Castiel had found three community bulletin boards to place the flyers on at various places on the main street of the town, as well as in his brother's shop. He was disappointed that the people he asked in the few stores open this early, knew nothing. Suffice to say one was new to this town, one was an extremely surly teenager who was doing community service picking up garbage for some legal infraction and the third was either very hard of hearing or possibly had a comprehension issue, because they just mumbled, nodded, took a handful of flyers and placed them on the counter. Gabriel said he liked the quaint informality of the small town. Castiel thought it was a bit more quirky and less quaint.
He tossed the extra flyers on the passenger seat as he squeezed into the driver's seat with the two boxes of pastries from Gabriel, which he then set down on the console. He took out his phone to pull up the directions to the Winchester place. He had not ventured that far away from the town since his arrival, but it was down the road from his place, so it shouldn't be difficult to find.
Castiel shoved the two boxes of pastries and donuts over to the passenger seat and headed back towards the road that led to his new home. As he came near the driveway to his place, he sat forward and craned his neck to see if the children were outside playing with the dog. All he caught a glimpse of as he drove past was a ball sailing across the yard and the dog in hot pursuit.
He continued around the long curve of the road until it straightened out. He drove a short distance until another curve began arcing in the opposite direction. After several minutes he saw the reflective gate markers on his right and slowly turned in, checking the name on the mailbox.
"D. Winchester. Yep," he sighed. He really hoped Mr. Winchester was feeling less hostile and sullen now that he was home.
Castiel saw the good-sized farmhouse come into view as his car got to the crest of a very small hill. The multi-gabled, very traditional farmhouse had an overall T-shape. Castiel guessed that the smaller section at the top of the "T" was the house that had formerly occupied the land by his barn home. The larger section of what was likely the original two story house on this land, had an, at least, metal roofed, two-sided wrap around porch from what he could see, and a large chimney sticking up at one end of the roof. The smaller section had a chimney of the same brickwork which led him to surmise that the chimneys were new or newly rebuilt.
He pulled up and stopped the car at the curved driveway section in front of the large porch. Getting out, he took in the rest of the property in his view. There was a wide swath of concrete drive leading to the barn-like garage to one side of the house and then a gravel road leading away off the side of the garage. Much further back he could see the peak of the roof of an actual barn and a few outbuildings. Looking back toward the gate entrance, he really couldn't see anything because of the low hill, but he remembered the fence was lined with small trees and just mostly a large dirt and gravel-covered, bare spot to one side.
Closing his door, he walked around to the passenger side and retrieved a box of pastries and donuts. He closed the door, then turned back to grab a few of the invitation announcements for Gabriel's Sweet Spot. He was not on official hospital clinic business, and Mr. Winchester had expressed a keen interest in going to the shop, so Castiel did not feel it was too inappropriate for him to pass some of them to his patient. He closed the car door again, and then stood thinking about it for a few seconds. It did make him a bit anxious, he opened the car door again. He almost second thought it and put them back in the car, but mustered his courage and slammed the door again.
Standing upright, shoulders back, he took a deep breath, steeling himself against his doubt as well as the possible inhospitable mood he might encounter from Mr. Winchester. He shoved the invitations into his jacket pocket, turned around, and began to ascend the steps.
"Well, it's about time," Dean Winchester was in the already opened doorway in his wheelchair. "Does it always take you this long to get to someone's front door.
Castiel stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't know what to say.
"Well, don't stop now. You're here and halfway up. C'mon! You can do it. Just a few more steps." Dean began slowly backing himself up to make room for the doctor to enter.
Castiel felt his face flush.
"Good morning, Mr. Winchester, I hope this day has you feeling a bit better since you've been home?" He stopped short of the threshold.
Dean backed the wheelchair up to make more room for his guest to enter. "Yes. Yes I do. Please, come on in all the way. I'm not a monster." He smiled. Why couldn't the man come in like a regular person? Was he afraid or just unhappy at having to work on a Saturday? Dean took a deep breath, feeling annoyed that he'd be the reason the doctor's weekend was interrupted by such an odious task of checking on a patient he clearly was not actually interested in seeing.
