West Coast

Chapter Twenty-four

'Go to work,' Cas snapped. 'I'm fine.'

'But what if you need something?'

'That's why we hired Tessa. Just go already.'

Dean sighed. 'All right, I'll go.' He leaned over and kissed Cas's cheek. 'I'll see you later.'

Cas huffed and leaned back against the pillows. His phone and a sketchbook had been left on his bedside table in case he got bored, but he didn't really feel like doing anything other than stare at the ceiling. As much as he wanted to, he knew he shouldn't try to get up while he was alone in the house, and huffed again. He turned over, and the wound in his head throbbed. He stopped himself from touching it, but it finally hit him that he'd had surgery. He gasped and put a hand over his mouth. It suddenly occurred to him how badly things could have gone, and that there was a hole in his head. Cas picked up his phone and dialled Dean.

'Cas, are you okay?' Dean asked, alarmed.

'No,' he said, lip trembling. 'I have a hole in my head.'

'Do you want me to come back? I can turn the car around.'

'No, Tessa will be here any minute. I just wanted to hear your voice. And tell you I'm sorry for being so short with you.'

'You got nothing to be sorry for,' Dean said. His voice was distant and crackly, but he was sincere. 'If a guy who had someone drill his skull can't be a little grouchy, I don't know who can.'

Cas thought for a moment. 'I could have died, couldn't I?' he said quietly.

Dean didn't say anything at first. 'There was a chance,' he admitted. 'But it's not the first time we've been in that situation, and I had faith in you.'

Cas bit his lip. 'Did Gabriel feel this way?' He heard Dean sigh deeply.

'There wasn't really much time for him to feel any sort of way. It was quick for him. Are you sure you don't want me to come home?'

'No, it's fine, I can hear Tessa coming in now. Thank you for talking to me.'

'Whatever you need. We'll bust out the laptop and watch movies in bed when I get back, okay?'

'All right.' He ended the call just as Tessa poked her head around the door.

'Hi,' she smiled.

'Hello,' Cas replied. 'I'm sorry about this, I know it's a little more than you signed up for.'

'Don't worry, I'm more than happy to help. I'm going to make you some food, so shout if you need anything.'

'Thank you.'

The rest of the day passed slowly. Cas tried to do some sketches, but he was having difficulty holding his pencil, and eventually gave up. He was more shaky than expected, and tried not to be too embarrassed when Tessa had to help him to the bathroom.

At last, Tessa left for the day, and Dean breezed into the room.

Cas couldn't help but smile. 'How was your day?' he asked.

'Awesome,' Dean grinned. 'These cars are really something, it's so cool I get to work on them. How about yours? Hope you didn't get too bored.' He climbed onto the bed beside Cas.

Cas cuddled up to him, leaning into his shoulder. 'I've got some weakness in my right arm,' he said sadly. 'It's hard to grip things. I couldn't do any sketching.'

Dean frowned. 'Hold my hand.'

Cas fumbled with it, clumsily lacing his hand with Dean's.

'Wow. Okay,' Dean said thoughtfully. 'Don't be worried, we thought something like this might happen. Well, your neurologist did. Something about the position of the bleed... Anyway, we'll get Alex to do some more physio with you. It'll get better, okay?'