This is unbetad and only very slightly edited, although it has been thoroughly spell checked. I own neither Cas, Dean, Supernatural, Meridell Achievement Center nor the book I'm quoting (the citation is at the bottom of this chapter). Please don't sue me, I'm trying my best.
I'm gonna try to keep this as accurate as I can but to clear things up, Meridell Achievement Center is a real place, however it doesn't treat people over eighteen (as Cas is in this story). Also, as far as I know, there isn't a single mental hospital that provides one-on-one care like the kind that I'm describing here.
"Bipolar I disorder is defined as… [experiencing] episodes of mania… and depression."
Dean's POV:
His whole life, Dean knew that all he really wanted was to help people however he could. He considered becoming a doctor for a while before deciding that he couldn't deal with more death in his life- a real possibility around sick people- so he chose to become a psychologist, instead.
Dean had worked extremely hard in both high school and college and after graduation he sent his résumé everywhere he could think of. He got a lot of interviews and even several job offers but he turned all of them down. He wanted to make sure he was where he could do the most good, so when Meridell Achievement Center offered him a job as a specialized care counselor, he jumped at the chance.
When Dean first entered the grounds, he felt extremely nervous. He knew that just being a good counselor wasn't enough if he couldn't connect with the patients. He was afraid that he might get fired, but, more than that, he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to help his charge.
When he saw the front door he instantly relaxed, calmed by the sign in the window that read, "This is the bunker. Welcome home." He knocked on the door (he didn't have a key yet) and an older woman let him in.
"You're Dean, right?"
"Yes, ma'am."
She scowled at him.
"Don't give me any of that 'ma'am' crap. My name is Ellen."
"Yes, Ellen, I'm Dean."
She snorted. "I figured as much, seeing as how you already said that." Dean blushed but she ignored him and continued.
"I'm sure you know the basics of what care counselors do here but you're not gonna be a regular counselor, you've been assigned to a single patient. His name is Castiel Novak and he's been here for quite a long time. That's his file on the desk but I suggest that you get to know him before you read it.
"You'll work weekdays and have Saturdays and Sundays off. Since you've been assigned a single patient, you won't have to deal with all the late night shifts that the rest of us do, you'll work from 7 am to 10 pm, while Castiel is awake but take my advice, you should come in a little early. Nothing sucks like having to wake the patients up without coffee first and you might as well get it here, 'cause it's free." She looked at the clock, "Everybody should be back from lunch now so I'm gonna introduce you two. And Dean?"
"Yes ma- Ellen?"
"Be patient with him. He's a bit much to handle sometimes, but he's a really good person."
She stuck her head out the office door and called, "Castiel, get your butt over here!"
A pale, dark-haired man walked into the office. Well, walked wasn't really the right word. More like pranced, maybe, or frolicked. Either way, it was obvious that the man was bursting with energy.
"Good afternoon, Ellen!"
"Castiel, this is your new counselor, h-"
Whatever Ellen was saying was cut short as Castiel turned to Dean. He stayed quiet for about half a second before he began speaking extremely fast.
"Hello. My name is Castiel, Castiel Novak, but you can call me anything you like, though I would prefer that you don't call me Cassie. Gabriel and Balthazar call me that and I find it kind of annoying. What's your name?"
Dean was smiling at him. "Hey Cas. My name's Dean."
Cas stuck his arms out and wrapped them around Dean, giving the man a firm hug.
"Castiel," Ellen called, "You know the rules. No touching."
Cas withdrew his arms from Dean's shoulders like they were red hot and blushed. "Sorry, Ellen. Sorry, Dean."
"Don't worry about it Cas, it's cool."
Castiel beamed and turned to Ellen. "Can we go now? I want to show Dean the garden. Can I go to the garden if Dean's with me? I promise I won't chase a butterfly again."
"Yes, Castiel, that's fine."
Cas is about to grab Dean's wrist to pull him to the garden when he remembers the bane of his existence, the 'no touching' rule, and pulls his hand back, then turns and walks quickly out the door. Dean is just about to follow him when he hears Ellen say "Dean," he turns around, "You might want the key. It's pretty helpful when you're trying to go outside."
Dean grins sheepishly and takes the key, then follow Castiel to the door, unlocking it and letting them both out. Cas races to the garden, which is really just a tree and a plot of flowers with some benches around it, but pretty, nonetheless. Cas sits heavily on a bench, followed by Dean who sits beside him, close enough that they can easily hear each other but still at a professional distance.
