Credit to .com for the wonderful promt/idea used in writing this fic! Original post here: search/destiel
It had been a couple of months since Cas had been with Dean and Sam; as a human now. He was still getting used to living life without his grace; at first sleeping had been terrifying, but soon became excitingly wonderful. He looked back with astonishment at the days when Dean would tell him that he only needed 4 hours of sleep; after getting used to it, Cas really started to enjoy it, and couldn't imagine functioning without his (at least) eight hours. For Cas, it became a way to get away from the bustle of the human world for a while, and when he woke up in the morning, he felt new, clean, energized. Dean and Sam scoffed at him, laughed and called him a morning person. But now they were used to it, and were even thankful for it because it meant that Cas could get up and start their coffee.
With Sam healing from the trials, things had been pretty calm and laid back, giving them time to work out things like their coffee schedule, and for Dean to get a job at the nearby garage. Of course he still enjoyed going out to the bar every Friday night; he'd knock back a few beers and hustle some pool. Things were calm and relaxed, almost domestic, if they overlooked the fact that they lived in a bunker (granted, a very nice one, but still a bunker). It was Cas's daily chore to catalog and cross reference new information in the library, but he also cooked pretty often; another human activity he found quite enjoyable.
But one Tuesday evening, Dean came home with another new experience for Cas.
"Hey Cas," He said when he entered the kitchen where Cas was working on something for dinner, "You ever been to the dentist?" He had his overalls folded down around his waist and Cas could see the gritty hand prints on his shirt where Dean must've wiped them after he was done working.
Cas quickly turned the stove down to low; he'd learnt his lesson the last time he spent too long talking to Dean and forgot he had spaghetti boiling on the stove; it'd began bubbling over and luckily Sam had caught it before it could do too much damage. "No… what does the dentist do?" he asked cautiously, wiping his hands on a dish towel.
"Oh, don't worry, he just cleans you teeth" Dean said, kicking off his boots in the corner of the room.
"Dean!" Cas exclaimed, "I thought you were going to remember to take those off before you came in here; you must drag in half the dirt off the garage floor every time you come home!" He said before Dean could explain anymore about the dentist. It wasn't that Cas really cared too much, but he and Sam walked around in their socks a lot, and even after twice through the wash each time, the socks were starting to turn grey from the dirt they picked up. And Cas rued cleaning floors and wouldn't dream of making Sam do it; perhaps he'd make Dean scrub them once, maybe he'd understand the "shoes off" rule a little bit better after that…
"Okay, okay!" Dean said, raising his hands above his head in surrender, "I'll be right back!" He took his shoes to the little welcome mat Cas had pleaded with Dean to get, after reading a few too many Home and Garden magazines.
When Dean got back, Cas was serving dinner; he'd tried a new recipe, it had taken him all day but he was dying to try it. "What's… this?" Dean asked looking with apprehension at the bowls set out on the table.
Grabbing the last of the silver wear, he came back to set it on the table. "They're stuffed peppers!" he said with a grin before going to fetch Sam.
Leaving Dean looking like he was almost unconvinced that the food was edible, he headed to find Sam in his study. There were various offices in the bunker, each meant for a different positioned higher-up of the Men of Letters, but now Sam had taken the biggest one for his own little study where he'd started working online to finish his college degree.
Cas knocked on the door even though it was already cracked open most of the way, because he knew how engrossed Sam got in his work. "It's dinner time!" he called, peeking in.
And as Cas had imagined, Sam was working hard; tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth, fingers flying across the key board, and his back hunched over his laptop. "Okay, out in a minute!" He said looking up and nodding.
Returning to the kitchen, Cas found Dean had gotten the drinks; iced tea for each of them. "Sammy gonna come out to eat sometime soon?" He asked pulling out a chair for Cas before plopping down in his own seat.
"In a minute he says," Cas responded, sitting down at the table, "which for him means by the time we're half way done with our dinners". Dean chuckled and they both started eating.
Cas asked how business at the garage was and Dean explained about the new cars they just got in, gave him an update on the old stick shift he's working on, and the latest drama between the garage owner and his girlfriend. Sam came out as Dean finished talking about his day, and Dean asked him how school was going, reiterating yet again, how much he didn't understand Sam's desire to complete his education. Cas told them about some of the more interesting things he found in the Men of Letters' catalogs that day and they all had seconds, Dean even admitted that "Yeah, okay Cas, it's not half bad."
"So about the dentist" Dean began as he carried the dishes from the table to the sink. Sam started scrubbing all of the loose food still left on the silver wear and plates, and Cas was rinsing out the glasses and loading them into the dish washer.
Sam looked over at Dean as he brought up his idea, "What about the dentist?"
"Well, I just thought" Dean began with a shrug, coming over to stand next to Sam at the sink and begin helping with washing off the dishes. "That maybe since Cas has never gone, maybe we should go sometime, give him the experience. And it wouldn't hurt us either, I mean, how long has it been?"
