When Dean got the report of a domestic disturbance, he wasn't sure what he was expecting. It wasn't the nicest part of town, so it could have been anything. A young woman with her drunk boyfriend or husband, a party that had gotten a little out of hand, a group of kids making a prank call. Whatever it was, he wasn't looking forward to it. He was supposed to be out with his brother and his fiancée. Sam and Jess had just started planning their wedding, and Dean desperately wanted to be there to help. Even if he would never admit it out loud.
"Come on Dean, we have places to go. Maybe if it's something serious we'll get to go home early." Alistair spoke, staring out the window with a small sigh. Dean glared at him for a moment before starting their cruiser and pulling out into the street. Another problem he never would have had if he didn't have to come in. He hated working with Alistair with a burning passion. There was something wrong with the man, but of course no one listened when anyone complained. Even if he was a sicko at times, he was good at his job. Something that Dean hated to admit.
They drove in silence for a while, Dean lost in his own thoughts and Alistair making no effort to draw his partner out. When they finally arrived, Dean was surprised to find that the address was nothing more than a run-down little home. He stared at the building for a moment before climbing out and stretching. Alistair was just behind him, raising an eyebrow.
"Well this is just a shit hole." He muttered, ignoring Dean's huff of irritation and starting across the street. The scraggly yard was dimly lit by a light on the porch, making it near impossible to make out the figure on the deck. Dean frowned, hand going to rest on his baton, just in case.
"Excuse me, is everything alright?" He asked, stopping a few feet from the porch. A young man lifted their head, frowning in confusion before they relaxed and stood up, stepping into the light.
Dean was startled by his appearance, and more exactly the trail of blood running down the side of his face. The man caught his expression and looked down, swiping at the blood with his sleeve and shaking his head.
"It's not as bad as it looks." He assured with a weak smile, flinching as Alistair stormed up to him. Before the man could ask any questions, Dean caught his arm and pulled him back with a huff.
"Easy does it, let's see what's going on before we storm in." He said, holding his partner's glare for a moment before the other man looked away with a soft snarl. Dean turned his attention back to the bloodied man, offering a small smile.
"Alright, what seems to be the problem here?"
"You mean apart from the blood?" The man asked, raising an eyebrow before looking down. "It….it's my ex. She picked my son up from daycare without my permission. I came to get him and well…" He trailed off and gestured to the gash along his hairline.
Dean winced sympathetically and nodded, hesitating a moment before looking up to the house. "I'm guessing they're still inside then?" He asked, watching the man nod. Dean pursed his lips and stepped away, looking to Alistair with a soft sigh.
"Do you think you can try and get the door open without shooting anything?" He asked, voice bitter. Alistair scowled at him but nodded none the less, walking over to the door and knocking. Dean returned to the young man, guiding him over to the cruiser and shaking his head.
"Do you mind if I take a look at that injury Mister…?"
"Novak, but please…call me Castiel."
"Castiel then. I'm not a paramedic, but I'm damn good at putting on a Band-Aid."
Castiel gave a gentle laugh at this and nodded, eyes glinting in the low light. It was then that Dean realized just how brilliantly blue they were. He blinked several times before remembering he was mean to be helping the man, not getting lost in his eyes.
"If I may ask, is this woman the child's mother?" Dean asked, stepping into the cruiser to dig out the small first aid kit he kept in it, just in case. He walked around to the front of the cruiser again, setting the small case down and looking up to Castiel.
"No…his mother left after he was born." The young man replied, pulling his hair away from the cut and wincing.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Dean said, digging through the kit before pulling out an antiseptic wipe and setting about cleaning the wound. He glanced over his shoulder as Alistair swore loudly, shaking his head at the man and sighing.
"I'm sorry about him, by the way."
"What for, he hasn't done anything yet." Castiel said, eyes narrowing in confusion.
"Oh trust me…He's bound to." Dean muttered, murmuring a soft apology as Castiel hissed in pain. He gave the man a moment to collect himself before returning his attention to the wound.
"How'd she do this?" He asked, frowning at the fresh blood and mopping it up with his sleeve. Castiel shuddered and shrugged.
"A bottle…" He replied with a small shrug. Dean paused in his work, looking down with a small frown.
"A bottle?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow. Castiel glanced up for a moment before nodding, keeping his eyes downcast. Dean whistled and shook his head. "Christ…"
"I have to admit, this is one of the worst things she's done." Castiel muttered, closing his eyes once he realized he'd spoken. Dean raised an eyebrow and looked down again, but didn't stop his work on the gash.