Castiel smiled at him, "I'm very glad to hear that," he said genuinely. He turned to close the door for Dean who'd rolled off towards the spacious main combination living, dining, and kitchen area.
"Can I offer you a drink? Tea, water, a coke?" He swept his arm towards the kitchen.
"Um, yes, I'd appreciate that as I've been on the road a while this morning." Castiel stood still with his box of pastries.
Dean stared at him for a second, trying to figure him out.
"It might be easier if you set your box down and grab a glass from the cabinet. My friends somehow didn't think about my inability to reach for extra glassware or plates from the high cabinets. The stuff in the dishwasher is dirty."
Castiel blinked with a start. "Oh, yes, yes. I'm sorry, I just didn't think." He gave the box of pastries to Dean.
"These are from my brother's shop. I thought you may be hungry for breakfast if you happened to sleep late or just that you may want to sample some of his wares."
Castiel walked around the island and looked at the array of cabinets trying to deduce where he might find drinking glasses. He opened a cabinet on one side of the sink, closed it and checked the one on the other side of the sink. He closed it and looked around. He saw the opened box, Dean with head down and a giant smile on his face.
"Wha—? Pie! Hell, yeah!" Dean looked up at Castiel and pointed to the cabinet next to the refrigerator. "Hey, grab a couple of plates out that cabinet there." He pointed. "Tea's in the fridge in the pitcher.
Castiel smiled and brought the plates, two glasses, two forks and a knife from the first drawer he looked in, and the pitcher of iced sweet tea. He really wasn't hungry, but didn't want to be a bad guest.
"I love me some pie," Dean was all smiles "and this smells delicious!"
"Yes, my brother is an excellent baker. I'm sorry I didn't catch all the names of the items he put in the box. Some of the names are similar. All are risqué. I do recall this particular pie is called the Bi Pie. It is filled with a combination of half cream pie and half fruit, 'swirled together, giving you the best combination of both worlds.'" Castiel quoted, then busied himself placing out the plates and utensils. He took the box from Dean and cut a small piece of the pie to put on one plate for him, then placed the remainder of the pie on the second plate. He had the feeling that it would be no problem for Dean to finish off in one go.
Castiel handed Dean his plate and fork, and gave him a paper napkin he pulled from the full napkin holder on the island.
"Take a load off, Doc." Dean pointed his fork towards one of the barstools at the island.
"Thank you." Castiel took a seat next to Dean's wheelchair.
"Mmmm! Oh, man is this delicious!" Dean closed his eyes, savoring the flavor.
"Yes, my brother has a way with all things sweet," Castiel agreed and took another bite.
"I'll definitely be a regular customer." Dean said around the forkful he'd just shoveled in his mouth. "Yep."
Castiel smiled. "That reminds me," he said, pulling the invitation cards from his jacket pocket, "I am not sure if it's a wise thing for you to go to in your present state, but I've brought you some invitations to the Official HARD Open of Gabriel's Sweet Spot."
Castiel handed a small stack of the cards to Dean. "They list the new official hours, some of the featured signature products, discount coupons, and coupons for one free individual serving pie as well as a free donut of your choice."
Dean took the stack of cards, took one off of the top and read:
Gabriel's Sweet Spot
HARD Open
Come Slide On In
6:00PM
Friday, December 4th
325 Broadway Street
The Only
Adults Only Sweet Spot
The card had images of the featured confections.
Ask about Our Cream Pies, Penis Pops & Lollidicks!
Candies, Cakes & Ice Creams
We do it all!
Twinks and Bears (claws)
We Apple BendOver to give it all.
At the bottom of the card were three coupons.
15% off any purchase
One Free Cream Pie of Your Choice
One Free Cream-filled Donut Hole
Ask for a Squirt of Jizt Cherry or Moist Glaze TOPS
The back of the card had a list of many of the different products the shop sold.