"Um" Sam began, thinking back to when they were kids and their dad was in charge of things like that. "I don't know; back when dad wasn't so obsessed with hunting?" It had been awhile, for sure, but really nothing was wrong with any of their teeth, they all had pretty good hygiene for a bunch of guys.
"Exactly!" Dean responded, "We should go and get checked out, you know?" He finished up washing the last plate, handing it to Cas to place in the washer. "What do you say Cas?"
"Well—" Cas started, only to be interrupted by Sam.
"I don't know Dean, I mean, I have finals soon and—"
But Dean didn't let him finish. "Oh you're just still embarrassed about that time when we were kids, when you bit the dentist's finger, remember?" Dean started laughing then. "She was so freaked-out, too, it was her first day or something, and you just—"
"ALRIGHT!" Sam said, stopping Dean before he could continue his story. "You two can go if you want to, but I don't have time!" If Cas hadn't known any better he'd say that Sam was almost blushing with actual embarrassment at Dean's mentioning of the memory.
"Well then," Dean said, clapping Cas on the back, "we have to make ourselves an appointment at the dentist's office!"
It was Thursday now, the night the dentist stayed open late, and Dean and Cas were in the Impala, on their way there.
"So, could you…" Cas began "Explain some more about this Dentist person?" He was in the passenger seat with Dean driving, and wanted to find out some more about his next new human experience.
"Well, he…" Dean said gesturing vaguely in Cas's direction "cleans your teeth, you know?"
No, Cas didn't know; it had taken Cas a week to understand cleaning his own teeth! But he nodded and just looked ahead at the road. He glanced a few times at Dean while he was driving, and he must have been staring a bit, because at one point Dean looked over and raised his eye brows questioningly. But Cas just looked away and Dean shrugged, dropping it.
"We're here." Dean said finally as they pulled into the parking lot at the dentist's office. He got out and met Cas in front of the Impala, clicking the lock button as they turned to head inside. "You ready?"
"Yeah," Cas said letting Dean take the lead into the quaint little building before them.
In the waiting room, there were rows of chairs and little end tables covered with stacks of magazines that Cas had never ready before, and in the far corner there was a door and next to that, was a window to a desk with a friendly looking lady sitting behind it.
Dean, seeing the way Cas was looking around with such curiosity told him to grab a seat and walked up to the desk to sign in for both of them.
"Hello" The woman (her name tag said her name was Cindy) said. "Are you our six o'clocks?" She had a short blond bob hair cut and was wearing pink nurse's scrubs.
"Yep that's us." Dean said looking back to see Cas squinting at the fish tank at the other side of the room. "Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak"
The receptionist looked up from her computer and smiled. "Okay, a hygienist will call you back soon."
"Alright, thanks" Dean said, sending her a smile before heading over to Cas.
After a long talk about the fish in the tank, and why the fish were in the tank, and why anyone would want fish in a tank, a hygienist in blue scrubs came out. "Castiel Novak?"
Cas looked over at Dean with a questioning, nervous expression. "Do I…?"
"Yeah," Dean said nodding "Follow her back and she'll clean your teeth, okay?" Dean watched as Cas followed the woman back, before returning to the magazine he'd been trying to read between questions from Cas about the fish tank, the dentist, and various other random things.
Dean soon found though, that without Cas's constant pestering keeping him from reading more than a sentence at a time in his article, that the thing wasn't all that interesting to begin with. So he leaned over to the chair next to his and picked up what Cas had been reading.
It was an article in Home and Garden magazine (Cas had become addicted to them ever since being on earth as a human, prompting many "home improvement" projects to take place around the bunker) about how to "add color and excitement to your backsplash!" and Dean could only imagine that that would be the next project Cas would have them working on.
But Dean's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a crash followed by loud shuffling coming from behind the door into the dentist's offices. Not his problem, he assumed. Then a woman screamed. Then Cas screamed. And suddenly, it became Dean's problem.
Getting up and rushing towards the door, Dean forgot all about their up-coming home improvement projects and listened again for the sound of Cas's voice.
He didn't have to wait long. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" came Cas's shout followed by more banging that seemed to get nearer to the door every second.
Dean stepped back just in time. "DEAN!" Cas burst through the door huffing from the effort of fighting off at least 5 nurses who were now chasing him back down the hall. He still had the little blue paper cloth hanging around his neck. "DEAN WHAT IS THIS? WHY DID YOU BRING ME HERE? YOU SAID THEY JUST WANTED TO CLEAN MY TEETH! THEY'RE ANGELS DEAN, THEY MUST BE AFTER ME! DEAN!" Cas ran behind Dean and gripped his shoulders, holding him there like a shield, while 5 very angry looking nurses gathered around Dean.
Putting on the calmest face he could muster, he looked around at each nurse and tried to cool down the situation. "Hey… ladies, uh, let me just talk to my friend here," Dean said, stuttering a bit. "I'm sure it was just… nothing, ah yeah. Just give us a minute." The hygienists' scowls softened a bit as they went back to their offices to return them to order, after Cas's apparent rampage.
