"Sam said you were opposed to soup."

Anna blinked tiredly up at Cas as he lowered a hot bowl into her hands. "Wh'is it?" she murmured.

"Oatmeal. I found it in the kitchen. I followed the instructions on the box."

She couldn't help but smile sleepily at the pride she heard in her friend's voice. "Thank you, Cas."

"You're welcome."

As she shoved herself upright and dug her spoon into the oatmeal, Anna realized Cas was standing beside her bed like he didn't know what to do with himself. "Do you wanna sit with me?" she offered and took a bite. Half of what she put in her mouth was chewy, dry oats, but she swallowed it anyway. "It's really good," she lied.

"If you want me to," Cas agreed. He sat down on the edge of her mattress and folded his hands in his lap.

"You can sit next to me, Cas."

"I am."

Anna set her bowl on the nightstand and dragged Cas by the arm until he was sitting right next to her, leaning back against the headboard. She rubbed her eyes and picked her oatmeal back up. "Did you hear from them?"

"They're okay," Cas told her.

"I know," Anna said. She leaned heavily against Cas. He didn't move his arm around her, so she had to reach back and wrap it around her own shoulders. "Can I ask you something?" she requested and dipped the tip of her spoon into the thick oatmeal in front of her.

"Of course, you can."

Anna tilted her head back against Cas' shoulder until she could see into his eyes. "Why don't you stay with us?" She gestured weakly at the space around them. "We have, like, thirty extra bedrooms. And there's room to do whatever you want. I know you like space, but, like, don't you get lonely?" She softened her voice as she admitted, "I get lonely."

She was surprised when Cas didn't say anything. When she looked up, he was staring at the wall thoughtfully.

"What?" she asked.

Cas frowned with just the top half of his face again. "I can't."

Anna wrinkled her nose, her lip curling upward in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, it would be better for everybody if I didn't."

"That's stupid." Anna dropped her spoon into her oatmeal, tiny splatters of food landing on the back of her hand. Her eyes were overheated, and her arms were coated in goosebumps under the sleeves of her hoodie. She didn't have the patience for Cas' cryptic self-deprecating bullshit. "I want you here. Sam and Dean obviously want you here. The only one who doesn't is you."

"There are things you don't know about, Anna. Things none of you know about. And it needs to stay that way."

"You mean what you did to Sam?" The silence following her question was answer enough. "It's been a long time since then. You were messed up. You're better now."

"It wasn't just Sam that I hurt," Cas argued, his voice hardening. There was pain and anger creeping into the outskirts of his face now. It was the most emotion Anna had seen in him in a long time. "There are reparations to be made with my brothers and sisters in heaven."

Anna squinted at him, trying to figure out the right thing to say. She knew he was likely to cast whatever she said aside. She was the kid. She would probably always be the kid to Castiel, to her family, and to their other friends. But she had to at least try to explain what she was thinking.

"I know you wanna make up for stuff, Cas. But that's not how forgiveness is supposed to work. You're not supposed to spend the rest of your life making up for everything."

"Maybe humanity doesn't work that way. But I'm a soldier of heaven. I had a job, and I selfishly betrayed everyone who counted on me. There is no other way to make up for that except through sacrifice."

Anna went quiet, staring down into her bowl.

Maybe to Cas it was complicated. But to her, it wasn't.

He was their family. He had a giant heart, and he was genuine in everything he said and did. But he had never been willing to let them get too close. And she was starting to think it was because he was more like them than any of his friends back in heaven. He didn't like himself. He didn't trust himself.

She wished she could make him understand he was wrong.

But she was the kid.

Her trust would be seen as naivety. Her love would be seen as unguarded.

"It's stupid," she said anyway. "You're not like them, Cas. You're our family."

His answer was to ease his arm from around her and stand up. He moved awkwardly, scooting across her bedsheets like he'd never sat on a bed before and didn't know how to get off. "You need to rest," he said.

Anna blinked tiredly after him.

She felt like everybody in the world was pulling away from her and claiming it was for her own good.

