Castiel strolls through the front door of his office on Monday like he is walking on air. The weekend at Dean's family's house had been nearly perfect. Aside from some discomfort on John's part, Dean's family seemed open and happy to meet Castiel. They never once made him feel unwelcome or unwanted. Cas hasn't had many serious relationships in his life, and when he has, meeting the family was a huge step. None had ever gone this smoothly.
He waves hello to Gabriel as he passes his desk, getting a lazy salute in return. He slips into his cubicle, popping his head over the divider to greet Ava.
As he sits down, he notices a large yellow envelope on his desk. He tears it open, dropping a silver disk onto his desk. Across the front is written "4/21/14 - Final Cut." It has to be the final edit of the GSA segment. Castiel had finished his portion on Friday afternoon before leaving for St. Petersburg, but Bartholomew said he had a few tweeks he wanted to make.
Cas logs onto his computer and pops the disk in. He double clicks on the file and the video begins playing.
It doesn't take long for Cas' mood to sour.
He stomps down the row of cubicles toward Bartholomew's office. He finds him with the phone pressed to his ear, facing away from the door. As soon as Castiel steps inside, he throws the door shut.
"What the hell did you do?" He hisses, trying to keep his voice low enough not to be heard through their infamously-thin walls.
"I've got to go. I'll call you later," Bartholomew mumbles into the phone before hanging up and turning to Cas. "What's up, Castiel?"
"What they Hell did you do to our segment?" Castiel repeats, enunciating every word clearly. Bartholomew blinks a couple times, expression blank.
"I don't know what you are talking about," he says with mock innocence, shaking his head.
"You completely changed it!" Cas exclaims, "We were finished on Friday and you dismantled the entire thing." Bartholomew gives Castiel a tight smile and sighs.
"Castiel-" He begins.
"What happened to Charlie's interview," Cas exclaims. "and when did you interview the Principal?" Cas' hands shake in anger. He feels so hurt and betrayed, but more than anything stupid for trusting this asshole. Bartholomew had gotten an in depth interview with the principal of Dean's school, who seemed to go on endlessly about "instilling good morals in today's youth."
"I thought it would only be right if we heard from both sides of the debate." he answers, "We have ethics to uphold."
"Charlie's part is almost completely missing!" Cas argues.
"There was nothing that she said that Mr. Roman didn't say as well." Bartholomew replies. Castiel wants to punch that smug little smirk off of his face.
"You made it sound like they wanted to start a sex club!" Cas' voice breaks in frustration.
"Castiel you are reading far too much into this," Bartholomew shoots him a strange smile. "We're simply presenting the facts and letting the viewers make the judgement call." Castiel runs a hand through his hair gripping it viciously.
"Bartholomew," Cas' pleads, "These kids have no support here. Who's side are you on? I thought you more than anyone-."
"What? Because we used to fuck I'm supposed to support all of your causes, Castiel?" he snarks, sitting up in his chair. "Don't act so fucking high and mighty! You wanted to do this story just to get into Dean's pants. Mission accomplished, right?"
"That has nothing to do with this!" Castiel says through gritted teeth.
"Really?" He asks, raising an eyebrow in Cas' direction, "So you are telling me if Dean weren't involved in all of this, you'd have still taken it on." Castiel hesitates for a moment, considering the accusation. Obviously, he only knew about the story because of Dean, but even if it had just landed on his desk by luck of the draw, he still would've followed through in the same way.
"Yeah, I would have," Cas answers without a shred of doubt. Bartholomew considers him carefully before sitting back in his chair.
"Alright," he mumbles. "Tell you what: I haven't submitted the segment up the line just yet, but I'd be willing to switch it out for your previous edit."
Cas' eyes widen. "You still have it?" He breathes
"Of course I do," Bartholomew replies, "and I'd be willing to change them out on one condition." Castiel looks at him cautiously, not quite knowing if he really wants to hear this.
"What?" He asks.
"Go out with me," Bartholomew holds his hands out loosely. "One date, that's all I'm asking." Castiel's face drops and a harsh chuckle rattles through him.
"Oh my god, what is your malfunction!" He yells, no doubt being overheard by half the newsroom. "Did you really think this would work? Extorting a date?!" Bartholomew's expression quickly hardens.
"You have done nothing but harass me and pry into my personal life since you came back, and I am sick and fucking tired of it!" Cas leans forward, slamming his hands onto the desk and causing Bartholomew to jump in surprise.
