When Iris spoke positively about leaving the hospital, Cas bit his lip. It sounded like she didn’t understand what it actually meant for her to be released, and he wasn’t sure if he had the heart to tell her. How was he supposed to explain to her that she might wind up on the streets because the doctors couldn’t hold her anymore? It wasn’t even her fault that she’d gotten amnesia in the first place. From what he’d seen, it had looked like an unfortunate accident. She didn’t deserve to lose both her memories and her life in the capital just because she’d stumbled into a hunter’s trap one night.

He was just contemplating how to break the news to her when he noticed something in her expression change. She must have figured it out on her own. However, instead of getting depressed or worried about it, she tried to stay optimistic instead. Even though she put on a smile, he didn’t match it. Knowing she was probably just hiding her fears by wearing a brave face, he pitied her too much to just pretend like everything was okay. If her family didn’t come to get her by tomorrow, she was going to have a lot she needed to figure out in a short period of time.

[color=#b97703]“I’m sure they’re hurrying as fast as they can,”[/color] he agreed when she said someone was bound to pick her up. [color=#b97703][i]If they’re even around,[/i][/color] he added silently. Though he didn’t want to believe it, Dr. Emett’s words stuck in his brain like a thorn. What if her parents [i]had[/i] died? What if she really had been living alone, and no one even knew she was gone? It seemed unlikely to him that her friends wouldn’t notice her absence after a few days without contact, but if they didn’t know something bad had happened, they wouldn’t have any reason to jump to the conclusion that she was at the hospital. They wouldn’t know where to look for her, and they definitely wouldn’t find her in time to offer her help before she was released.

As Iris said that walking around outside might spark her memories, Cas nodded. [color=#b97703]“Maybe,”[/color] he dropped his gaze, brushing some lint from his shirt to avoid eye contact. [color=#b97703]“At least if you’re outside, there’s a chance you could stumble into a place you remember. It’s better than sitting around here all day.”[/color] Since she had recovered a few simple memories so far, he was hopeful that she would keep remembering more when she got out. All it seemed to take were the right triggers. The only thing missing was a place for her to stay while she worked on getting through her amnesia.

[color=#b97703]“I hope your family comes here tomorrow morning excited to see you again,”[/color] he said earnestly. [color=#b97703]“But if for some reason they don’t…”[/color] he swallowed, looking up to meet her blue eyes again. [color=#b97703]“I’m going to ask my dad if it’s okay for you to stay at our place until you remember where your home is.”[/color] He sighed, combing his fingers through his hair. [color=#b97703]“He’s not always the most reasonable man, so I can’t tell you if he’ll agree or not. I just wanted you to know that you might still have a place to go if for some reason no one else calls about you before tomorrow.”[/color]