Hey guys! I forgot to tell y'all, but I went out of country and just got back, so I was unable to update until now! Sorry :(
But the good news is that I will be updating everyday from now on like before, unless, of course, I say otherwise. Enjoy!
Maybe drinking that much wasn’t really a good idea.
Cas shook his head woozily, his fogged up brain attempting to comprehend all the rush that was going on and about. After getting the news from his soulmate that Anna had woken up, Cas had sobered up a little, but he could still feel the vodka snaking its freaky little hand inside his head, attempting to gain control over his wits. His wet clothing dripped out water almost rhythmically, and the Milton really regretted going into the water at the beach.
The only thing that he was really aware of was Dean, and the burger and bottled water that Dean had bought for him and ordered him to eat before they got to the hospital on the way to ease his drunkness. He chewed at the burger slowly, and was about to just throw it out the window cause it tasted so awful mixed with the alcohol that Cas could still taste, until the Winchester parked the car and turned to stare at him. Cas hastily took a big swig of the water and shoved a huge bite of the burger into his mouth to appease his boyfriend, looking out of the corner of his eye to realize that they were in the hospital parking lot.
Dean sighed, running his fingers through his hair, and Cas could see, even through his foggy state of mind, that Dean was tired. He was oh so tired. Not of Anna’s situation, or Cas’s, or even his own. He was tired of life. And Cas knew that his soul mate thought that every time something good happened, it was always going to be shattered with something bad.
The terrible thing was that Cas was starting to think that too.
What was going to happen later? After this? Anna had woken up, and she was going to be fine, but there was always always always going to be something else, another shoe to drop.
And Cas knew that he should've been overjoyed that Anna had woken up, and he was. Really. But he was also weirdly miserable and…scared of what was to come next. What if she was different? She had had a head injury, after all. What if she woke up and she couldn't remember a thing? What if she woke up and was unable to walk again? What if she woke up aS A DEMON WHO WAS POSSESSING HER AND NOW THAT DEMON WAS PLANNING ON TAKING OVER THE WORLD WITH HER AS A VESSEL?
Wow, I really need to stop watching weird TV shows.
Cas quickly continued to inhale his burger to make his soul mate feel better, and Dean opened his mouth when the Milton finished it and was starting on his water.
“First of all, calm down.”
“Wha ya talkin’ ‘bout?” he asked, taking a break from gulping his water down to frown at his boyfriend, wincing slightly at his own dialect. The Milton looked down and noticed that he was clutching the door handle, knuckles were turning white, and he quickly removed his hand and shook it. Cas let out a not at all convincing breathy laugh as he watched the Winchester raise his eyebrows at him. “I’m totally calm.”
Warmth radiated from his other hand and the blue eyed boy slowly realized that Dean had taken his hand, and despite everything, he felt giddy. Cas leaned forward, trying to kiss Dean but ended up missing and ended up giving him an awkward peck about an inch from his lips. They stayed like that for a moment, wrapped up in each other. The Winchester laughed softly, rubbing his back through his damp shirt.
“Hey, angel?”
“Yah?”
“We should probably go see your sister.”
“Oh…right.”
Taking a shaky breath, telling himself to stop being so nervous goodness gracious, Cas took a long swig of his water in a final attempt to sober up a little and stepped out of the Impala, stumbling a little. Dean took his hand and wrapped it with his, more for support so Cas didn't topple over in his state than romantic reasons.
They reached the door, and Cas nervously let go to scratch at his arm and force a smile at Dean as he opened the door for him.
Dean nudged him gently in a comforting gesture, and took his hand again as they climbed the stairs.
“Oh, and Cas?”
“Hmm?”
“So…legally you're not allowed to drink.”
“Yup.”
“Well, and the fact that you have is basically my fault.”
Cas nodded slowly, letting out a sly smirk at Dean. “Basically.”
“Well…” Dean paused, staring ahead as he pretended to be thinking about where to turn next to get to Anna’s hall even though they had visited her room millions of times before, and could probably get there blindfolded.
“Could you not, um,” Dean turned, his face turning a shade redder and looking slightly embarrassed, “well, try to not tell your parents about the whole vodka deal?”
The Milton breathed out a laugh, appreciating that Dean was bringing up another lighter topic to not freak him out, whether it was deliberate or not.
“I’ll attempt to not show it, but the fact that you have to hold my hand to keep me steady really says a lot about our chances of them not finding out. Also, they’re going to wonder why I’m all wet.”
