Dean stood on the white X taped to the floor of the fake hospital hallway. He eyed the ugly yet insanely comfortable white sneakers he had been instructed to wear suspiciously. They were undoubtedly fugly. The crew rushed around him as usual, putting the final touches in place, or running quick equipment diagnostics. The shoot would start any minute now. Kirpke and Singer were already in their chairs, the head cameraman was in place, and his bitchy co-stars could be heard bickering just off the set. All in all it was a very typical day.

Lisa, who played a nurse on the show, was sitting at the computer behind the desk next to him. She played with her dark curls as she waited for everyone to settle in for the scene. She was a real pro, and they had worked together since the start of the show. They'd even dated for a while, but that had ended disastrously years ago. Thank god their professionalism was something they had in common, or Dean would have been unable to continue on the show.

Dean took deep breaths. He wasn't exactly nervous, but Cas being here had the whole crew on edge, and that tension was rubbing off on him. Sam shot him a thumbs up, and that helped to quell his childish nerves. He took his place leaning over the counter for a chart, already having traced out all the X's on the floor marking his path.

His character was Dan, the openly bisexual doctor who doubles as a nighttime vigilante, and was one of the first lead characters on mainstream television to be out of the closet, but that fact doesn't dominate the character. It was never mentioned, simply shown over the course of the second and third episode to be one small aspect of the whiskey-loving, intelligent, cowboy-boot-wearing, trust-fund-brat who fights organized crime in his city by night and patches up children and teenagers in his pediatric ICU wing of the hospital by day.

Sure, it's a drama, so there's always the 'look who's pregnant', 'look who just died', 'you're the father, not him', 'guess who cheated', "just kidding, you're not the father" moments, but it goes beyond that. Dan has a perfect antagonist, who is the right mixture of evil and human, just tortured enough to angst through five seasons and just smart enough to evade him for five seasons. The arch-nemesis, unlike most films, is a woman, and an old one at that. Sharp as a tack, "Mama Ram" is full of anger, and looking for revenge. The audience is torn between hating and pitying her.

Because of Dan's ethical code, he rarely kills, but sometimes self-defense gets ugly. In season 3, the cliffhanger was him being shot in the chest. But for the most part, between the fight scenes, it's a show primarily made up of Dan attempting to be happy. Much like Dean, he struggles with making meaningful connections with others, and thus runs through dates like he does whiskey. His character is enigmatic, witty, sarcastic, tortured, and lonely. Dean never understood how Castiel had thought him up, but now he realizes there are some unlived fantasies in this character, where Castiel was expressing himself. It's interesting, and gives him a whole new take on how to view Dan's exploits.

In this scene he flirts with Lisa, and while in real life Lisa is a complete sweetheart who couldn't hurt a fly, in this she is legitimately a bitch from hell, who dates Dan, and breaks his heart by cheating on him. Even worse was in season 2 when he dated Ruby's character, also a nurse, who was actually working for The Ram, and he had to nearly kill her in a fight. And then patch her up afterwards when she came crawling to his house after. And then obviously, break up with her. All without her knowing he was the vigilante. And then have her hate him for two seasons before dating Dan's sister, played by Pam, who is blind. Dan goes through a lot of trouble trying to convince his sister not to date the psychopath who's been sabotaging him at work and at night for two years, and nearly loses his sister.

Anyway, in this scene Dan doesn't know 'Sarah' has slept with 'Joe', from the Oncology ward. They have to flirt a bit and then Dan will go see some 'patients' before heading home and kicking butt. After taking out a meth lab or two and landing some of the smaller time criminals of the main organization in jail, he heads back to 'Sarah's' only to find her 'making the beast with two backs' with 'Joe' from Oncology.

So, Dean flashes Lisa Dan's patented lets-do-the-dirty tonight smile while reaching across her for the charts, and she smiles coyly back at him. Dan then thanks her, and heads over to his first patients room, five steps from the desk, passing Ruby and having a small three sentenced snark fest with her, before knocking on the door. They run it only once more, since it's pretty easy and basic, before setting up the next part, inside the patient's room. This week they have a sweet little six year old playing the patient, having fallen and snapped his femur. Of course in the next episode they discover the leukemia. And then this child is the center of their efforts, Doctor Dan attempting to cure him while not flirting with his hot single father.

