Dean was filling out paperwork. He did the same thing after every shift, he had to write up the accidents that had happened, the procedures they did, record the equipment and the medication they used, basically a diary of his day. He usually did this with Jo but she had a big date so he let her leave. He was just that kind of guy. There was a knock on the office door and Lisa popped her head round the door. She smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes, her son Ben had been really ill this week and it had been weighing on her.
"Dean, I figured you would want an update on that crash patient from last week" She looked sad when she looked at him. Dean always liked to check up on the patients he and Jo brought in. A few had died in the past but mostly they only had minor scrapes or some broken bones. The patient, Castiel, had been in a coma for almost a week, he was surprised the guy had made it this far, but with the look from Lisa he might not have made it this far at all.
"Did his family pull the plug or did he just die?" Dean had been expecting it for days really. The guy had had more injuries than originally thought. His left shoulder was dislocated which resulted in a pretty nasty bruise around the area, he had 4 broken ribs from the impact of the steering wheel and that had given him huge purple bruises along his abdomen and chest, one of those ribs had punctured his lung, massive internal bleeding, a broken leg and he had a head injury.
"Dean that's the thing, the guy woke up; he's talking with the doctor now" Dean didn't really know what to say. He tried to say something to Lisa but he was just too surprised. He stood up and made his way to the door, Lisa backed up a little and let him past. He didn't quite believe what she told him so he made his way to the guy's room. Dean stood outside the door and could hear the Doctor talking. Dean leaned his back on the receptionist desk and waited.
Dean didn't really know how long he'd been waiting but he knew it must have been a while because Lisa was beside him with a cup of coffee. He looked her up and down and realised she was wearing plain clothes instead of her normal uniform. She followed his gaze and answered "I finished my shift an hour ago but I got home and Ben's fever had rocketed so I brought him in" Dean smiled weakly at her and pulled her in to a hug. He knew how much Ben meant to her and even if she didn't say how worried she was Dean knew. Lisa pulled back from Dean and smiled up at him, she handed him the coffee and he thanked her.
"Dean I know it's not my place to ask but you've been here for a while, why are you waiting to talk to this guy?" Dean had no answer. He realised that a couple times as he'd stood there. This was just some random guy he'd saved but why did he need to see the man to believe that he'd actually survived. Lisa could see that he wasn't gonna answer so she decided to take a guess "I know you always take more interest in the car accidents. I know it's because of your dad and brother that you are an EMT. So do you think maybe that's why you need to know this guy is okay, because maybe you need to know that car accidents don't always claim people's lives?" Dean huffed before answering.
"I've worked here for years Lisa and there have been enough car accidents for me to know when someone is gonna live or die. That guy in there should have died. I guess I just want to understand why he didn't" Lisa just stares at Dean, she knows he'll continue but sometimes he just needs time to psych himself up to it "I know it sounds bad. I should be happy that the guy I saved is awake and alive but at the same time I really can't help but think why him" Lisa put her hand on Deans shoulder and smiled at him. She knew what he meant and she could understand why he needed to know. She was about to say something when the door to Castiel's room opened. Dean nodded his head at Dr Milton he was one of the general surgeons at the hospital. Dean and he had had a lot of contact over the years as many of the patients he brought in would become Dr Milton's.
"Hey Doc, is it okay if I go see the patient?" Dean smiled at him, this was a regular occurrence.
"I wondered where you'd gotten to Dean, I thought you would have just came in" Dr Milton smiled back and waved at the door before walking down the corridor with a final "Dean, you know the drill, easy questions and let him get some rest" Dean just waved off the Doctor but he would always take his advice he had a lot of respect for the guy. Lisa rolled her eyes at Dean and pushed him towards the door; he smiled sheepishly at her and walked in the room. She left Dean to it and headed back to Ben.
There were two beds in the hospital room but only one was occupied. The man was lying back in his bed with his eyes closed. Dean remembered how messy the guy's dark hair had been after the accident and it really didn't look any better now. Although he had been in a coma so Dean let it go. The man on the bed turned to look at Dean but didn't say anything. Dean smiled at the man and got closer to his bed until he was stood at the bottom.
"Are you another Doctor?" the man asked, his voice was rough and sounded scratchy, probably from not using it for a week. Dean realised he still hadn't answered the man and that probably looked a little weird.
"No I'm not a Doctor" Nice Winchester. Inform the guy that you're not a Doctor with no follow up to who you are. Not creepy. Dean shushed himself and then by the look of confusion on the patients face he had shushed out loud. Dean rubbed the back of his neck and spoke "Sorry. I'm not weird or anything. I do actually work here…erm…I'm actually the guy who pulled you out of the car. Well my partner Jo and some fire fighter got you out of the car I couldn't get to you until they got you out and then I worked on you in the back of the ambulance" Dean stopped himself from saying anything else because the guy hadn't needed to know the last bit but from the half amused smile Dean could tell he didn't really mind.
"Well thank you for working on me Mr…"
"Winchester. But you can call me Dean; if I save your life then you owe it to me really. Not that I think you owe me anything, it's my job" Dean couldn't believe how he sounded. He was usually Dean Winchester, confident, flirty, charm your pants right off you kinda guy. However right now he was Dean Winchester a rambling, babbling idiot. He just couldn't help it this guy was just flat out staring at him. It looked like he was trying to understand every problem in the universe, like if he stared intently enough he would be able to figure it all out but more importantly he would be able to figure Dean out and he would be able to know his life story.
"Dean" Castiel spoke as though he was unsure if he could say the name. Like Dean would all of a sudden change his mind and decide that it wasn't his name. "I'm Castiel Novak, but you can call me Castiel, I mean you did save my life and I obviously owe it to you" Castiel gave a small smile that showed Dean he was joking. Then his face became completely serious. "Dean, why are you here?"