Castiel is staring raptly and what Dean quickly realizes is a honeybee. "You like bees, Cas?"
"I love them. They're so smart and diligent. They're nature's hardest workers. Most people think that's ants, but they're wrong. Did you know that they work their whole lives just make a tiny amount of honey? And they're not like killer bees, honeybees only sting when provoked. Isn't that interesting, Dean?" Castiel looks up into Dean's smiling face.
"Fascinating, Cas." he says sincerely.
Castiel's POV:
Castiel is bored. He's always bored. There's so many thing to do and the hospital is holding him back. He could be a ballet dancer, or a train conductor, or a tow truck driver. Not that he knows how to ballet dance or conduct a train or drive a car, but that's just semantics. Instead of being out, living an amazing, wonder-filled life, he's stuck in the cafeteria, eating a cold deli sandwich that's so dry he's having difficulty swallowing it.
He finished his meal first, as he always does. He doesn't eat a lot and does everything fast so he sits drumming his fingers on the table, oblivious to the annoyed looks thrown his way. He's thinking about his new one-on-one counselor. He's meeting them today in about- he looks at his watch- fifteen minutes. He groans silently. Fifteen minutes is a lifetime.
'I hope they're not like Meg. She's such an assbutt, I'm glad she got transferred to another center. She always made fun of me and called me 'Clarence'. That's even worse than Cassie. Maybe they'll be nice. Maybe they'll like bees too and will play Sorry! with me and take me out to the garden. It'll be nice to have someone to talk to. But what if they don't want to talk to me? What if they don't even like me? What if they think I'm annoying like everyone else does. What if they're even meaner than Meg and they call me something even worse than Clarence? Like Milton or Fred? What if they're not even here? What if they got into a car accident on their way over? What if they decided they don't want the job and left? What if they meet me and decide they hate me and leave then?'
"Castiel. Castiel!" The man looks up at the orderly. "It's time to go back to the bunker. Aren't you meeting your new counselor today?"
"Yes, but I'm afraid that they-" The orderly interrupted him by turning to the group, shouting "Okay, time to go back. Make sure you've got all your stuff and haven't taken any silverware. You know that they check."
Castiel is sitting on a couch in the main room, bouncing his legs up and down. The door to the office is closed and Ellen's nowhere to be seen. She has to be in there with his new counselor. All his previous 'what ifs' return with a vengeance, bringing about a hundred of their evil little buddies with them. The man is close to tearing his hair out when he hears Ellen calling him and he rushes to the office, filled with even measures of hope and apprehension. He greeted Ellen cheerfully and ignored whatever she was saying to turn to see his new counselor.
'Oh my holy wow. He's so pretty. And tall. His eyes are so bright and green. And his lips look so nice too. Is this what being attracted to someone feels like? No wonder people write about it so much. Oh, he's looking at me. I should say something. What should I say? My name. I wonder what his name is?'
Castiel introduces himself to the taller man and learns his name while gaining a new nickname before giving Dean a hug. Cas knows he's not supposed, to but he loves hugs. And it's been so long since he's hugged someone other than his sibling. He misses it. He misses hugs and friends and human touch and Dean looks so strong and grounded, and Cas can't help but think that it's the best hug he's ever had.
'Cas. He called me Cas. I like that. It's a lot better than Cassie or Clarence or Milton. His smile is so pretty and his teeth are so white. Are my teeth that white? Dean is a great name. Maybe the best name ever, except for maybe Cas. He smiled at me. He seems so nice. I wonder if he likes bees? Will he like the garden? Will he like me?'
Gerald C. Davison and John M. Neale, Abnormal Psychology, 7th ed. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998), 228-28.
I realize that this story is filled with run-on sentences but that's mildly on purpose, since that's kinda what it's like in someone's mind when they're manic. Reviews will win you my eternal servitude, not to mention that I'd really appreciate them. I'm super unsure about this fic and I'd love your feedback. Honestly, aside from Destiel and hopefully smut, I'm not exactly sure where I want this story to go. I don't really have an ending planned. Then again, lack of direction hasn't ever slowed me down before. I love you all from the bottom of my heart. And Misha Collins. Misha Collins is awesome.