Dean legitimately hates this show sometimes. It used to be so family oriented, and even pretty deep, sending awesome messages about sexism and homosexuality, and now it's all drama and fight scenes. For some reason, the captivating character struggling with his will to live and with his faith that propelled them all to win so many awards has been somehow lost to Castiel. Dean knows- he knows- Castiel is a brilliant writer who knows exactly how to play an audience, especially since he has played other characters created by Cas in shorter series' and films, and even one play. Still, at its core, this is a show about people and their never ending decisions and choices, and their free will. It also continuously questions people's motivations. Why does Dan get up in the morning and save children's lives if he hates his own lonely existence so much? Why does he save lives, why does he fight the crime, why does he only drink lattes? So far, Castiel has been able to accurately portray people. People making stupid choices, people falling in love, people grieving, people having bad luck, people when they have a good day, a bad day, a birthday, etc. Living. But in a slightly-soapy way.

Dean's favorite work of Castiel's is The Stained Glass God which focuses on one mans struggle to reconcile his feelings for another man despite the decrees of the church. It won so many awards, and was one of the best performances Dean has seen in many years. But beyond that, Castiel brought up so many points and counter arguments against the homophobic church goers in the film. It changed a lot of the film industry, made it more common and okay to have non-straight orientations. It was a captivating film, mainly made up by the characters internal monologue. There wasn't a lot of dialogue or action, but there were flashbacks to being bullied in high school, and the character truly transformed over the 90 minutes, and came to love himself instead of hating himself. The cinematography was gorgeous as well. The actor was good, but he wasn't Dean. Dean knew he could have done better.

In any case, Dean hoped he could tell Castiel exactly what he thought of his work as soon as they were done. They were taking a short lunch break between scenes, so he tried to inconspicuously meander over to where Cas had been sitting. There he found Gabe with a mountain of twix bars, but no Cas.

"Sorry, lover boy. Cassy ran off with your hottie brother to like, get a sandwich or something." Gabe smirked.

"Well, first off, happily married brother and soon to be father, so back off. Second, I brought him a sandwich." Dean frowned at the offending rye and turkey he had brought. Gabe laughed at him.

"Give it to me then. I'll eat it." He said.

"Yeah, whatever, I thought you didn't eat anything not made out of solid sugar." He handed the sandwich over, rather reluctantly though. Gabe just happily took a bite.

"Well, I usually don't, but I have to sometimes." Gabe talked with his mouth full. Disgusted, Dean left. He sat in his trailer and ate his sandwich and brooded. The next scenes he felt off, although he tried to remain neutral and do his job. He just wanted to eat a sandwich with the guy, okay? And not getting to shouldn't put him in such a bad mood. It was ridiculous and he was acting like a sullen child having been rejected, he decided. So he shook it off and 'flirted' with Aaron, who played the hot dad, and inspected the kids 'injury'.

It was silly, but he couldn't get Cas Novak out of his mind. It was frustrating. He should just have given in and emailed the guy. What was he thinking waiting?

His scenes for the day were done by one pm, so he decided to head back to his trailer for a nap.

Sam Winchester was a very cheerful mammoth. However, he picked over his salad and ate an apple whilst recounting the various shenanigans he and Dean had gotten up to in their teens. He got so far as to describe the tattoo on Dean's left pectoral before Cas cut him off by asking about his life. It had to be done. Cas really shouldn't think about Dean's pectorals. Bad idea. In any case, he had a wonderful conversation with Sam about his wife and unborn daughter, and his job battling Lucifer, the Morningstar Studio's head lawyer, in court nearly every week. While the rest of the legal department for the studio was focused more on copyright issues of their own, Sam's sole responsibility it seemed was to deal with the man they had non-ironically dubbed, "The Devil". It sounded like a demanding position.

Cas talked a bit about his writer's block lately, and how he was hoping meeting the actors and seeing the characters portrayed would help jumpstart him. So far, no epiphanies had occurred, but he was feeling slightly guilty about the soap-opera direction the show had flown in. He now saw truly how overly convoluted it had become. He would need to tone that down a bit, make it more realistic again. If it ever was, that is. After their lunch, Sam showed Cas around the set a bit. There were so many people, and Castiel felt so small, so insignificant. To think he was the reason they were all here, to produce one of his ideas into reality, was humbling. It was hundreds of people. It was incredible and overwhelming.