"Why can't you just try?" she asked as Cas was halfway out the door.

He stopped to look back at her. But he didn't say anything.

()()()

The bunker was dead quiet aside from the buzz of the industrial lights in the hallway.

Anna walked in her bare feet toward the kitchen. She didn't really have a plan. She didn't know if she could take any Tylenol yet. Someone else usually kept track of that for her when she was sick.

She just knew she couldn't roast in her bed for any longer.

She was disappointed when she realized Cas wasn't in the kitchen or library.

Maybe he'd left. All things considered, she couldn't blame him.

She sat at the kitchen table and stared at the clock. It was just after eleven. No matter how hard she tried, though, she couldn't remember what that meant for her meds. Had she taken them last at four? At six? At nine?

She felt enough like crap, she was considering taking more regardless.

"Hello."

When she was done jumping six feet in the air, Anna sighed irritably. "Don't do that!" she grouched. Secretly, though, she felt relief flood her system. As tough as she often was on the outside, Anna didn't like to be alone. She felt safer with a companion, whether that be Kate, Cas, or another family member or friend.

She never felt completely secure when her family wasn't there, though. The simple fact was, she wasn't safe without Sam and Dean in front of her. The world made such a scenario impossible.

Cas apologized for startling her. His formal shoes scuffed airily against the floor as he walked toward the table. "I spoke to Dean," he said and sat down across from her. "He agreed you are in no condition to be training."

Anna made a face of indignance. "You tattled on me?"

There was remorse coupled with confusion in Cas' blue eyes. "I don't know what that means."

"You're a snitch," Anna repeated.

"Oh. Right. Snitches get stitches," Cas said liltingly. Every figure of speech was a recitation when it came from his mouth. "I am sorry if I-"

"Threw me under the bus?" Okay, so now she was messing with him a little.

"Anna, that is something I would never do."

Any trace of frustration was gone. Anna smiled widely, her eyes bloodshot and drooping with exhaustion. "I know, man." She straightened her spine just long enough to take a deep breath, then slouched again on an exhale. "What else did Dean say? Are they still coming home tomorrow night?"

"He didn't say. But he gave me the recipe for something called a 'kitchen sink stew.' Would you like me to make that for you?"

Anna's eyes widened. "No!" she said quickly. "No, thank you, Cas. That's... no." She shivered at the mere thought of all that cayenne pepper.

Fortunately, Dean never made her eat that stuff... unlike their dad. She'd only been five or six the last time John made it for her– and possibly the only time, she couldn't remember– but Anna remembered the burning all too well. The stew was absolutely terrible, and it didn't even make her feel any better. It was a total rip-off.

On the other hand, there was one home remedy she adored when she was sick. And it was a wonder Dean hadn't mentioned that to Castiel. Unless he had. "Did Dean tell you how to make that tea thing he makes?"

Cas frowned. "I... don't know. He instructed me on how to make a cup of lemon tea."

Anna nodded eagerly. "Can you make me some?" she requested sweetly. "Please, Cas."

"I can try."

"Thank you," Anna said with a soft smile.

She crossed her arms on the table and rested her head in them. The warmth seeping from her own skin lulled her into a half-doze as the tea kettle was filled, warmed, and whistled.

"I am not quite sure I did it right," Cas said. "It smells very strongly of lemon."

"It's supposed to," Anna encouraged.

She reached her hands out eagerly and accepted the warm mug. Steam collected into droplets of water on the bridge of her nose as she breathed in the scent of the tea.

It didn't just smell like lemon. It smelled like Bobby's house that New Year's she'd had pneumonia. And it smelled like huddling in Dean's arms in the back of the Impala with a big, warm thermos in her tiny, cold hands. And it smelled like a forgotten apartment in 2004 where John Winchester tinkered around the kitchen like a father.

The first sip scalded Anna's lips, and her mouth puckered slightly from the sourness of way too much lemon juice. But she smiled nonetheless.

"I know it isn't right," Cas said, mistaking her silence for disapproval. "I am not very experienced-"

"It's perfect," she said. "Thank you."

La Fin