West Coast

Chapter Fifteen

Dean looked down at Cas's hand, then took it. 'Okay.'

Cas took a deep breath. 'Dean, it - it's okay if you don't want to be here.'

'What?'

'I don't want you to stay just because you feel somehow obligated.'

'That's not-'

'I want you to be happy, and if you're not happy here, then you should go somewhere you are.'

'But I am-'

'I can get one of those carer people to help me, I'm sure I can-'

'Cas, listen to me,' Dean insisted. 'I'm not going anywhere.'

'But, Dean, you can't pretend that - that none of this happened - that you didn't...'

Dean sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. 'I know, I know, but that wasn't because - I was - I got overwhelmed. I tried to do it all myself and I left it way too long to get help, and that's on me. But it doesn't mean that I'm not happy.'

'Really?'

'Are you kidding? I'm so happy. You're alive, aren't you? You're here. Getting to see you makes me happier than anything-' This time he was cut off my Cas almost tackling him with a hug.

'That's what I want,' Cas said, voice muffled. 'I want you to be all right.'

'I am,' said Dean, hugging him tightly. 'You're not the only one that's been getting help. I should have sooner, I know, but I'm gonna be okay, and so are you.' Dean sniffed and pulled away. 'Now will you let me show you what I've been working on?'

Cas wiped his own eyes and nodded.

'All right, first...' Dean opened one of the cupboards and pulled out two things. 'This is for you. It's a medical alert bracelet.' He gently put it on Cas's wrist. 'It has my number on it, in case you need me when you're out.'

Cas twisted it around, getting accustomed to the metal on his skin.

'And this...' he unfolded a tiny high-vis jacket, 'is for Hoagie. I'm having him registered as a service dog. He has to do a few lessons with you, but then you can go anywhere with him.'

'Wow.'

'And here, your phone.' He took it out of his jacket pocket. 'I took off the pass code, but I deleted all your bank apps and stuff in case you lose it.'

'You've really thought about this.'

'Uh huh. I talked with Penny as well, and we came up with some ways to try and make stuff easier for you. Check this out.' He pointed at the cabinets with whiteboards on them, and one with a laminated piece of paper. 'I made them give me regular hours at work, so I'm there at the same time every day. This is my schedule here, and it's got my therapy sessions on it, and my AA meetings. This way you always know where I am if you need me.'

Cas ran a hand over Dean's new schedule. 'I don't know what to say.'

'Sam helped too. Actually he did most of the research. You know what those medical articles are like with their long words.'

'Sam?'

'Well yeah, we're your family, Cas. We want to help.'

Cas turned his attention to the whiteboard next to it.

'I started writing yours but I figured you'd want a say in it. Oh, I got you a solar powered clock too, check it out.' He pulled Cas over to the windowsill and showed him the clock on it. It showed the day, the date, and time. 'You won't have to remember to put batteries in it or anything,' he said proudly. 'I'll show you how to use your map on your phone later, but we gotta talk about some important stuff first, if you're up for it.'