Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, or any of the characters. I also have no extensive knowledge of the medical field, or about law offices.

All mistakes are mine, constructive criticism is welcome!

Enjoy!

Monday rolled around, and Castiel was in a great mood. It was his birthday today. He had woken up to a text message from his brother saying that he was going to bring him breakfast at the office, so do not worry about that.

Shortly after that, Charlie texted him confirming their sushi plans for tonight. Today was going to be a great day.

He was just about to step out the door when his neighbor across the hall opened her door. A little boy came sprinting out carrying a colorful handmade card.

"Mr. Novak, Mr. Novak! Happy Birthday! I made you a card!" The boy screeched.

"Ben, there is no need to scream." His mother scolded.

"Sorry Mom, I am just so excited!" Ben handed Castiel the card, looking proud of himself.

"Thank you Ben, I love it!" Castiel said. Ben smiled wider. Castiel looked at the woman. "Good morning Lisa."

"Good morning Castiel, Happy Birthday! I hope we are not bothering you."

"Oh, no, I am just on my way to work." He smiled.

"I made that card in art class in school! I accidently used too much glitter." Ben smirked

"I think it is perfect. Thank you Ben." Castiel ruffled Ben's hair.

"Ok Ben, we have to get you to school, and I am sure Mr. Novak has to get to work" Lisa said. They waved goodbye to Castiel as he locked his apartment door.

Castiel arrived at his desk to find a huge fruit arrangement waiting for him. It was beautiful, with all different kinds of fruits, as well as chocolate covered strawberries and pineapples. He looked around for a card, but did not see one. He opened up the plastic and sampled one of the strawberries. It was perfect. He lifted up the basket and went to take it to the fridge.

On the way to the fridge he ran into Dean.

"Oh, um Mr. Winchester, Hi. I was just putting this in the fridge, and then I will go and log in." Castiel stuttered out.

"Relax Cas, what have I said, call me Dean. You do not need to call me Mr. Winchester. Anyway, it's your birthday! I see you found the fruit basket I left on your desk. Do you like it?" Dean looked uncertain.

Castiel was speechless. In the five years he has worked for Dean Winchester, he has never given him a gift, let alone even remembered when his birthday was. Granted, ever since his accident he has been a different man, but he never expected this.

"I love it, thank you very much" Castiel gave him a smile.

Dean let out a breath "I am glad. I have to get back to my office for a conference call. Happy Birthday Cas."

Castiel thanked him again and went to place the fruit in the refrigerator.

Back at his desk, he logged in and opened his emails. He did not get a chance to do anything else before a box of delicious smelling food was placed in front of him.

"Happy Birthday Cassie!" Gabriel yelled.

Castiel looked up and smiled at his brother. "Thank you Gabe, this smells delicious!"

"Trust me, it is. I got you your usual. Eggs, over easy, extra bacon, hash browns, and a large coffee. Two creams, three sugars."

"Thank you again, I really appreciate it." Gabe winked at him before turning to go towards his desk.

Castiel opened up the box and started to dig in. He was responding to a few of Dean's clients when Charlie stopped by.

"So, I couldn't help but see this large fruit arrangement in the fridge. Know anything about that?" She smiled.

"Yes Charlie, it is mine, and yes, you can have some." He smiled knowingly at her. "Dean gave it to me."

"Oh really?" She didn't look as shocked as he thought she would be. "Well, maybe we all really have been graced with a new Dean Winchester. I sure as hell hope so, I don't think I can take going back to all that drama after the nice week we have had." She snagged one of Cas's bacon strips. He looked up to glare at her, but instead his eyes went wide.

"What?" She said around a mouth full of bacon.

"Well, Miss Bradbury, I am glad that you are liking this "new Dean" as everybody seems to call it." Dean smirked at her when she turned around looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Oh, Mr. Winchester, uh, I, um, I didn't mean to-" Charlie looked speechless for once.

Dean grinned. "Charlie, really, it is ok. I am glad that you find the new work environment pleasurable. I do not want my employees to feel uncomfortable. Oh, and please, call me Dean. This whole "Mr. Winchester" is way too formal."

"Well, thank you Dean. I, uh, I am going to go back to my desk. See you tonight for dinner Cas!"

Castiel waved at her, then looked expectantly at Dean, who was holding a large stack of papers.

"Well, I hate to do this to you on your birthday, but would you be able to file these reports away for me? The Hernandez case is finally going to be closed. I am writing up the report now."

"Sure thing Dean." Castiel grabbed the stack and got to work.

