._.__.~Castiel~.__._.

I love you. That's all I needed to say. I. Love. You.

This shouldn't have been so difficult, but the thought of it made my knees weak, my palms clammy, and my head spin. She made me feel things I never even dreamt of. Never even thought of.

I never would have guess I would be brought down by three simple words.

I kept thinking about this until I heard a loud thud from upstairs. I rushed up the stairs, toward the source of the sound, until I made it to a small bedroom. I opened the door and saw Felicity sitting against the wall, her saltshaker in her hand.

"Are you okay? I heard something, and-"

"I'm fine," She cut me off. "Just a little ghostly confrontation."

I sighed with relief. I put Echo down and helped Felicity up. I kissed her, and she kissed me back.

"I can't help but constantly worry about you, Felicity."

She shrugged. "I worry about you too, sometimes."

We smiled and kissed once more. "What did the ghost look like?"

"Female; five foot six; curly, dark brown hair; hazel eyes; pale skin; ragged clothes, covered in patches; slit throat, coated in dried blood; small scar located on her right temple; and nails that were bent backward, like she'd been scratching at something."

"I always forget how hyper observant you are." I chuckled.

She smiled. "Well, get used to it. Now, we're gonna need to research. See if any women of that description have died, which they obviously have. Let's get back to the motel."

We flew back to the motel to do research. While I did research on Felicity's laptop, she took Echo outside. She tried to explain to me why she needed to go outside, but it just confused me.

Most of the time I spent doing research, I was focusing on those three words. It should have been simple. So simple.

I love you.

Why was it so difficult?

I love you.

I love you.

I. Love. You.

Felicity came back inside, which shook me from my thoughts. I continued to conduct research.

"How's it going?" She asked me.

"I believe I have found our ghost."

She joined me and looked at the laptop screen. "You have?"

"Janice Bishop. She lived at the same house as the Phillips'. She had an abusive husband, who gave her a scar on her temple, just like how you described it. Turns out, her husband, Derek, locked her in the basement with no food or water on a regular basis. That would explain the nails. She relentlessly tried to get out by scratching the door. Eventually, Derek slit her throat."

"Okay, so her husband was a dick, and when he killed her, she sought out blood. Any connections between the victims? Our dearly departed husband and wife?"

"They didn't exactly have a stable relationship. They would often get into arguments, and sometimes Dan would end up... hitting her. Perhaps Janice saw that as a reason to kill him."

"What about Wendy? She would be innocent, right? Why off her?"

"After much research, I discovered that Wendy and Dan had a child together. Benedict. And from what I understand, 'Ben' was abused throughout his childhood."

"And Janice killed Wendy because of it. Nice work, lover," She kissed my cheek and went to get Echo. "Does it say where Janice was buried?"

"That's just it. Janice was cremated." I turned around to see her.

She sighed in frustration. "Awesome. So whatever's keeping her here is in the house."

"I'm afraid so. We should go over there and find out what is keeping her here. It will most likely be in the basement."

"Alright, let's go."

We returned to the house, just outside the basement door. We each had an iron crowbar, a salt shaker, and a pack of matches. We descended into the basement to find whatever we needed to find.

It was a horrible place to be honest. It was cold, which didn't surprise me. I looked over at Felicity, who was shivering slightly. I took off my trench coat and put it on her.

"Thanks." She muttered.

"I think we should split up, try to cover more ground."

She nodded. "Alright. Let's split up then."

We took different routes, scouring the whole room. I kept looking until I found something that might have been what was keeping her here. It was a stuffed animal, a yellow rabbit, covered in filth. Stitched into its abdomen, was a white patch with the words, "To My Baby Jay, From Mommy".

I picked it up, and I realized what this meant. She was a mother. Janice must've gotten pregnant, and that's why her husband snapped. That much I could infer.

Something about this made me feel... something. I wasn't sure what, but it was unpleasant. She only wanted her child. And that bastard took that away from her.

"Castiel?" Felicity spoke behind me. She caught me by surprise and I jumped just a slight. I turned around to see her standing there.

"Felicity... she was a mother. She had a child. Look at this." I handed her the rabbit.

She read what was written with a sympathetic look. "That's why she killed Wendy. That must be why. Her husband must've abused the child, Jay, and when she found out Wendy did the same, she-" She stopped once she looked up at me. She saw the tears forming in my eyes. I didn't know why I felt this way, but it made my eyes sting and my throat tighten. These emotions would be the death of me.

I tried to look at her, but my vision had become blurry. I looked upward, trying to keep the tears in. What was happening to me?

"Castiel... let's just... salt and burn this, okay?" She spoke softly.

I simply nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.

She set the rabbit down on the ground, covering it in salt. She lit a handful of matches and burned the toy. As it burned, I saw Janice's ghost out of the corner of my eye. I looked over and saw her crying.

"I'm sorry." I choked out, barely able to conceal my tears. She soon burned and disappeared.

I looked back at Felicity, who watched me with a worry ridden expression. I took deep breaths to fight back the tears that threatened to spill.

"What is happening to me?" I asked in a shaky voice.

She wrapped her arms around me in a warm embrace. I hugged her back, my tears never flowing. I held them back with all my strength. I would not cry. Angels don't cry.

We soon flew back to the bunker, Echo in my arms. We landed in our room and laid down in the bed. I kept Echo close, who was sleeping in my arms.

"Are you sure you're okay, lover?" Felicity asked me for the dozenth time.

"I am fine, Felicity." I replied.

"I've just never seen you so upset."

"I know. But I am fine."

She kissed my cheek and rested her head on my shoulder. "Okay, if you insist."

"Are you going to sleep tonight?"

"I think so, yeah."

"You should stretch your wings. You've been keeping them in your jacket for some time now."

She looked up at me. "Whatever you think is best." She gave me another peck on the cheek and took off my coat and her jacket. Her wings unfolded gracefully, almost shimmering in the dull light. She flapped them a bit, stretching them to their fullest.

Echo awoke and started barking at her, causing us both to chuckle. "It's okay, Echo," I reassured. "She won't hurt you. Right?" I looked up at Felicity.

Felicity held out her hand, Echo warily sniffing it. She backed up slightly and growled quietly.

We chuckled again. "She'll get used to it," Felicity smiled. "She'll have to anyway, won't she?"

"I suppose she must." Tell her you love her. I thought. Say it now!

She continued to flap her wings gracefully. I swallowed, suddenly unsure of myself. It was such a simple phrase. Why can't I say it?

And just when I thought I was about to speak, she pressed her lips to mine. And I kissed her back, fine with being interrupted. Her wings began to twitch and throb, similar to the night we made love. Were we about to do that again?

I set Echo aside gently and got on my knees, caressing her face in my hands. She nibbled my lower lip, but before I allowed her access, I broke free.

"Are we about to do what we did the other night?" I asked.

She smiled cheekily. "If you want to."

"Um... Echo's in here."

We glanced over at the beagle puppy watching us, wagging her tail.

Felicity look back at me and shrugged. "So what?"

We both smiled and continued to kiss. We stripped each other of our clothing and repeated the sinful actions that we had committed just the other night.