Cream Filled Donut Holes
with or without Moist Glaze
Pop the Cherry
Donut, Turnover, Cupcake or Pie filled with our Famous
Cherry Filling
Fruit Bend-Over
Apple, Peach, Apricot, or Cherry Turnovers
Daddy Bear
Bear Claws
Twinks
Our Signature Deep-fried Topped Twinkies
Top your Twink with a Squirt of Jizz
Our Moist or Creamy Sweet Sauces
Jizt Cherry
Jizt Creamed Moist Glaze
Or Any of Our
Jizt Berry Legal Flavors
Like Those Cream Pies?
We're All Creamed Up
Top or Fill with Your Favorite
Moist Glaze or Squirt of Jizz
Bi Pie
Our Dual Filled Pies
Angel Or Devil
We've Got Your Cake
It's Nipply In Here at Our Ice Cream Counter
Try a Threesome Banana Split
Fudged Nipple
Berry Legal
Snatch a Side Snack!
Cookies & Cupcakes
Topped and Filled
Gabriel's Sweet Spot
M - F 9am - 5pm
Saturday 10am-4pm
Closed Sundays
Castiel watched Dean as he read the card. He watched micro-expressions of amusement, momentary confusion, understanding, and more amusement flash across Dean's face as he sometimes furrowed his brow, sometimes nodded with a growing smile.
He liked seeing Dean smile as opposed to the mainly surly expressions he was used to seeing from his patient. Castiel did not realize that a smile had sprung up on his own face as well.
Dean flipped the card back to the images of the products. "Thanks, Doc! This Bi Pie was right up my alley!"
"Please, call me Castiel..." Castiel's breath caught as Dean, smiling, turned to glance at him. The green eyes had a light to them and the hard lines of Dean's face had softened making him look younger and less world-weary.
Dean nodded, still smiling, but the smile from his eyes became an intense gaze. He had never really seen the Doc smile a real smile that touched his eyes in the way it was doing now. The blue became even bluer...if such a thing was possible. He had soft laugh lines around his eyes which were sparkling with a mischievousness. Dean's eye was drawn to Castiel's smile. Beautiful white teeth with just a hint of gums showing. Yes, this was a genuine happy smile, not just "pleasant doctor" shit.
Castiel watched as Dean's smile lessened, then came back as a lopsided grin. He felt his own smile widen.
Dean's fork slid off of the plate in his lap and clattered against the wheelchair on its way to the floor, bringing both men out of their reverie.
"Oh, I'll get that!" Castiel felt strange, like he had lost time in those moments before. "Allow me." Hand out, Castiel indicated the plate on Dean's lap. Dean picked the plate up to hand it off. Fingertips touched lightly as the plate was passed. He heard a sharp intake of breath from Dean, who quickly pulled his hand away, smile now completely gone.
Castiel's smile faded. He squinted with a tilt of his head. What had he done now? He thought he was, perhaps, getting somewhere in his attempt at friendship, or the very least, lessening the seeming hostility he always felt aimed at him from Mr. Winchester. He walked around to the sink, washed the plates, forks and knife and placed them in the dish drainer.
"I appreciate you sharing the pie with me, and the tea." He felt awkward, nervous and unwanted, and was trying to figure out a way to ask Dean how he was feeling without angering him more. He hadn't felt this unsure of himself when dealing with a patient since his med school residency days.
"No, thank you for bringing them. Really." Dean had rolled over to look out of the window.
"Did you fill the Tylenol prescription or are you just taking the over the counter ones?"
"Nah, I just took some last night before I slept, to help with the soreness." Dean wheeled away from the window and noticed the pile of mail on the table at his front door entryway. He wheeled over to pick it up.
"Are you not experiencing much pain?"
"Oh, I've got plenty of pain. I've had some very sharp, shooting pains, general soreness, my neck is still a bit sore, and random muscle aches, but not enough to bother with." Dean shuffled slowly through his stack of mail as he spoke. "My foot really hurts sometimes, and my ankle, too. Every once in a while it feels like my whole leg would involuntarily kick out in a giant twitch if I didn't have this huge cast on."