"Come on Cas!" Charlie has been hovering at Cas's desk for the past 10 minutes. "Our reservation is at 6, we are going to be late!"

"Charlie, it is 5:15, the place is 5 minutes away, we are not going to be late." Cas was in the middle of sorting papers that needed to be shredded. "I just need to finish this, then shred this stack. It will take 15 minutes tops."

"Ugh, fine. I am going to go to the ATM across the street. When I get back, I expect you to be ready!"

"Fine, fine." Cas grabbed his stack and went to the shredders. When he entered the room, Dean was standing at the printer.

"Fuck you, you ass!" Dean kicked the printer, it was obviously jammed. "Oh, Cas, what's up, aren't you done for the night?"

"Yeah, um, I just wanted to finish shredding these papers."

"Ok, but don't stay too late, you need to celebrate!" Dean finally got his papers from the printer. "Did you by chance get the Hernandez case report I set on your desk? I need that retyped and revised by ASAP."

"Yes, I saw it. I will make sure it is done first thing in the morning." Castiel finished his shredding and looked up at Dean.

"You are the best Cas, thanks!"

Castiel watched Dean's retreating form. He took a deep breath and went to get his things together. Charlie was going to be back any minute.

He grabbed his phone and saw a voicemail on it. He listened to it quick.

"Hello Castiel, this is Dr. Milton. I am calling to let you know that your results are back. It is important that we meet in person to discuss our findings. I have an open appointment at 5:30pm tomorrow. Please let my receptionist know if this works for you."

Castiel closed his eyes and ran his hand down his face. This was not what he wanted to hear. He quickly called and confirmed that the time works for him. As he was hanging the phone up, Charlie rounded the corner.

"Castiel Novak, are you ready? It has been 20 minutes, and I want some sushi now!"

"Yes, I am ready." Castiel put on a smile. He was not going to let that phone call ruin his night.

"So, Dean actually remembered your birthday? That is some crazy shit. I didn't even think he knew my name a week ago." Charlie was munching away on her California rolls, obviously happy with how they tasted.

"Yeah, uh, I didn't think he even cared." Cas said. "It was a pleasant surprise. I hope this Dean stays with us, it makes work much more pleasant. Castiel got the spicy tuna rolls, and they were delicious.

"Well, between you and me, I was listening into Sam talk with Inias. He was saying how Dean could stay like this, all happy and pleasant, or could start to become the monster we know him as. Apparently he hit his noggin pretty hard."

"Well, either way I have no choice but to stay. The benefits are amazing."

"Yeah, they definitely are." Charlie took another bite of sushi.

"So, how are things going with Dorthey?" Cas wanted to change the topic, as much as he liked his bosses new attitude, he really did not want to talk about it.

"Oh my, I do not even know where to start. Things seemed to be going well, but then she stopped texting me. Then she called me last week for a quick hook up. Ever since then I have heard nothing from her." Charlie sighed. "I am going to call her sometime this week and see where we stand.

"That stinks. Maybe you should go after that girl you met online? She seemed pretty legit." Cas offered.

"But she did not like Harry Potter, so I lost interest" Charlie sighed. "It's ok, I am still young, I have plenty of ladies to mingle with!"

Cas laughed and ordered another round of drinks for them.

Dean sat on the floor of his bedroom. He was looking through a photo album he had kept. The pictures in it ranged from when he was a baby up until just recently. From what he could see, he looked happy. He was smiling in most of the pictures. One picture caught his eye. It was taken about six months ago. It was of him and Sam. They were both dressed in a suit, standing in front of their office sign. That was the day they took on one of the biggest cases of their career. Sam was smiling bright, Dean however, only had a small smile on his face.

Regardless, he looked happy.

Dean shut the book, he just did not see the person he used to be, the person everyone still sees him as. He wished he could remember that Dean, just so he could vow to never be him again. He hated how people were reluctant to talk to him, how they were scared to make him angry. He let out a big sigh.

The only thing he could do from now on was just continue on as he sees fit, definitely not unhappy, and definitely not a "dick" as Sam puts it.

Feeling a massive headache coming on, Dean goes to take a hot shower and get ready for bed.

The next morning Castiel was fretting, he was on the verge of a meltdown. He frantically searched his desk from top to bottom to find the Hernandez case report Dean left on his desk yesterday. He knew he saw it, it was here yesterday. A sinking feeling started as he thinks he knows what happened to it.

Dean is not in the office yet, so he vows to search everywhere before he starts to full on panic. He retraces his steps, going to Gabriel's desk, Charlie's desk, the elevator bay, the restrooms, the lunchroom, until finally standing in front of the place he hopes it is not in; the copy/shredder room.