Meanwhile Cas's grip on Deans shoulders had softened, allowing Dean to turn around and face Cas.
Putting an arm around him he led him to a nearby chair. "What happened in there?"
The two sat down and Cas turned to face Dean, speaking animatedly, "Dean!" he said, "they came after me!" he was now down to an intense whisper "they're angels Dean, they were trying to brainwash me, torture me like Naomi did, and—"
"Hold on, hold on," Dean said, motioning for Cas to stop. Looking Cas in the eyes, Dean took a deep breath. "First of all, they're not angels. Second of all, do you think I would ever bring you somewhere with angels? They're all fallen now, and it might be hard to tell between a fallen angel and a human, but do you think I would ever even risk possibly putting you in that kind of danger, Castiel?"
Cas looked away, embarrassed. "I know Dean, I trust you." He said turning back to Dean. He leant in close (so close that Dean felt he should move away but Cas looked so serious and upset, he couldn't bring himself to do it) and whispered to him, "But Dean they- they had drills. And other machines that buzzed and turned, and they were going to drill into me just like she did, and—"
"Oh Cas," Dean said (he was amazed that he wasn't laughing, with anyone else he would be, but Cas looked so genuinely frightened, he couldn't), "They're just special tooth brushes, and water jets, and… do you want to see me go first?"
"But…" Cas said trailing off. He looked unsure and doubtful at first but eventually Dean convinced him and he agreed to go along with Dean's new plan.
After going up to the desk and talking to the nurse at the desk, feeding her some bull shit excuse about Cas and why he "over reacted" to the dentist's tools, he convinced her that if he went in with him, Cas would be fine.
Walking back to the room where Cas had previously been, Dean could tell Cas was having trouble making himself keep walking, now knowing what was waiting for him. "Cas… don't worry, okay?" Dean says looking over at him and noticing the how tense he looked. "I'll go first, okay? You can watch, and when it's your turn, I'll be right there in case anything happens."
Cas looked at Dean for a while not saying anything, but eventually gave a tense nod of agreement and Dean could see him physically relax as he put on a determined look. But entering the room Cas tensed up again, and Dean noticed the hygienist scowling a bit at the disarrayed state her work station was in. Cas sat down on an empty chair in the corner while Dean sat in the dentist's big reclining chair as the hygienist grabbed toothpaste and fluoride from a nearby drawer.
Dean mentally sighed at the memory of when he was small enough to be asked what flavor toothpaste he wanted. Being an adult sucked.
"Okay," the hygienist began, "open up." And Dean did as he was told letting the hygienist do her work.
For a while Cas jus shuffled around, uncomfortable and tense about being back in this room, and to be letting that woman over there with Dean. But other that; looking on, still unconvinced that they were safe in the hygienist's hands, Cas didn't make too much of a disturbance.
Until the woman started up the electronic tooth brush.
Upon hearing that noise and seeing the tool heading towards Dean, Cas shouted, jumped up and rushed over, presumably to attack the hygienist, it seemed, but having already dealt with him, she was smart and moved away quickly and turned off the brush.
"Castiel," Dean said sitting up, "everything's fine. It's a toothbrush," he gestured at the tool, "nothing more. She's not gonna hurt me!"
Cas gave him his confused face (not puppy dog, not puppy dog, okay, Dean would admit it, it was a puppy dog face and it killed him every time) but trusting Dean, he eventually sat back down. For the rest of the time Cas was on the edge of his seat, and Dean was constantly waiting for one little slip up by the hygienist to send Cas on the attack again, but in the end they got through it, and soon enough, it was Cas's turn.
Dean got out of the dentist's chair and went over to Cas. "Okay, it's your turn." He said. "Don't worry, alright? I'll be right here."
Cas still looked scared but following Dean's previous example he sat down in the chair and allowed the hygienist to begin working. She just started off with the simple metal tools, the little mirror and the pick for stuff in between your teeth, and slowly, very slowly, Cas began to calm down.
But once again, the starting of the electric tooth brush sent Cas over the edge. He gasped before quickly snapping his mouth shut and turning his head, he pressed his eyes shut and Dean almost thought he heard him whimper even.
All of that caused Dean to then jump out of the chair he'd been in, and to rush over to Cas.
"Castiel" Dean said walking around to see Cas's face. He crouched down next to him and placed a hand on his cheek, coaxing him to open his eyes. "It's okay? You just watched me go through the exact same thing."
"Sorry" Cas whispered, looking ashamed. At least now he admits they're not angels, Dean thought to himself.
After agreeing to sit next to Cas and hold his hand through the rest of the appointment, things calmed down enough that they were able to finish. After leaving the dentist's all dean could think of was how much Cas had over reacted. What had Naomi done to him? Why was he so afraid? Maybe someday he'd be brave enough to ask Cas about it.
But for now he had one very tired out Cas asleep on his shoulder, and a few more miles of open, desolate road until they made it home to the "bat cave", so he pushed his worries aside in exchange for comfortable contentment.