"Do you mind?" Castiel had come over to Dean and had squatted down next to the wheelchair.
"No." Dean stopped checking his mail, and indicated to go ahead.
Castiel bent to inspect the bit of Dean's toes exposed at the front of the cast. There was slight swelling still but considerably less than when he was first brought in to the clinic, and less than yesterday.
"I suggest you continue taking the Tylenol regularly for at least the rest of the week," Castiel stood. "It'll help minimize any swelling, which can aid in the healing process as well as make you feel a bit more comfortable. It's not a bad thing or a failing of character to take medication for pain, especially just an OTC." He placed a gentle hand on Dean's shoulder.
Dean looked up and nodded.
"I'm glad to see you've taken my advice and are using the chair. It's nice that you have a spacious great room to be able to get around easily." Castiel said looking around.
"Yeah, this section was the original old farmhouse on the land here, built in 1899. It replaced the original home. A bigger place, a log cabin, that burnt down a few years prior. So this was state of the art, with indoor plumbing, radiator heating, some closets and even natural gas stove, which was not really easily available in the United States at that time, but the owner was afraid of another house fire." Dean wheeled the chair to face the spacious room. "Go head, have a look around."
Castiel nodded and walked around to admire the work done, as Dean explained where old walls were removed and the house's former room footprint.
"That entire section in the back there, where my office and the rec room is, was actually the farmhouse that was on the land with the barn where you live now." Dean looked around. "When we bought that property, we moved that smaller house to add on here."
Castiel admired the work as he looked down the back hall, but did not go too far.
"It's very nice, you did beautiful work." He said, looking up at the large, old beams that now supported the vast open spaces. "I can tell it was done with love and with an appreciation for the history of the homes."
"In those large frames over there," Dean said pointing them out to Castiel, "are the original blueprints from 1899. We found them in an old locker in the basement. Lisa wasn't fond of my idea to have them professionally preserved and framed, but when it was all said and done, she came over to my side." Dean smiled, remembering.
Castiel had turned from admiring the blueprints to look at Dean when he mentioned Lisa. "Oh?" He inquired.
"Yeah, she had told me I could hang them in my office if I liked them that much, but when they came back from the framers and she saw them, she fell in love with them, and insisted they be hung here as a centerpiece of the home. It was where I'd wanted them in the beginning. Sometimes she had difficulty understanding my creative vision, but she usually came around."
"Well, I must say Mr. Winchester, you've built a very lovely, and seemingly love-filled home."
"It's Dean. Just call me Dean. Mr. Winchester is my father."
"OK, Dean." Castiel smiled. He felt like this visit was a good thing and he'd made great strides in changing the dynamic between him and his patient.
"How are your twins doing? I assume your brother, Sam?, told you he brought them to see me?" He said as he leaned against a barstool.
"Yeah, I talked to them last night. I really wish I could have them here with me. I feel terrible for not being able to be the one to sooth them when they're sick." He looked miserable for a few seconds. "Their temperatures are pretty much normal except in the evening, when they rose slightly. They're still running to the bathroom, but not as often." Dean smiled, "So I guess I lucked out in that department though!"
"Glad to hear. The sooner tamiflu is administered, the faster it works, but if taken too late, it often may not even help."
Dean nodded.
"And your brother has not displayed any symptoms?" The physician in him could not help checking up.
"No, he's doing well. He said he took the medication after seeing what the kids were going through, he didn't want to wait to find out if he was going to get it or not." Dean chuckled. "As much as I want to be there for them, I'm glad you told them they needed to stay away. I could not imagine a way that I'd be able to get myself to a bathroom in time." He shuddered.
"No, I don't imagine you could." Castiel smiled.
"Well, I am glad to see that you're doing OK. Please continue to stay off of your leg and you'll most likely heal, if not faster, at least better than if you use that leg before you should."
