The locker room is filled with early birds – the nurses are getting ready to swap with the night shift workers. The chatter that buzzes in the air is lazy, and the smell of coffee floats around the room as strong as ever. Mr. Novak slips on his light blue scrubs, and tugs his white sneakers onto his feet.
He looks around at the selection of possible new colleagues – this locker room was shared between half of floor three, where ward 37 took place. It was mainly for patients to be held once they'd come in from the ER, usually due to overcrowding upon other wards. It was always busy, and Cas is looking forward to a change from working two months in paediatrics.
Taking the last sip of his coffee before tossing it into the nearby trash can, he stands up from he bench, and inhales a breath of coffee scented air. He holds the door open for two females entering the room, who thank him and smile. One of the women even looks him up and down, slightly less subtly than she may have been hoping for. Cas laughs – he's never really been interested in these kind of flirtatious glances, especially not from the female staff, anyway.
Swiping his ID tag over the little sensor by the door, it swings open for him in due course. The ward is still dark, as it's only six am. Change over time meant that he would soon know what patients he has for the day, and then he most likely wouldn't sit down again for another good six hours. He walks up to the front desk, and flashes a smile at the receptionist. "Hi there, I'm Nurse Novak – new staff on today," he introduces himself to the blonde, who returns the smile somewhat half-heartedly.
"You'll be swapping with Nurse Masters' night cases, she's just over there." The woman points a freshly manicured nail towards a slim built woman, with long, black hair. She has her hands stuffed in the pockets of her deep blue uniform, and is currently talking to a registrar.
Cas politely awaits until she's finished, and then he steps up to her in anticipation. "You must be our new nurse, I'm Meg." She extends a hand towards him, and he shakes it firmly. Not really feeling the need to introduce himself, since it already seems like the sister is fully informed, he then awaits her speech yet again.
"Since it's your first day, and we've got enough nurses to fully cover the patients, I've only written you down for three – we've got an appendicitis recovery in room three, as of last night's emergent surgery, an elderly woman who broke her hip two days ago, so she should be going home fairly soon.. And," she pauses for a few moments, her deep brown eyes scanning down her clipboard with the utmost concentration.
Her eyes flit upwards and back at Cas, and she hands him the clipboard "room 17, brought in last night with severe respiratory distress. Good luck, Novak!" Her smile looks almost teasing, before she turns on her heels and clip-clops along the linen flooring.
Cas looks at the clipboard in front of him, and flicks through the pages. He decides to check on the two minor cases first – take their observations, and take an estimation as to how long it'll be before they can be discharged. He spends a fair twenty minutes within both rooms. The appendicitis patient is only eighteen, and is extremely adamant that she must get home to her boyfriend – kids these days. The elderly woman is a lot more cooperative, but Cas has to politely get her to stop chatting about her grandkids, or he'll end up getting told off for completing his morning tasks too slowly.
Finally, he makes his way around to room 17. The door is closed, as well as all of the curtains. As he lets the door shut behind him, a groan emits from underneath the pile of blankets on the bed a few metres away. Cas walks past the curtain, and then proceeds to slide the ones covering the windows all the way across, also. "Mr. Winchester, I'm Nurse Novak, and if you'd kindly sit up for just a moment or two, and then I can take your obs," Cas raises his voice hopefully loud enough for the patient to hear... But, there is no reply back.
Scanning his case again, Cas looks back up from the clipboard, and at the huddle of blankets before him. It seems like twenty three year old Dean Winchester is going to be Cas' most troublesome patient of the day. "Mr. Winchester, it's rather important that I check your vitals." Cas continues at taking a calm approach, but he shuffles a little nearer to the bed. When there is yet again no answer, he starts to gently pull away at the covers.
"Fight me," comes a muffled, grumpy tone. Cas rolls his eyes, and then proceeds to pull at the blankets a little harder.
"No, seriously, fight m –" Dean tries his best to shout at his pestering nurse, but is overcome by a rather nasty coughing fit instead. Cas steps back from the bed, and then glances upwards at the oxygen monitor, and the oxygen mask that's dangling a few centimetres below it... That's disconnected from said patient.
He immediately yanks the covers away from the stubborn, idiotic man. "You better be cute, I swear..." A murmur comes from underneath a pillow. Cas huffs, and then lifts the pillow up too. He's now stuck holding the bundle of Dean's bedding, leaving his patient barefooted in his pyjamas.
Placing the bedding into a nearby corner, Cas resets the oxygen (as someone had turned it off), and then rolls Dean over by using his shoulder. He places the mask onto his face, ignoring the hole that Dean is metaphorically burning into him, with his dull, green eyes. "You're not, u – uh," the Winchester stammers, causing a smile to play upon the nurse's lips.
He now rolls up Dean's sleeve, in order to take his blood pressure. "You don't think I'm cute?" A playful smirk emerges upon Cas, but Dean almost chokes on his saliva.
"W – what do you mean?" Cas brings a finger up to his lips, telling Dean not to speak. He obeys, and swallows hard. "Try to relax, Mr. Winchester." Castiel informs – his blood pressure seems to be rising.
Once he has taken the final reading, he moves on to taking Dean's pulse... Which also seems to be slightly elevated. It couldn't be due to how flustered the poor kid was, just because of that one, joky remark though... Could it? Or is Dean blushing like crazy because he wants to get lost in Nurse Novak's eyes, or does he simply have a fever?
Placing the thermometer underneath Dean's arm, it'll soon be able to reveal the truth. Dean's eyes are closed again, and Cas wonders if he's already fallen asleep – despite the fact he has no blankets to snuggle back into, nor a pillow to rest his rather nest-like head of hair. "Ah, it seems you're rather hot this morning," Cas notes, taking a close look at the reading.
One of Dean's eyes pries open, and the corners of his mouth twitch upwards for the first time. "Am I now?" He grins, and Cas is somewhat saddened as the grin dissapears when Dean's hand comes up to his mouth, accompanied by a painful sounding cough.
"Right, I'll go and collect some intravenous pain killers for you... Keep that oxygen mask on, I mean it!" He gives a stern stare towards him, before turning his back. The young nurse reaches down for Dean's pillow, and then throws it towards him. Ignoring the rather adorable pout that's trying to make him also throw over the blankets, Castiel exits the room forthwith.
Letting the door close once again, Cas leans against a nearby wall. Can he really, genuinely deal with this stubborn, scruffy, yet somehow unbelievably cute ball of idiocy? He lets his thoughts dance around his mind for a few moments, until he sees a fellow nurse heading his way. She looks busy – too busy to listen to Cas' pleas about swapping patents. Besides, that's stupid behaviour... Somewhat petty, even.
So, pushing his personal feelings way back into a locked part of his mind, Cas breaks into a jog towards the medicine room. He collects all that he needs to refill Dean's IV, and then calmly heads off back in the direction of room 17.