After a while, Sam took a look at his watch and apologetically said he needed to leave, but would take Cas back to his brother first. On the way back to Gabe, they passed by Dean's trailer, and Sam banged on the door loudly. Muffled cursing could be heard within, and a sleepy Dean popped his head out.

"Sammy! I hate you!" Dean yelled without looking. His hair was sticking up in all directions, clearly having been taking a nap only a moment ago. He blinked blearily, and Cas was caught up in his green eyes again. It was a problem. Sam laughed at Dean, who, catching sight of Castiel, immediately blushed bright red, and straightened up, looking sheepishly down at his pajamas and sweatshirt.

"You're a bitch, Sammy. Why'd you wake me up? So I could embarrass myself in front of Cas, yet again?" Cas smiled but shook his head at Dean, trying to indicate he had nothing to be embarrassed about.

"Well, you're a jerk. And, yeah, basically."

"Seriously, I don't get much sleep. I needed it." Sam just rolled his eyes, but Cas looked concerned.

"You really should get eight hours per night, Dean. Perhaps we should let you get back to that, and we can speak to you later. Come on, Sam. Let's go find Gabe." He turned to go, but Dean made a weird face. It was something between 'small boy who fell and scraped a knee' and 'kicked puppy dog'.

"No! Uh, I mean, Cas I was meaning to email you, but I was uh. Busy. Yeah. So, if you have time now, I'm not due back for an hour… We could get coffee… or something?" He's adorable when he blushes, Castiel decides. Sam grinning in the background, Cas just squints at him. Better to make him sweat it out for a minute.

"Would it be… a date?" He finally asks. Dean's blush intensifies. Suddenly his pink bunny slippers are a lot less embarrassing and very in need of being inspected.

"If you want." Dean finally scrapes out. Cas felt powerful, bringing this confident icon down to stutters and blushes. It's a huge burst for his self confidence, honestly.

"I prefer tea." Cas states finally, and starts walking back towards the sort-of cafe they have temporarily set up in the back of the cavernous warehouse for all the people to eat at. Sam laughs and head off in the other direction, and Dean starts to follow Cas, only to stop when he feels a breeze and shivers, once again realizing he is in public wearing a pair of pastel pink bunny slippers and pajamas.

"Cas, wait!" He shouts, already backtracking to the trailer. Cas pauses and turns.

"I need to put clothes on!" Dean shouts behind himself. Cas nods, and slowly meanders back to the trailer. By the time he gets back, Dean is popping out wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt. He sits on the trailers stairs to put his black biker boots on. Finally, he stands back up, flashing Cas a smile and tentatively taking his elbow in his hand.

"This way's a short cut." He mentions while leading Cas through the small space between two of the trailers. He doesn't let go of Cas's elbow the entire way to the cafe, simply liking their arms together as they walk side by side. Cas raises an eyebrow at him, but Dean just smirks and walks on.

They sit at one of the little tables set up next to the table of food. The woman in charge gives them a scowl. Cas gets a cup of chai and Dean a plain black coffee with sugar.

"So. Did you finally watch the show from the beginning?" Dean starts.

"Yes. I spent this weekend catching up. I found it very informative." Cas chooses his words wisely. It had been enjoyable, watching the show, because it was about forty minutes of Dean's face and phenomenal acting. It had been informative for the other ten minutes he managed not to ogle Dean for.

"So you think you'll do things different now?" Dean sips his coffee languidly. Cas has to hold off because it is simply too hot.

"Very. I had no idea how overly dramatic things were getting. This was, admittedly, one of my first television scripts, and not a movie or novel, so the whole ongoing without having a destination is beginning to throw me off, I think."

"So you're gonna tone down the soap opera crap? Like the illegitimate children and sleeping around? And unrealistic expectations and feats for a vigilante on his own, without even a sidekick to back him up or cover for him?" Cas's eyes widened in surprise. Dean shut his mouth with a snap and blushed, looking down at his coffee.