"No, I will do my best to stay off of it. I don't know if you have children or not, D— Cas...s'alright if I call you Cas? I'm going to call you Cas." Dean didn't leave time for Castiel to reply at which Castiel smiled. "But having kids is one thing, having a set of twins is a whole different ball game that you just can't understand."
"No, I do have children. As a matter of fact, I understand all too well, because I have t..."
"You might have kids, but..."
"I do understand. I have twins myself." Castiel interrupted with a nodding smile as Dean jerked his head to check for the truth.
"Yes." Castiel's smile widened.
"No, shit?!" Dean asked, still not believing.
"Yes, a boy and a girl just like you." Castiel was still nodding trying to convince Dean of his veracity. "Mine are thirteen. Will be fourteen at the end of May. May 18th."
"Are you shitting me?" Dean turned his wheelchair to face Castiel directly. "Mine were born in May too, May 1st. They'll be fifteen."
"No, I am not. They are at home, the barn, waiting for my return right now, which is why I need to head out now and leave you to your day." Castiel said as he stood up. "I hope that they get to meet soon, seeing as we're almost neighbors. It's a rare thing for twins to have twins in the same age range and school, let alone live in the same area."
"Oh, well, we are neighbors." Dean grinned. "It may take almost ten minutes to get here by the highway, but if you take that driveway around towards the garage and follow it out onto the gravel road, you'll find yourself right at home in about three and a half minutes, five minutes by bicycle. Anytime you want, feel free to use that road."
"Well, I most certainly will. Thank you again." Castiel began to head towards the door. "Is there anything I can help you with or get you before I head home?"
Dean looked around quickly, thinking. "No, no. You've cleaned those plates and the glasses, so I'm good to reach them where they are now. Thanks for stopping by. At least it was better than I thought it was going to be."
Dean rolled his eyes and put his head down when he saw the stunned expression on the doctor's face.
"No, no! I didn't mean it like that. It's just that before, I ..."
"That's OK, Mr. Winchester, I understand. Sometimes some people just don't get along." Castiel backed towards the door as he fumbled in his pocket for his keys.
"I've got to get home to my kids and that dog to...you wouldn't happen to know anyone who—"
"Dog! You have a dog? How long have you had a dog?!" Dean demanded.
By Dean's reaction, Castiel thought perhaps that since he was renting the barnhouse, that Dean did not allow dogs.
"No, she's not mine. I'm terribly sorry. I wasn't aware that pets were not allowed." Castiel couldn't believe that after the congenial visit they had, that he managed once again to bring out the petulant side of Dean Winchester. "She showed up at my home the night I got into town. I—"
"She? She's not yours!?!" Dean was seething with emotions; hope, relief, anger, dread that he was wrong and it was not his girl.
Dean rolled his chair towards Castiel menacingly. "You mean to tell me you've had someone else's dog this whole time? Were you just planning on keeping her for yourself?! What kind of man takes another man's dog!?"
"Do you know who she belongs to? I've been—"
"She belongs to ME !" Dean exploded. "She..." He felt tears of anger and relief washing over him and he didn't think he could speak without bursting into tears.
Castiel was so startled by the loud outburst that he dropped his keys.
He stopped himself and took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, Dean. I was trying to—"
"That's Mr. Winchester. Please, I need... can you just go get my dog?" Dean took another deep breath and picked the mail up off his lap to finish going through. He felt he needed to do something or to hit someone, and finishing checking his mail seemed to be the best alternative.
"I'll return with her as quickly as possible. I'm sorry." Dean ignored him and was frantically opening an envelope.
Castiel bent to retrieve his keys and was startled yet again by another loud outburst from Dean.
" NO ! No, no, no, no!" NOooo! What the hell, man! What the hell?!" Dean started panting and wheezing. "Oh, god! What the fuck am I going...to do?! What am I supposed to do?!"
"I'm leaving now. I won't be long. I'm sorry that I've caused you such distress." Castiel picked up and dropped his keys twice in his nervousness.