"Be careful what you say, Castiel," he warns quietly.
"Or what?" Castiel hisses. "You're going to turn into an even bigger pain in my ass, because I don't think that's possible! God, I am so stupid to think that there is even an ounce of compassion in you!" He turns and throws open the door and stomps out of the office. A small crowd mills about outside the door, no doubt trying to overhear the fight.
"Castiel!" Bartholomew yells after him. Castiel raises his middle finger in the air, aiming it behind him as he walks away.
Chuck paces his office, desk phone pressed to his ear. He doesn't say anything, but the voice on the other line doesn't seem to want to let him get a word in edgewise. Cas watches tensely from the chair on the opposite side of the desk. As soon as he left Bartholomew's office, he had raced to Chuck's, hoping to cut this thing off before it got much worse.
"Uh-huh, I see," Chuck mumbles. He turns and glances at Cas; his expression is not encouraging. "Ok. Ok. Ok, alright. Bye." He drops the phone onto its cradle and settles back into his chair.
"There's nothing I can do, Cas," he says flatly. Castiel's shoulders droop.
"What? Why?" He asks in disbelief. Chuck shakes his head and rubs a hand over his face.
"Anchors get final say in what they present," he explains. "He's completely within his rights to make any edits he sees fit." Cas can't believe what he's hearing. Bartholomew must have known this entire time.
"But… but he's lying. This isn't what the story is about-"
"I know-" Chuck interjects, giving Cas a patient look.
"You're our boss! Intervene or something!" Castiel throws his hands up wildly, punctuating his statement.
"I'm your boss, not his," Chuck clarifies. "He answers to station management, and when It comes right down to it, on-air talent has more power than I do." Castiel feels like he has been gutted. He sits there in silence for a long moment before rising to his feet and facing Chuck.
"I'd like my name taken off the whole thing then," he says.
Chuck raises an eyebrow. "You sure?" He asks. Cas nods.
"Absolutely," he answers. He walks out of Chucks office without another word, keeping his head down as he navigates the rows of cubicles back to his own desk.
He falls into his chair and rubs at his temples. He doesn't want to think about what the blowback from all of this is going to be, especially for Charlie and Dean.
There is a soft knock on his cubicle wall. Castiel looks up to see Gabriel standing in the doorway with a look of concern.
"What was going on back there?" He asks. "I've never seen you hulk out like that." Castiel snorts derisively
"C'mon, maybe I can help," Gabe offers. Cas shakes his head.
"If Chuck can't help, you can't help," he snaps without turning around. Gabe grips the edge of Cas' chair and spins him to face him.
"You are assuming that I follow the same moral code as Chuck," Gabe replies, raising a brow. "So, spill." Cas glances at him doubtfully.
"Bartholomew… He changed the story we were working on," Cas says. Gabe clicks his tongue.
"Yeah, been there," he says. "Rachel's done that to me a few times. Is this the one you mentioned after the meeting a while ago?" Cas nods.
"It wasn't supposed to be a big deal, and now..." Cas sighs with a shrug, "now my friends might be facing-" Gabe frowns.
"Friends?"
"Yeah, my, uh, friends are involved." Cas admits reluctantly. Gabe whistles lowly.
"Dude, you should never bring this work into your personal life," he offers. Cas rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, that does me a lot of good now," Cas scoffs sarcastically. He squeezes at the bridge of his nose and tries to think.
"This is for the 6 pm broadcast?" Cas nods. Gabriel leans against the cubicle wall.
"I might be able to do something," he says. Cas' head jerks up.
"You can get it pulled from the broadcast?!" Cas blurts out, jumping to his feet.
"Whoa there, kid," Gabriel says, holding his hands out in front of him. "I said I could do something, not work miracles. You're probably out of luck getting it pulled-" Castiel flops back into his chair dejectedly, "but I may be able to do something else."
"Like what?" Cas snaps. Gabe makes a wary noise, hissing through his teeth.
"It might be better for you to not know," he says. "In case you need to deny culpability." Cas glares at him in confusion.
"Gotta go," Gabe says, turning on his heel before Cas can ask him what the hell he is talking about. He groans in frustration as he watches the other man disappear around the corner.
Castiel glances at his phone. He needs talk to Dean before it airs, but dreads the thought of it. There's no way Dean or Charlie will come out of this unscathed. There is going to be some sort of blowback. The school will no doubt have an issue with teachers putting it in bad light, and it's all Cas' fault.