"Sorry. That was a little bit much."

"No, you are correct. I do need to do away with those elements. I need to slim it down to reality. Maybe have Dan meet a… nice accountant or lawyer who is genuinely good and loving. A guy, though. And maybe he can actually cure someone for once. And… Ruby and Lisa might leave. Transferring to another hospital out of the city. We can focus more on his efforts taking down the vigilante." Dean is over his embarrassment now, leaning forward, elbow on the table, head in hand, and the other hand holding his coffee cup. His green eyes are... luminescent, Cas thinks.

"Yes! Maybe that kids Dad? Aaron." Dean suggests.

"Oh, no. Sorry, Dean but Aaron is straight." Cas sips his tea.

"Well, how would you know? He can be whatever you make him."

"That episode is already written. Too late." He smiles apologetically at Dean. Despite this being a date, he feels at ease here. Dean's presence is calming. He brings no pressures or judgements. He is relaxed, so Cas can relax. It's pleasant. Cas basks in Dean's starlight. It's a soft, yet obvious and warm glow that covers him from head to toe.

"Oh. Okay. Make it like, an accountant. Who wears suits and has messy hair. A total nerd, but a sexy one. Someone awkward at first, but Dan charms his pants off. Not literally. Well, maybe literally, but not till later." Dean winks lasciviously.

"Is this Dan or Dean requesting his dream guy here?" Cas wonders out loud. Dean chuckles.

"A bit of both. Lucky for us, you're a pretty awkward yet sexy dude." Dean laughs, and Cas blushes, and both finish their drink. But… Cas doesn't want to go find Gabriel quite yet. Dean, it seems, has nowhere to be at the moment, so they sit for awhile longer, chatting about the show, or Sam, or their mutual love for black and white classical horror movies.

"Cas, I gotta tell you, I've been a fan for even years before this show. Ever since Stained Glass God, really. It was one of the best films I've ever seen. It was captivating, and the story was heart-wrenching." Cas, instead of preening form the compliment, looks forlorn and picks at the buttons on his jacket. Dean knows something is up, but Cas is not forthcoming. Dean figures he ought to let it go. He feels rather disappointed, and it must show on his face, because when Cas looks up he says,

"Oh, Dean. I'm sorry. I'm glad you liked it, but it came from a very dark time in my life, and it launched my career, sure, but at a very high cost." Dean nods understandingly, and tries to change the subject, returning to gushing about how proud he is of Sammy, and how excited he is getting to be an uncle soon. But soon enough, his hour it up, and a harried PA shows up to drag him back to wardrobe for the next scenes. Dean gives Cas directions back to Gabe, and does the awkward do-we-shake or do-we-hug after the first date dance, landing on shaking his hand. Cas seems weird about personal space.

Later, in the car, Gabe makes fun of Cas but he doesn't care. He didn't panic, he went on a date with Dean, and had a really great day. Gabe gives up on teasing long enough to very seriously ask,

"Cas. Do I need to do the older brother menacing I-will-castrate-you-with-a-spoon routine?"

"No, and even if it was that serious, you shouldn't do that. I'm not a baby you need to protect."

"I know you're not. It's still my job. Though I would hate to castrate him. Ending that genetic line is a crime against nature." Gabriel gives him a wink, before hopping out of the car and back into his asshole-ish personality. Cas sighs in resignation and heads inside.

That night, when he opens his email he finds a message from one 19dwinchester67 . It reads:

Dear Cas,

How are ya? Its only been like, fifteen minutes since I saw you, but I figured it'd be pointless and silly to wait longer. You don't mind right? Right. Anyway, I was hoping you were free this saturday? I have an event/dinner thing, but we could go get some real food afterwards? They only serve this salad and chicken crap, but we could go over to Harvelle's after? If your up for that, that is. Okay! Dean is done rambling now. Shutting up. Sorry.

Hoping he hasn't scared you off,

Dean

Cas smiles like an idiot at the message. It's stupid and silly, but Dean is showing interest, and that's more than Cas has seen in a really long time. His insides feel like liquid, but that might be because its dinner time. In any case, he swiftly replies that he is indeed free, and would love some "real" food.

When he heads to sleep that night, his dreams are filled with freckles and green eyes.