He opens the door and starts looking. There is no way he is going to go through the shredded papers, but maybe he accidently left it in here. He looks on the printer, the copier, on top of all the boxes of paper, and on top of the shredder. No such luck. He is about to give up and look somewhere else when he glances a piece of paper stuck in the shredder. He clicks the button to reverse the shredder and feels his stomach drop. Here, in front of him is what remains of the Hernandez reports cover page. It is shredded halfway, and completely ruined. Cas feels like he is going to cry. If this is the cover page, that means the rest of the report has been shredded into a million microscopic pieces.

It was times like this that Cas wished that Dean did all his editing on the computer. He has worked for Dean for five years, he knows how he works. He first types and outline of what the report should look like. Then, he prints it out and handwrites all the important points he wants to include onto the paper. The papers are usually covered with pen scribbles that has taken Castiel forever to decipher.

After that, Dean hands off the papers to Castiel to type into an official report.

How could he be so stupid! How could he have shredded this report without knowing! Dean is going to kill him. This is it, he is going to be the one who snaps happy, caring Dean out of his trance.

Sulking back to his desk, he began thinking of what he could say to Dean. He glanced at his watch, Dean should be here in about 15 minutes. That will give him time to think up a speech.

But, just his luck, he goes to his desk and sees Dean in his office, laughing historically at something one of the associates was saying.

At least he is in a good mood. Castiel thought.

He sat in his chair and logged in, hoping that the guy would stay in Dean's office for a while. He opened up his messenger and decided to message Gabriel.

Castiel N: Good morning Gabriel. Are you still coming with me to the doctors after work?

Gabriel N: Yes sir! Please try not to worry, whatever it is, we will work through it. How was your birthday? Did you eat your body weight in sushi?

Castiel N: Haha, no. Unlike you, I do not consume copious amount of foods anytime I can.

Gabriel N: Hey! I do not do it all the time! Well, maybe I do go on a sweets binge once a week, but that is not the point!

Castiel N: Whatever.

Castiel N: Dean is going to kill me, I accidently shredded the Hernandez case file.

Gabriel N: OMG

Gabriel N: How did you manage to do that!? Do you need me to come down there while you talk to him?

Castiel N: It is a long story, I will tell you later. No, please don't come down. I need to fight my own battles. Someone is in his office now, so I have some time to practice my speech.

Gabriel N: If I hear any commotion, I am coming down!

Castiel N: I gotta go, the guy is leaving.

Castiel looks up as the gentleman exits Dean's office. He smiles at Cas as he heads towards the elevator. Cas takes a deep breath and stands up. He walks as slowly as he can to Dean's office and knocks on the door frame.

Dean looks up and smiles at him. "Cas! Hey, what's up?" He takes a sip of his coffee. "How is that case report coming? I just got word that I need it complete by tomorrow morning. I know it is long, so I apologize"

"I-I was just coming to talk about that. You see, I-"

"Is my handwriting that bad? I swear, I need to start editing on my computer. It will save you from having to decipher my chicken scratch." Dean chuckled and took another sip of coffee.

"No, no, it is not that." Castiel looked as though he was going to cry. "I-I-I am so sorry, I was looking for the report this morning, a-and I could not find it. I retraced my steps and found the Hernandez reports cover page halfway in the shredder. I m-must have shredded it by accident. I am so, so sorry Dean." Castiel bit his lip and tried his very best to hold in the tears threatening to escape.

Dean looked at him with an emotionless expression. He set his coffee cup down and faced the window behind him. He was silent for a couple of minutes. Castiel was about to say something when Dean slammed his fist on the window, hard.

"GOD DAMN IT!" Dean screamed.

Castiel jumped back, the tears now falling freely down his face. "D-Dean, I-I will do anything to make this up to you. I-I will work nonstop tonight and tomorrow, I-" Castiel let out a sob.

Dean turned around from the window. He was furious. "Cas, how could this have happened! You have never done this! I-I can't believe this. Do you KNOW how LONG it took me to write all my notes?" He just about screamed the last part.

"D-Dean, please. I will do anything. J-Just, please don't fire me. Please. I n-need this job, I promise this won't ever happen again. I am so sorry. Just, please, let me know what I can do to help!" Cas was begging Dean, tears streaming steadily down his face.

Dean's face immediately softened. He looked at Castiel and saw the state he was in. He then glanced up to the windows by his office door. People were looking curiously into the office with a mix of emotions on their faces. He walked around Cas's shaking form and closed his office door and drew the blinds down.