A terrible thought suddenly occurs to him: What if Dean gets fired. Cas' stomach turns at the notion. He stands abruptly, needing to get out of the crushing space of his cubicle. He walks quickly down the row and pushes through the exit door into the stairwell.
Dean will get fired and he'll no doubt break up with Cas, because nobody wants to date the person responsible for them losing their job. Cas tamps down a whimper as he rushes down the stairs, pushing through the heavy metal exit door out to the parking garage at the back of the building.
He fishes his phone out of his pocket and stares at the dark screen. He knows he needs to warn Dean about tonight's broadcast. A very selfish part of himself keeps repeating that he'll lose the man he loves if he does though. Cas swallows hard and unlocks the screen.
He taps the phone icon, Dean's name staring back at him from recent calls. He hesitates for a moment before tapping it and holding the phone up to his ear. It rings a few times; Cas thinks maybe Dean is is class and he knows he can't tell him all this over a voicemail. He's ready to hang up when the phone picks up.
"Hey Cas," Dean greets warmly. "What's going on?" Cas takes a deep breath and tries to gather his thoughts.
"Dean, um, there's something I need to tell you," Cas begins hesitantly.
"What's wrong?" Dean asks, his tone changing instantly. Cas leans against the heavy stone wall of the building.
"It's about the story…"
Cas watches his nieces scamper into his living room. Hannah has just recently learned to walk, and in spite of her uneasy steps, she eagerly chases after Cecily.
"Are you sure about this, Cassie?" Balthazar says, handing Cas the diaper bag. Castiel's original plan for the evening was to hole up in his house and dwell in his self-pity. However, when Balthazar called and asked if Cas was interested in babysitting after their regular girl had cancelled, he figured the girls might be a nice distraction for the evening.
"Yeah, it's… it's fine," he sighs. He didn't fill Balthazar in on all the details, but he made it clear that some bad stuff happened at work today and it may affect Dean.
Meg steps out of the kitchen. "Alright, they've both had dinner, but there's snacks on the counter. Hannah has a bottle in the fridge and Cecily is good with apple juice." She reaches into her bag and pulls out a stack of children's DVDs. "If they start getting too wild, put on one of these. It'll usually put them down." Cas nods in understanding and places the movies on the hallway table.
"We should be back around 10:30," Balthazar says. "Call us if anything happens, alright."
"Sure thing," Cas says. "Um, you guys don't mind if Dean comes by, do you?" Balthazar and Meg glance at each other briefly and shake their heads.
"No, why would we?" Balthazar asks. "You won't be having sex in front of the girls, will you?" Castiel's looks at his brother in disgust.
"Of course not!" He exclaims.
"Well then, I shouldn't have a problem with it," Balthazar replies, shrugging again. "Go ahead, ask your boyfriend over." Castiel bids them goodbye and shuts the door behind him. He walks into the living room to see a very irritated Grace being half-dragged/half-carried to the couch by Cecily.
"It's a kitty cat!" She announces. Hannah follows behind her on her hands and knees, having given up on walking for the moment. Castiel smiles as he watches his nieces play. No matter what kind of mood he's in, they always seem to make things better.
His phone begins ringing and he pulls it out to see Dean's name across the screen. He settles onto his couch, keeping an eye on the girls, as he swipes his thumb across to answer it.
"Hello Dean," he says, his voice hesitant.
"Hey Cas." Dean sounds despondent on the other end.
"I take it you watched the broadcast?" He asks. Dean sighs heavily, and Cas knows that he's nodding.
"I turned it off halfway through," Dean replies. "It was as bad as you said." Their conversation earlier had gone better than Castiel expected. There was no massive blow-out, and Dean didn't break up with him on the spot, but Castiel still felt to blame about the whole thing and he had a feeling Dean thought the same.
"I am so sorry Dean," Cas blurts out. "I was an idiot. If I had ever thought-"
"Cas, stop," Dean says gently. "Please stop blaming yourself. You had no idea."
"But I should've!" Cas says bitterly, leaning forward so that his elbows rest on his knees. There is a long pause on the other line.
"Would you mind coming over?" Cas asks. "Just for a little while. I really want to talk about this in person." There is another empty silence on the other end before Dean answers.
"Cas, what's going on?" Dean asks, worry evident in his voice.
"I just… I just need to see you," Cas asks, leaning back. "Today was shit, and I just want to see you."
"Alright, Cas," Dean responds. "I'll be over there in about 30 minutes, ok?"
"Ok," Cas says. "I love you."