"I can't, I can't." Dean was sitting forward trying to steady his nerves and taking deep breaths. "I need my d..." He felt like he was suffocating and the panic was rising. He began to hyperventilate .
Castiel finally picked up his keys and stood to leave when he realized that Dean was having a severe panic attack. He went over to Dean and began to speak in a soothing voice. Dean had begun rocking himself slightly back and forth, clutching at his chest as he tried to catch his breath.
Castiel spoke softly, "Deep breaths, Dean. Deep breaths." He remembered when he'd walked by Dean's room once, and saw the nurse, Ezekiel, with his palm over Dean's chest. He'd asked him about it later and Ezekiel showed him the technique he'd developed to help his father. Castiel decided he'd try it out now since it had seemed to help Dean before.
"Mr. Winchester, I'm going to place my hand on your arm to help ground you if I have your permission." Castiel said quietly.
Dean looked up and nodded. "O...K." He breathed raggedly.
"I'm going to place your mail back on the table for you." As Castiel gently took the mail from Dean's grasp, he heard Dean's breath rate increase again. He hastily put the mail down, and saw in large red letters "Warning of Imminent Foreclosure" stamped across the top of the letter that Dean had been holding when his panic attack began.
Castiel quickly returned back to Dean, placing his hand on Dean's arm and soothing him with words. "Deep breathes. Listen to my breathing." Castiel took in a long, slow breath, raising his shoulders and puffing his chest out to show Dean to do the same.
"I'm going to place my hand on your chest. oK?"
Dean nodded, taking a short, sharp breath, he placed his hands on the wheelchair armrests and pushed raising himself off the chair slightly.
Castiel used a gentle, but firm hand and began to press against Dean' s chest. He mimicked the breathing rate he was trying to get Dean to copy.
"We can get through this together. It's going to be ok, Dean. Please relax. Deep breaths."
His hand was still firmly splayed directly over the center of Dean's chest, yet Dean was still stiff as a board and could not slow his breath down. This panicked him even more. He began to see spots before his eyes and felt like his heart was going so fast, that it would explode
"Shh. It's going to be alright.Deep breaths."
"I ca...n't ...breathe" Dean was becoming more panicky with each second.
Castiel could not understand what he was doing wrong. He was doing it exactly as he practiced with nurse Ezekiel. He got closer and put one arm around Dean's shoulder to try to get him to loosen up, still breathing deep, calming breaths for Dean to copy.
Dean's panting came faster still. Suddenly he relaxed his elbows and sat heavily back into the chair again. He frantically knocked Castiel's hand off his chest with his forearm and roughly pulled open the placket of his Henley, buttons flying everywhere. He grabbed Castiel's wrist with two hands and practically slammed it back firmly over his heart, palm on skin.
Castiel soothed him with soft shushes, pulsing his hand in slow, steady rhythm to match the breaths, while firmly squeezing Dean in a hug around his shoulders.
Dean leaned his head against Castiel's temple turning his face to feel Castiel's breaths. He did not let go of the doctor's wrist.
Castiel pulled Dean closer into the security of his arms, still pulsing his palm over Dean's heart. He tilted his head down and cooed soothing hushes and soft "yesses" and "oks" against Dean's head just above his ear.
Dean leaned closer into Castiel's chest. He could feel the doctor's deep voice rumble soothingly in his chest. Like an intoxicating palliative, he felt a need to curl up against the strength and press his ears against the steady thump of Castiel's heart.
"Pplease," he said in an almost whisper, finally drawing in a long, deep breath. He felt the smooth skin of a hand softly run over his shoulder and cradle his head to the warmth of a chest. He felt the "shh, shhh" wash over him. Pulling him even closer.
Dean didn't know when the dizziness began to dissipate or his breathing became normal. He didn't know when his body had actually relaxed. And he certainly didn't know at what point he had slipped his hands up to clasp Castiel's hand between his two hands, fingers entwined, and to hold them against his chest under his chin. He just knew, he felt better more quickly than he'd ever had before and right now he just wanted to stay in this position for as long as he could.