Dean smiled, letting go as they stopped in front of Anna’s room door. They both stood there for a moment, silence hanging heavy in the air.
Cas cleared his throat, raising his hand to pick at his nails out of force of habit. Dean didn't slap his hand away this time, just looked at him.
“I should be..really happy. Giddy. Overjoyed.”
Dean waited for him to continue as the Milton paused, looking for the right words.
“I should be. But I don’t know, Dean. I’m just..scared. What if she’s not my sister anymore? She has a major head injury. Or since she was in a car accident and almost died and everything, what if she’s traumatized and isn’t…Anna? Shit like this can really affect people’s mental health.”
“Well, Cas,” Dean replied, looking thoughtful and wistful as he stared at the door. “whatever happens, she’s still going to be your sister. And whatever type of person she is now, whether it’s the same or not, you’re going to have to face it sooner or later. You can’t run away or ignore your problems. Or just push people away.”
“Wow.” he breathed, “The Dean Winchester I met in the coffee shop would never say that.”
Dean huffed a soft laugh, replying that he wasn’t anything close to that Dean Winchester now, and stepped forward to press one wide open palm to the door. Cas watched, his heart beating rapidly even though he kept on telling himself to quit freaking out Jesus Christ. The Winchester turned his head to look at Cas, his eyes asking a question.
Ready?
Cas nodded slowly, and Dean opened the door.
The first thing that they heard was a voice that the neither of them had heard in two weeks yell out cheerfully.
“Guess who’s back bitchesssss!!!!”
Cas let out a sob and ran forward to hug his sister, tripping over his own feet in the process and quickly standing up, waving away Dean’s hand and threw himself into her arms.
As soon as he hugged her though, she cringed a little at the cold water clinging to his clothes, and then took a long dramatic sniff.
“Have you been drinking?!”
Cas let out a hysterical laugh as relieved tears leaked down his cheeks, too caught up in the moment to care.
“Dean! What did you give him?” Anna inquired as Dean leapt forward to elope her in a embrace as well. Cas’s parents stood to the side, smiling.
“Just half a bottle of vodka.”
Mr. and Mrs. Milton’s smiles were quickly replaced by looks of alarm.
“WHAT?!”
****************************************
April 22nd, 12:17:59 PM
Cas hummed, smiling as he looked around Anna’s hospital room. It had been a week since Anna had woken up out of her coma, and things were normal- other than the fact that Anna was still in the hospital. Anna was taking her classes online, and she wasn't having too much trouble, since she was going to be an actress and tour the world when she got older, and was really quite smart.
However, she had trouble with little things, like balance and remembering things that happened a while ago, and also she had headaches. She wasn’t allowed out of her bed without a wheelchair, and had to stay there all day, much to her ferocious irritation. The doctor said that time and therapy would heal everything, adding that her recovery was surprisingly fast.
A miracle, they called it.
Cas wasn’t so sure.
There was still that eerie feeling, like something was going to happen, the other shoe was going to drop soon and Anna was going to turn out to be Lucifer in disguise or a shapeshifter-
OK, I really need to stop watching weird TV shows.
His parents had taken a break, they were currently at home taking a well deserved nap- or doing something else that they probably hadn’t done in a while, Dean had joked, and the Milton siblings had shoved him- and Dean, Cas, and Anna were planning on hanging out in her room since Anna wasn’t allowed to get out of her bed yet, and making fun of crappy TV shows whilst eating the terrible hospital food for lunch that Anna had to eat. The soul mates ended up eating the crappy hospital food with her so Anna didn't feel bad; they were just in the middle of yelling at the teenager in the Spanish soap opera that no one understood to make out with the 4 year old in the street (they were the tiniest bit hyper, to say the least) when a knock came on the door.
Brown hair poked out from the door and Sam Winchester’s grinning face came into view. Cas hadn't really seen the youngest Winchester much lately, and, he realized as Sam walked in with the same pie he had gotten Dean when he was in the hospital, the future lawyer had never met Anna.
Sam gave a little wave to his brother and Cas as he handed the pie to Anna, whose bed was in the sitting position as always, smiling warmly at her.
“Hi, I’m Sam. I’m Dean’s brother.” Anna nodded in recognition, smiling, “I heard that you woke up and didn't knew what to get you as a ‘congratulations for not dying’ gift, so I hope you like pie.”