"Love you too," Dean says, warmth in his voice. Cas exhales in relief when he hears this. They say goodbye and hang up. Cas glances down at the carpet where Hannah is draped over the cat and staring up at the TV, while Cecily presses her face up against the side of the guinea pig cage. Cas smiles and crouches down next to her.
"You want me to take Adam out of the cage?" Cas asks.
"Yes," Cecily responds with complete certainty. He opens the slot at the top of the enclosure and reaches in to pick the guinea pig up.
"Remember to be very gentle," Cas reminds her as he deposits Adam into her hands.
"Ok," Cecily responds. She walks him across the living room and settles in front of the TV with the guinea pig in her lap. Grace takes a hesitant sniff toward them, but jumps in surprise when Adam begins squealing at her, running out of Hannah's grip and hiding under the couch.
"You chicken," Cas shakes his head at the cat. He reaches into the diaper bag and pulls a teether toy out for Hannah.
A short while later there is a knock at the door. Cas rises from the floor where's sitting next to Hannah and goes to answer it. Dean stands in the doorway, looking suitably worn down.
"Hello Dean," Cas says warmly. He opens the door wide, letting him inside.
'Hey Cas," Dean says, mouth quirked in a small half smile. He leans in for a kiss, which Cas accepts gratefully. Dean pulls back at the sound of Cecily's giggles from the living room.
"What was that?" Dean asks, craning his neck.
"I have Cecily and Hannah for the evening," Cas says, leading Dean back toward the living room. "Balthazar and Meg needed a babysitter. You don't… You don't mind, do you?" Cas gives him a worried look, still unsure of Dean's mood.
"Of course not," Dean answers easily. They enter the living room to find the guinea pig chasing the cat while Cecily and Hannah watch in amusement. As soon as they walk in, Cecily's attention turns to Cas and Dean.
"Cecily, you remember Mr. Dean, right?" She looks up at him with large blue eyes and nods. Hannah toddles over to Cas, arms reaching up.
"They'll be going to bed in a few minutes," Cas says as he picks Hannah up. "I'm going to get her bottle. I'll be back in a second."
"That's fine," Dean says, settling onto the couch. As soon as he sits down, Cecily walks up to him, depositing the guinea pig in his lap.
"Oh, thank you," Dean says emphatically.
"It's Adam," Cecily announces. Dean nods and picks up the guinea pig.
"He lives in a cage," Cecily continues, "but he doesn't like being there."
"Neither would I," Dean says, holding the guinea pig to his chest and stroking its fur. He lowers it to the floor and it scampers out of his hands, Cecily chasing after him. Cas return with Hannah and her bottle.
"These two are good with the animals?" Dean asks. Cas nods as he slides next to Dean on the couch.
"Technically, both Grace and Adam are theirs," Cas explains. "Meg has allergies, but Balthazar didn't think it was right for the girls to grow up without pets."
"What about fish?" Dean offers.
"In his words 'if you can't pet it, it's not a pet,'" Cas replies. Dean nods and rubs a hand up and down Cas' thigh affectionately.
Within an hour, both girls are passed out; Hannah on Cas' chest and Cecily snuggled with her blanket on the floor. Cas silently deposits Hannah in her pack 'n play while Dean carries Cecily in behind him, placing her on the center of the queen-sized bed.
"You're really good with kids," Cas says quietly as they close the door.
"I deal with kids all day," Dean shrugs.
"Yeah, but I mean really young kids," he clarifies. "I wouldn't have expected that, to be honest."
"What can I say? I'm an older brother," Dean says. "Some things you don't forget, I guess." They walk back into the living room and Cas flicks the lights back on. Dean comes up behind slips his arms around Cas' waist. Cas takes Dean's hands in his.
"You said you wanted to talk?" Dean asks, mumbling the words into Cas' shoulder. Cas turns around and faces him.
"I just want to apologize in person," Cas says, eyes dropping to the floor. "I keep thinking about everything, and I should've seen this coming. Bartholomew is such a shitbag and a sleaze. I cannot believe I was so stupid to trust-"
"Cas, hey, hey," Dean rubs down the sides of Cas' arms. "You had no idea. You got taken advantage of by that asshat." Cas shakes his head.
"I should've predicted this, though," Cas says, dropping onto the couch. "I was getting a bad feeling about Bartholomew before this, and I should've.. gone with my instinct, asked for someone else." Dean sits down besides Cas.
"Cas, please don't blame yourself for this," Dean mumbles.
