Chapter 1: Stone Angels and Faded Jeans
Dean had never seen anyone in this bad of shape. The trauma nurses were milling around the bed, so many that Dean could barely see the mess of a man between them.
After hours of intensive surgery Dean got the man put together enough for him to be stable. He still looked like he had been through a meat grinder. His dark hair was plastered to his skull and the bruises that coved his skin made his pale skin even paler.
Dean kept a close eye on the man for several days with no change in his condition. Though the bruises and cuts healed remarkably quickly the man stayed in a comatose state.
After nearly a week one of the nurses paged him. Dean rushed down the hall, popping the door open and stopping in his tracks at the man he was faced with. The bruises and cuts were completely gone with not a single scar in sight. The man was sitting up and looking around the room with a rather quizzical expression. When he turned his gaze on Dean the doctor was worried his heart might stop. He'd never seen eyes so blue.
The man blinked slowly at him, his piercing blue eyes seemed to stare deeply into Dean's being and he felt suddenly shy.
Dean had never seen anyone in this bad of shape. The trauma nurses were milling around the bed, so many that Dean could barely see the mess of a man between them.
After hours of intensive surgery Dean got the man put together enough for him to be stable. He still looked like he had been through a meat grinder. His dark hair was plastered to his skull and the bruises that coved his skin made his pale skin even paler.
Dean kept a close eye on the man for several days with no change in his condition. Though the bruises and cuts healed remarkably quickly the man stayed in a comatose state.
After nearly a week one of the nurses paged him. Dean rushed down the hall, popping the door open and stopping in his tracks at the man he was faced with. The bruises and cuts were completely gone with not a single scar in sight. The man was sitting up and looking around the room with a rather quizzical expression. When he turned his gaze on Dean the doctor was worried his heart might stop. He'd never seen eyes so blue.
The man blinked slowly at him, his piercing blue eyes seemed to stare deeply into Dean's being and he felt suddenly shy.
"Um...hi." Dean crossed the room, his gaze sliding over the remarkably healed man sitting on the bed. "What's your name?"
"Castiel." The man said in a surprisingly gravely voice.
Dean blinked at him. "Where are you from?"
Castiel looked at him for another moment before his gaze dropped. "I...do not remember."
Dean nodded, grabbing the chart from the end of the bed. "Well that's not too surprising, you hit your head really hard. I'm surprised how well you're doing."
Castiel didn't move his penetrating gaze from Dean. "Thank you for allowing me to rest here, but I should be going soon."
Dean turned a stern gaze on the other man. "You can't leave. You were very seriously injured and you have to stay and rest."
Dean stuffed the clipboard under his arm. "Just stay. I'll send a nurse in to see you in a while."
Castiel stayed silent for a while after Dean left, his heart consumed by the hurricane of his thoughts.
Dean when to check on Castiel three more times that day, and each time he felt the same odd mixture of fascination and vulnerability. The man unnerved him, but Dean couldn't put a finger on why. It was probably the staring. Castiel was too still, and too quiet. He didn't seem to move much at all, and his overly intense eyes were like lasers staring into Dean's soul. That bright blue gaze seemed to follow Dean wherever he went in the room. If Dean hasn't heard him speak he would have thought Castiel was a marble statue, like the angels out front of the church by the hospital.
Dean turned to the man as he checked in on him once last time. "So, you don't have any pain or soreness or anything from the surgery?"
Castiel shook his head. "No, none. I am perfectly fine."
Dean huffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "That has to be the most miraculous recovery I've ever seen."
Castiel didn't shift his gaze from Dean. "Thank you for allowing me to rest here, Dean."
"Oh, sure. It's hospital, that's what we do. See you tomorrow morning." Dean turned to go, excited to get home for the night.
It wasn't until he pulled into his driveway that he realized that he had never told Castiel his name.
"Castiel is such a mouthful. Can I just call you Cas?"
Castiel's eyes narrowed and he tilted his head slightly. "If you would like to I have no reason to protest."
Dean laughed. "Sweet, so Cas it is. Well Cas, you've been here for a week, and you're doing so much better we've decided you can leave."
Castiel immediately tried to stand, and Dean grabbed him before the man could land on his face.
"Careful!" Dean chided.
Cas turned his gaze on the doctor and Dean felt like he was the one falling. That intense blue seemed to swallow him when he was this close.
"D-do you know where you'll go?" Dean hated himself for stuttering, and he was surprised to find he was genuinely worried for Castiel's welfare.
The other man shook his head, standing on his own power and taking a small step. "I don't. I would like to return home, but that's impossible."
Dean frowned. "Impossible?"
Cas nodded. "I will return, but not yet." He shook himself, smoothing out his hospital gown. "May I get my clothes back?"
Dean shuffled his feet. "Uh, yeah about that. Your clothes kind of got shredded by your accident…So they're gone."
Cas tilted his head again, and Dean would swear he could actually see the man's brain working.
"But we do have some that should b e about your size." Dean went out into the hall and returned with a neatly folded pile of clothes.
Cas thanked him and gingerly took the pile, setting it on the bed as he worked at the knots in his gown.
Dean stood outside while Cas changed, scribbling his number on the back of a business card for the hospital. He wasn't sure why he was so worried about Castiel's welfare, but he wanted to know that the man would be all right.
The door behind him popped open and Dean whirled around, stuffing the pen and the card in his white coat. "Oh good, they fit."
Cas looked like a new man in the clothes, even though it was just a solid blue t-shirt and faded jeans. The soft leather jacket was an old one of Dean's that had gotten too small for him, but it seemed to fit Cas perfectly.
Dean smiled gently, pulling the card back out of his pocket and holding it out. "My number is on the back in case you…need anything." Dean held out his hand to shake once Cas took the card. "I hope you find your life again man."
Cas stared at Dean's out-stretched hand like he was expecting something to happen. Dean dropped it awkwardly.
Guess he doesn't shake.
Finally Cas looked up at Dean again. "Thank you for your help."
"Sure…do you want a ride to the bus station or something?"
Cas shook his head. "No, I will be alright." He smiled and Dean and turned and strode down the hall.
Dean stood there for a moment, struck in the afterglow of that smile. When he pulled himself out of it he fished his keys out of his pocket, deciding he'd head home a bit early for once.