Anna welcomed the gift with enthusiasm, laughing and replying, “I’ve heard about you! Pain in the ass little brother who’s a bitch to raise and wants to be a lawyer.”
Sam was quick to shot back, grinning good-naturedly and remarking, “And I’ve heard about you, preppy redhead twin who hacks into websites for fun and is really aggressive about not being able to cut tomatoes.”
Anna turned to glare at Dean, who held his hands up in surrender. “You were getting really angry about cutting those tomatoes when I came over for dinner the first time.”
They laughed, and soon ended up sitting on the moving the chairs so they formed a sort of circle around Anna’s bed, sharing the pie in paper plates and spoons. Despite everything, Cas felt tense, wound up.
It can’t be over
It can’t possibly be over
There’s going to be another crisis
There always is
“So, Cas,” he heard Sam say, and the blue eyed boy snapped out of his thoughts, “what’s up with your name?”
Cas smiled, he had been asked this millions of times, and he knew that Sam didn't mean any harm by it. He took a bite of his pie and chewed for a moment before answering.
“My parents are really religious. Castiel is the angel I’m named after. That’s why Dean calls me angel all the time.”
“You guys think it’s romantic,” the oldest Winchester interjected, “but really I’m just making fun of his horrible name.”
The redhead laughed as she watched her brother shove his soul mate playfully, then winced. Cas saw Sam give her a look out of the corner of his eye, and she nodded subtly, messaging her temples.
Anna had recovered quickly, but after all, she had had a head injury and had been in a coma for two weeks. She couldn’t stand up or walk for too long, and she complained of terrible headaches that raged on forever. She also couldn't remember a lot of things, yesterday a nurse had told her to shower immediately, and when the nurse came back 2 hours later to check up, Anna still hadn't showered. When asked about it, Anna claimed that she had never told her.
It made Cas, and everyone really, uncomfortable, seeing those little instances. It reminded them that the redhead, however cheerful and like herself she acted, was still, well, damaged.
However, Anna was Anna, and she did not let her suffering define who she was.
“Anna is the Latin translation of the Greek word grace, as in an angel’s grace.” the redhead explained as she slowly chewed on a piece of pie, “Also, Anna comes from the Angel Anabiel, who-”
She was interrupted by Cas snorting, “For the thousandth time, you weren’t named after Anabiel!”
“I totally was!”
The blue eyed Milton rolled his eyes, retorting, “Mom and Dad have told us that you’re named after the word that means grace, not the angel. It’s just a coincidence that that Angel’s name is similar to yours.”
“Um, excuse me, guy who was named after the Angel of Thursdays, but just because you have a lame angel name doesn't mean you have to rain on my parade.” she replied, getting heated and glaring at her twin.
Sam laughed loudly, “I’m sorry man, but Angel of Thursdays. Really?”
Cas ignored him, “You just wish you were named after her, because you think she’s so cool…”
“Well, she is the cabalistic angel that,” Anna paused and clenched her jaw, and Dean gave Cas a look to back off because it seemed like she was getting too worked up for the good of her own brain, “invokes to cure stupidity! So she literally just comes down when someone’s talking bull, grabs their face, and just tells them to shut up. Is that not,” she was almost yelling now, waving her hands in the air, and Sam attempted to grab her arm to calm her down to no avail, “the greatest thing,” she was going crazy, basically screaming at the wall, “ever?!?!”
There was an awkward silence as Anna breathed heavily, her face a combination look of hysteria and pain. Dean, who was sitting to the right of Cas, and Sam, who was sitting across the couple, had identical looks of alarm on their faces. It was the same face that people had when a crazy person had a breakdown or attack of some sort. Cas was feeling quite scared himself, as he stared at his sister.
No, not sister.
This isn't my sister.
It’s a broken girl pretending to be my sister.
The other shoe had dropped.
Or so he thought.
The other shoe really dropped when Anna’s doctor followed by two policemen entered the room.
“Anna? The driver that hit you in the accident, he’s in the visitor’s prison room right waiting for you.”
“What?” the redhead Milton replied breathily, staring ahead at the wall with a faraway expression.
“He wants to apologize. You don’t have to meet him if you want.”
Of course, she said.
Of course I do.
Disclaimer: Cas only drank half of those really really small pocket sized vodka bottles that people carry around, well, in their pockets. Drinking an actual big bottle of vodka could kill him.