"Oh? And what else has she done?"
"This…hasn't really been the best relationship I've had, I must be honest." Castiel sighed, deciding it best not to keep anything from the officer. "It started off well enough. She was kind at first, playing with Adriel – that's my son. She didn't start getting bad until a few months after we started dating, but even then it wasn't bad. Just an argument here or there. She didn't start getting physically aggressive until after a particularly bad argument." He said, trailing off and wincing as Dean pressed a little too hard on the gash.
"Sorry…continue." The officer muttered, trying to conceal his scowl from Castiel. The man frowned up at him for a moment longer before sighing and looking towards the house again.
"She wanted to let a friend move in and live off of me. I told her no and well...no one got any sleep that night."
Alistair had finally gotten the woman to open the door, and was speaking to her. Dean stopped his work for a moment to watch before sighing and shaking his head. "We're probably going to have to arrest her." He said, voice low so that it would carry over to the house.
"Go ahead." Castiel muttered, narrowing his eyes and curling his lip up in a sneer. Dean clasped his shoulder gently and smiled.
"Relax, we know what we're doing. She won't get out of this." He said, looking at the gash and relaxing when he saw it had finished bleeding. "There, you're all good for now. It may need to get stitched up, but I'm not technically allowed to do that." He said, stepping back.
Castiel lifted a hand to brush against it and nodded, smiling. "Thank you." He said, looking up as the woman began shouting, throwing her arms about in broad, angry gestures. Dean stiffened, almost expecting Alistair to lash out in retaliation, but the man held his cool. After a moment of brief struggle, the woman was cuffed and was being led over to the cruiser.
Dean guided Castiel back to the house, rolling his eyes at the woman's screeching and stepping between her and Castiel.
"Right…do you want me to come in with you for your kid?" He asked, watching Castiel. The man nodded with a smile, heading up the stone steps and lingering in the door.
"Please actually, yes."
Dean nodded and stepped into the house, wrinkling his nose at the smell of smoke that seemed to be engrained in the barren walls. He shook his head and looked over as Castiel passed him, the man poking his head into each room they passed. Dean grew increasingly more disgusted with each step. The discarded bottles and cigarette butts lying about didn't help the look of the home.
"Jeez…this place is like a fire waiting to happen…"
Castiel stopped walking the bottom of a short flight of stairs, shuddering gently. "Please don't say that. I don't even want to think of something like that happening." He mumbled, hesitating a moment before trotting up the four steps and starting down a narrow hall.
"Oh…sorry." Dean said, following after and frowning slightly at the cool breeze running through the upper floor. He could understand Castiel's worry, knowing all too well the fear that came with any thoughts of fire. He pulled himself from these thoughts, focusing on following behind Castiel.
The man paused outside of one room, hesitating a moment before knocking. "Adriel?" He called softly, closing his eyes as he waited.
"Papa?"
The tension visibly drained from Castiel's body and he pulled the door open, nearly knocking Dean over in his rush into the room.
A small boy, no more than four sat on the floor, a small toy train in one hand and a ratty blanket in the other. Castiel hurried over and scooped the toddler into his arms, cradling him close and beaming as the child laughed. Dean lingered in the door, watching them with a warm smile.
Silence settled over them for a while before Castiel turned back to Dean and smiled warmly.
"Thank you. I know he wasn't in any real danger but…I didn't want to risk anything."
"Hey, this is my job. This is what I'm supposed to do." Dean shrugged with a soft laugh. He watched the two for a moment before clearing his throat.
"Hey, it's pretty late. Do need a ride home? I'm pretty sure Alistair's going to be busy at the station. He's the one who made the arrest." He said with a small smile. Castiel tilted his head for a moment before looking down to his son and nodding.
"Please, yes…I don't want to take the bus at this hour."
Dean nodded and clasped Castiel's shoulder gently before guiding him out of the house. He raised his eyebrow at the second cop car that had pulled up outside.
"Damn…She put up a fight." He said, waving to Alistair who was now sporting a lovely black eye. The man glared at him, shaking his head as he spoke to another officer. Dean opened the door to his cruiser, holding it open for Castiel.
"Alright, let's go." He paused, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Hey, you hungry?" He asked, the question coming out of thin air. Castiel looked up with a puzzled frown.
"Uh…A little bit."
"I know a really good diner that's still open. Mind if I buy you a coffee and some dinner?"
smiled gently and got Adriel carefully buckled in before looking up to Dean.
"That would be lovely, thank you."
A/N: This has not been beta'ed, so I apologize for any errors that may still be in it.