Heaven on Earth

chapter 8

Castiel froze when he saw Dean laying in the hospital bed, standing in the doorway. Dean was battered, and still had blood dried in flecks on parts of his face and arm. His left arm was in a cast, his right leg in one as well. He had butterfly bandages on a bad cut along his right cheek, and multiple scratches all over his skin.

Castiel approached him slowly, eyes wide and watery. He fell into the chair beside Dean's bed, looking at the man's eyes. He reached up and brushed his hand through Dean's short hair. He came up with small shards of glass in his hand, which he flicked into the trash bin beside him. Dean's eyes fluttered and he groaned, which made Cas smile sadly. At least he wasn't completely unconscious, only sleeping.

Castiel took off his tennis shoes, pulling his feet up and rearranging himself on the chair. This was going to be a long night, and Dean sure as hell was not waking up without him in the room.

$$$$

Dean woke in the morning when a nurse was checking his vitals. His vision was hazy at first, and when he blinked a few times, he found a pretty woman standing over him. She had dark hair that was hanging down as she wrote something on a chart beside him.

When she turned back, she tilted her head and smiled sweetly. "Oh, you're awake!" Her name tag proclaimed her name as Tessa, and Dean smiled back, wincing at the pain that brought to his cheek. "Yeah, smiling hurts? That's gonna be rough, especially with this cutie on the other side of you." She gestured to Dean's right with her pen and a grin, and Dean's eyebrow furrowed. "He's yours, right? I hope so, he's been in here for the past day. Hasn't moved at all, except sleeping. Doctor Novak even came in here and told him he should move around, but the poor guy wouldn't budge. He's nice, though, and definitely cute."

Dean turned his head to the other side of the bed, trying not to grin when he saw Castiel. He settled with a smile. "Yeah," Dean said and his voice came out as a growl. He coughed slightly. "He's mine. Definitely cute."

Tessa laughed and nodded once. "I'll leave you with him, then. Looks like he's waking up." With that, she left the room.

Dean looked back at Cas, who was rolling his shoulder as he woke, eyes still closed. Cas sighed and his eyes opened slowly.

A sigh escaped Dean. "Damned baby blues," he whispered, and Cas' eyes opened more.

"Dean," he said, shifting awkwardly so his feet weren't on the chair anymore. His hands flew forward and Dean caught one of them, smiling slightly. "Oh, thank God."

"I hear I was out for a day," Dean mumbled against Cas' palm, ignoring the pain in his arm from a cut on his elbow. "Am I that bad?"

Cas smiled and stood, leaning over Dean. He pressed a kiss to Dean's forehead, which Dean subconsciously leaned up into. God, Cas' touch was like fire. He felt like he'd gone years without it.

"You're perfectly fine, Dean. I'm just glad that you're okay and I had to be here when you woke up."

A sudden thought flashed over Dean's mind like a red banner and he tried to sit up. "Cas, Sam and Adam! What-"

"Sam is fine, Dean. He's not as banged up as you or Adam, it hit the front of the car. He has a broken arm and some scratches." Castiel paused, as though trying to decide whether to tell Dean something or not. Dean's breath caught when he saw the look in Castiel's eyes.

"Cas," he said slowly. "What about Adam?"

"Well-"

"Dean!" Sam exclaimed from the doorway, a grin on his scratched face. "Oh, thank God, you're awake." Sam hurried to his brother's side, awkward with his arm in a cast. Castiel smiled and brushed his fingers against Dean's shoulder as Dean looked away and started talking to his brother.

$$$$

Castiel watched Dean talk with Sam for a bit, excusing himself now that Dean was awake to go change into the clothes Gabriel had brought from his apartment and find coffee. Jess joined him and was waiting outside the bathroom while he changed.

Cas looked in the hospital mirror as he tucked his black shirt into his jeans. He slid his shoes back on, then washed his face quickly in the sink. He patted it dry with paper towel and grabbed the bag from the floor, running a hand through his hair as he stepped back out into the hallway. Jess smiled at him, blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders, eyes sparkling with permanent happiness. Cas smiled back, slinging the bag over his shoulder before tucking his hands into his jeans pockets.

Jess walked beside him in a comfortable silence, not pressing any conversation or anything awkward. Earlier, when she had first come in to see how Dean was doing, she and Castiel had met. They'd really talked about everything then, covering everything from their names to their parents names.

As he walked beside Jess, he stared at his feet. All he was able to see was Dean, laying in that bed, practically in pieces. His fault. Another person he loved, broken and hurt because of him. Cas sighed. This was ridiculous, Dean was fine, right? He wasn't shattered or dead. He was fine. Dean was okay and Castiel should be happy about that. He was happy about that. But he was worried.

His hand lifted to scratch at his jaw, and he flinched slightly at the scratch of his stubble. "I'm normally not this scruffy," he smiled slightly at Jess. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this the first time we met."

"It's fine," Jess smiled back. "I get it, I'm normally looking better than this too. I rushed here." Cas tilted his head and shook his head, grinning. She looked flawless, really, in jeans and a t-shirt. Hell, she had make up on, even if it was smudged.

"Definitely look better than me. You first met me in my pajamas!" They laughed, and Cas was silently thankful he spoke. "I'm usually shaved and dressed, well, like this." He gestured to his clothes, a button down black shirt tucked into jeans with a belt.

"Even when you're baking?" Cas nodded. "Wow, you must not be messy like me, then."

He smiled and shrugged as they entered the cafeteria, making a face at the smell. He looked around at the full place, sighing. "Do you want to go down the street? I think I saw a coffee place there."

"It would be better than the coffee here, believe me."

$$$$

Dean sighed and leaned back against the pillows while he waited for Cas or Sam or someone to come back. Sam had told him what happened to Adam and he couldn't believe it. How had he survived that? The damn kid was a miracle.

Sam had gone to see how Adam was doing, and Dean was left in his stupid bed, thinking and hoping the kid was okay. Hell, Adam was the youngest of all of them and he had potential. The kid would be a great doctor, if that's what he still wanted to do.

God, he hoped Adam made it through this.

As soon as Dean sighed and wiped his eyes with his free hand, Sam walked in and plopped down in the seat beside his bed. "You been crying?" Sam teased and Dean rolled his eyes.

"Only if you've been crying too." Dean smiled and looked over at his brother. "How's he doing?"

"He's holding up. Being the strong little asshat that he is, I'll say he'll get through this." Sam gave Dean a reassuring smile and his hand rested on Dean's shoulder.

Dean sighed. "I hope so. His mom would kill me."

"Actually, she's over there right now. She's one hell of a woman still," Sam laughed slightly as he leaned back in his seat, his arm across his chest. "She threatened the truck driver- the one who hit us- by saying that if he didn't pay the hospital bill she would sue him. Little did the guy know, she can't actually do that." A smirk slid across Sam's lips. "Of course it probably didn't help when I told him I was a lawyer and would be hers if she went through with it."

Dean laughed. "Atta boy, Sammy."

"We're ba-ack," Jess chimed as she walked through the door, two to-go coffee cups in her hands, and Cas smiled from behind her, heading to the opposite side of the bed. Dean sighed and smiled back, looking Cas over quickly. He also had two cups of coffee with him. A sharp exhale escaped Dean and he accepted the cup Castiel handed him, and the kiss placed on his lips.