Once he turned around, he placed a hand on Cas's shoulder. Cas flinched, but looked up at Dean.

"Listen, Cas, I am sorry. That is not the way I should have reacted. I-I just-" Dean took a calming breath. "it just took me a long time to compile my thoughts about the case onto my report. It is my fault as well for being so old school with my reports"

Castiel looked at Dean, uncertain if he should say something or not. He felt a tear run down his cheek and went to wipe it off. He was surprised when Dean beat him to it and wiped it away with his thumb. Realizing what he did, he took his hand away and took a step back.

"Anyways, why would you think I would fire you Cas? Everyone makes mistakes. This just happens to be a big one…." Dean ran a hand down his face "We can fix this." He smiles and sat down at his desk, motioning for Cas to sit in the seat across from him.

"Well, you have threatened to fire me in the past for much less than this, s-so I just figured this would be the time I blew it." Cas reached for the box of tissues on Dean's desk and wiped his nose.

Dean looked at him oddly for a few moments. "Well, that was the past. The important thing to focus on now is how to write this beast up. I have the outline on my computer, but unfortunately, not my notes."

"I really am sorry Dean, whatever you need me to do, just tell me" Cas said

"Well, today is pretty open, so I will try to write up as much as I can here. I may just need to pull all-nighter." Dean said

"Did you want me to stay late too?" Cas really did not want to, but it was his mistake. "I have an appointment after work, but I can come back afterwards"

"Nah, it is my report, I will take care of it. If I have to work on it tonight, I will just work on it at home." Dean didn't say this, but the look that Cas gave him when he yelled at him was enough for Dean to let him off the hook. He never wanted to make anyone that frightened again, and if that meant he had to bust his ass to write his report, then so be it.

"I will give you a call if I need help. In the meantime, could you please run across the street and get me a cup of coffee?" Dean reached into his wallet and pulled out some cash. "Also, get a box of coffee and some donuts too, I am sure everyone here can use a sugar rush." He winked at Cas. "Bring Charlie to help, I am sure she could use a break from her work"

Cas took the money, dumfounded, and then exited the office. He rounded up Charlie and they were off.

"So, you literally shredded his report notes for the biggest case of his career, and he basically let you off the hook? He raised his voice and then actually apologized?" Charlie look shocked as she grabbed the two boxes of donuts from the cashier. "THEN he sends you to get coffee and donuts for the office? I swear, I do not know this man. He has never gotten food for the office, let alone acknowledge us."

"I don't know Charlie, but I am not going to question it." Cas grabbed the huge box of coffee, as well as Dean's normal coffee order. "I am just glad I still have a job"

They headed back to the office, where they were greeted with many surprised faces when they announced who bought them the breakfast treats.

Many exhausting hours later, Gabriel and Castiel sit in the doctor's office waiting for Dr. Milton to come in the room. Castiel had been on edge all day with the whole shredding incident, that he almost forgot about his appointment. When Gabriel came to get him, all the worry came back in an instant.

"Hey, Cas, please take a breath." Gabriel put a hand on Cas's knee. "We don't even know the results yet."

No sooner had he said that did Dr. Milton knock on the door and enter the room.

"Good evening Castiel, Mr. Novak." He said to them. He sat down in his chair and took a deep breath. "As you know, the cat scan that you had a couple weeks ago showed a mass on your brain. We now have the results of the biopsy to see if it is cancerous or not."

"Yes, I know. What are the results." Cas just needed an answer. The constant headaches, dizziness, loss of balance, mild confusion. All of these symptoms he tried to brush away as stress until Gabriel dragged him to be looked at by a doctor. Now, here they were.

"Castiel, the results show that you have stage 2 brain cancer." Dr. Milton said "The good news, is that it does not seems to be spreading aggressively. There is a great chance that we can treat this."

Cas had no idea what to say. He has cancer? No, this can't be right, there is no way that these headaches are cancer.

"Headaches are the most common symptom of brain tumors." When Cas looked up, he realized that he must have said what he was thinking aloud.

Gabriel spoke up, realizing that Cas needed to process what he has been told. "What treatment are we talking about Doc? Chemotherapy? Surgery?"

"Chemotherapy is the most effective. The tumor is in a place where surgery would be dangerous. However, if the chemo does not show signs of improvement, we may need to take that route."

Castiel sat there in a haze as his brother and doctor talked about his treatment options.

I know this chapter was mainly Castiel focused, but don't worry, we will be getting to Dean next chapter!