"There. See. You're good." Castiel pressed Dean's head to his chest, fingers stroking through Dean's hair, rocking him almost imperceptibly. "Breathe." He whispered into the soft, short locks. "We're going to be ok. I've got you." He rocked Dean more and laid a gentle kiss to the top of his head as he gently squeezed him close.
...
Suddenly, mortified, Castiel stiffened. Still aware of Dean's panic, though ebbing, he didn't want to bring it back again, so he just kept soothing and rocking him. He forced himself to not think about it and continue soothing his patient.
They'd stayed that way another few minutes, until Dean's breathing was normal and he slowly began to relax. Castiel felt Dean tighten his grip on the hand he'd been clasping like his life depended on it, and then slowly relax it. He felt Dean begin to lift his head, so he gently uncradled him and helped him sit upright. But Dean did not release his hand yet. Castiel rubbed Dean's shoulder with his free hand.
"Good. You're doing good."
Dean sat fully upright and blinked. He took a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah. I think I'm ok now." He look up at Castiel. The blue was now a deep, dark sapphire. He just stared.
He thought the first time he'd looked in those eyes they were so bright, like the deep blue of a summer sky. Now they were like the depths of the deepest jewel tone blue.
Castiel just sat calmly, still cooing soothing words. Inside all Castiel could think about was, 'why did I kiss the top of his head?! Please, just let him not even remember that, please!' The only answer he had as to why he kissed the top of Dean Winchester's head while the man was having a panic attack, was because he remembered holding his children like this throughout their lives to sooth them, and it was just an unconscious, natural involuntary, fatherly action that just kicked in. He was still mortified.
Dean seemed to finally come out of his panic attack fog. He turned from holding Castiel's gaze to look down. He took one long, deep breath, and squeezing his hand one last time, let go and tilted his head back, closing his eyes. Castiel stayed close leaving his hand draped over the chair's armrest. He didn't want to make any sudden moves that might leave Dean feeling alone or abandoned.
"You're good now. You're fine," Castiel gently patted Dean's shoulder.
Dean took another deep breath and turned to look at him.
"Yeah, I'm good." Castiel looked at him earnestly. "I am good. It's fine. You can get up. I'm, I'm ok."
Castiel stood and walked to the kitchen. He got a glass of water and brought it to Dean.
Grateful, Dean took it and emptied the glass.
"More?" Castiel asked.
"No, no thanks. Look you don't have to stick around. I appreciate what you did for me. But I don't want to keep you."
"Yes. I will return immediately with your dog," Castiel took the glass from Dean, washed it out and placed it in the drain rack.
Dean had almost forgotten that Miracle was at his tenant's place. He had a quick surge of anger again. "How is she? Was she very afraid or upset? How did you find her?"
"No, she was not afraid." Castiel said softly. "I had stopped by the clinic when I got into town, to pick up the keys to the barn. I was told they would be waiting there for me. As I was at the desk, your brother and friends heard me say I was the doctor and commandeered me to attend to your leg. I figured since the hospital was in such dire need that I'd stay awhile until that evening, even though I was not scheduled to start until this coming Monday. I got home, to the barn, from the hospital that first evening at sunset. Your friends helped me unpack the trailer of my boxes and other belongings. I started dinner, heard scratching at the door not too much later."
"She's smart, my Miracle is." Dean said proudly. "She must've seen the lights on or smelled your cooking."
"Miracle?" Castiel smiled. "Her name is Miracle. I'd never have guessed that. I tried so many typical names, but never anything close to that."
"Guess?" Dean questioned, sarcastically. "Why didn't you just do what most regular folks do and check her collar?" Man, this guy, really is a clueless brainiac, Dean thought.
"Well, that'd be an easy thing to do, if you had a collar on your dog." Castiel was getting a bit fed up with Dean Winchester's attitude.
"What?! She didn't have her collar on?"
"No. If she'd have had a collar, I'd have returned her posthaste. However, being that you were in the hospital that still would have been a bit difficult."
"Well, if you were a better doctor who didn't ban Service Animals from patients, then you could've brought her with you to get her to me at the hospital!" Dean raised his voice, agitated.
"A better doctor? I'm sorry, Mr. Winchester. There was not one indication in your files nor from you, your brother or your friends, that you either had an anxiety/panic disorder nor that you required or had a service animal." Castiel was offended.
"I brought your dog in, wet and filthy, full of caked-on mud, and shivering. I bathed her, blow dried her, fed her, played with her, asked her name for almost an hour. I even looked around out in the rain for a collar." She was happy, if a bit clingy and then we went to bed where she slept by me, keeping vigil all night." Castiel was on a rant over the accusation that he was not a good physician.
"Furthermore, when I went in to the hospital, mainly to make sure you, and my one other patient, were doing well, since I was not due in until Monday. That's two days from now, in case you have trouble counting. I fed her, turned the tv on to keep her company, because I was not going to turn her out in the rain that morning, and apparently, she's intelligent enough not to go out in the rain. By the time I got home, after picking up my children, the vet was closing, so I did not have enough time to come back out here and bring her to check for a chip. I have that scheduled at noon today." He looked at his watch. "That's in ten minutes."
Castiel huffed as he pulled his shirt sleeve back down over his watch.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, Mr, Winchester, I'll go get your dog and cancel with the vet. I'll return immediately."
Castiel turned and walked out the door before allowing Dean to perturb him any further. He heard Dean saying something as he pulled the door closed, but he was beyond caring at the moment. That man truly was just a misanthrope, at least insofar as Castiel was concerned.
Castiel jumped in his car, and quickly pulled out of the half-circle driveway. He followed the driveway around towards the garage, until he saw where it led off towards the gravel road that led to his place. There were a couple of hedgerows and a gently sloping hill, then the road curved around a small pond and a short row of trees, coming out by the far side of his carport. Total time was 2.25 minutes. Castiel shrugged. "No speed limit on private property."
He went inside and was greeted by Miracle wagging her tail.
"Hello, Little Missy." He said bending down to pet her. "Or I should say, Miracle."
Miracle's ears perked up and she barked. Castiel vigorously ruffled her scruff.
"How do you know her name?" Jack asked.
Castiel quickly explained, adding that he needed to return her quickly, since he found out she was a service dog.
"Aw! I really was hoping you never found her owners!" Jack bent down to hug Miracle and tell her how much he'd miss her.
"Dad, this means we have to get a dog now." Claire demanded. "You can't get us acclimated to a new furry family member and then just yank her away from our impressionable, growing young minds, nor devastate our tender still developing psyches."
"I think you'll survive." You two just stay here and get ready so we can go head back to town and maybe go to the little town museum."
"What? Lame. I'd rather go with you to bring the dog back."
"Me, too, Dad. Why can't we just go with you?" Jack whined.
"Well, first off, neither of you are in street clothes. Pajamas are not for going out in. And secondly, my patient is a bit stressed at the moment, between his broken leg, missing service dog and other personal issues, he just needs his dog right now, sans company."
"I'll return in a few minutes. It's not far at all, so be ready for my return." Castiel called the dog and headed out to the car. "C'mon girl, get in."
Miracle decided she did not want to go for a ride, but wanted to run off around the yard. It took considerable coaxing, and laughter from the kids at the windows, but he finally got her in the car. He drove almost as fast back to the Winchester house as he had going home.
Castiel pulled up in the circular driveway again and got out. Miracle followed him and immediately barked, and ran up the stairs to the front door. As soon as Castiel got to the top of the porch, Dean was opening the door. Miracle barked excitedly as she jumped up on Dean's lap, and even yowled a few times with joy, over seeing her human again.
Castiel stood for a moment, watching, then turned and left. He drove back home to pick up Claire and Jack for a day on their new town.