"Why not? I led this crap right to you!" Cas says, suddenly angry. He lets his head fall into his hands, rubbing at his eyes. Dean moves his hands away from his face and tips his head up to look at him. He expression is fierce.
"Let's get things clear: You didn't bring this on us, Charlie and I came to you," Dean says emphatically. "Yeah, the situation sucks. Am I upset? Yes. I'm really upset that my asshole principal didn't even bother to hide his clearly biased feelings on the matter." Cas frowns and let's his head slump forward. Dean's hand slips into his.
"But I am not angry with you," Dean stresses, brushing a thumb over Cas' knuckles, "I… I don't get it, Cas. I told you on the phone I wasn't upset but you keep acting like…. like I'm breaking up with you or something." Cas flinches at the words but doesn't say anything, just stares at the floor.
"Was that it?" Dean asks softly, "You thought I was going to break up with you?"
"I wouldn't have blamed you," Cas mutters after a long moment. Dean huffs a bitter laugh and falls back against the back of the couch.
"Jesus, Cas!" he growls, "Is that what you think of me? That one off-handed homophobic comment by my douchebag boss was going to send me running for the hills?" Cas feels his face redden, the ridiculousness of the notion sinking in.
"Don't forget the vindictive creepy ex boyfriend," he mumbles. Dean laughs again and kisses Cas' cheek lightly.
"Cas, don't take this personally, but I should kick your ass for thinking so little of me." He tips Cas' chin toward him, "I'm not going to break up with you over this. Not a fucking chance."
"But… but your job?" Cas asks. It's the one thing that has been on Cas' mind all day: What if Dean loses his job.
"One, I have tenure. They can't fire me without some pretty fuckin' just cause, which being bisexual is not," Dean holds out a finger, "Two, if they try to fire me for what happens in my personal life, they'll have a lawsuit on their hands which I would no doubt win. Hot Shot lawyer baby brother, remember?" Cas snorts at that and Dean beams in response.
"And three: I'm in love with you." Dean is still smiling but his eyes are deadly serious. "My job makes me happy, I'm not going to lie, but you make me so much happier than I could ever believe." Dean looks away for a moment, scratching at the back of his head nervously.
"Look, I know we haven't been going out long and if this comes off as 'too soon' just tell me but…" He takes a deep breath, "I've always wanted a relationship like my parents have. They are very different people, but they understand each other, y'know? Balance each other out and all that. Sam and Jess are the same way. I can't explain it, it's just there. I wasn't sure If I was ever going to find that … connection, but with you… with you it's just there and…" Dean trails off. Castiel just looks at him, mouth hanging open, unable to speak as he's so touched.
"I just see myself and my future and," Dean exhales and looks up at Cas. "You're there, y'know?" Cas doesn't answer, but presses forward instead, capturing Dean's mouth in a deep kiss. His hands come up, gently brushing against the stubble of Dean's jaw. Dean's arms wrap around his waist, curling under the edge of Cas' t-shirt.
"Love you," Cas mumbles against Dean's lips. "So much… Feel the same." Dean deepens the kiss and presses against Cas, laying him out against the sofa. Just as his hand is sliding over Cas' back, working his t-shirt up over his torso, a muffled cry echoes from the spare room.
"Shit," Cas hisses, pulling away from the kiss. "The baby." He rolls off the couch and onto the floor, quickly getting up and hurrying to the room.
Cas rushes into the room, picking Hannah up from her pen and hurrying her out of the room before she wakes up her sister. He emerges a moment later, Hannah laying against his chest. He shushes against her ear softly.
"I think a tooth may be coming in," Cas says. "I don't think she's getting back to sleep." He settles back onto the couch next to Dean.
"No worries," Dean says. He smooths a hand over the side of Cas' leg. "Do you have any whiskey?"
"Uh, yeah. In the tall cupboard in the kitchen," Cas says. "You want a drink?"
"No, it's for the baby." Dean says, rising to his feel. Castiel's eyes widen.
"You're giving her whiskey?!" He gapes. Dean laughs lightly.
"I'm going to rub it on her gums," Dean says as he walks into the kitchen.
"Are you sure that's safe?" Cas asks, brow furrowed. He can hear the sound of cabinets being open and shut.
"My mom did it for me and Sam," Dean calls from the other room. "Didn't hurt us." Cas frowns as Dean returns with a nearly-empty shot glass. He dips his finger into the whiskey, coating the tip.
"Don't worry, I washed my hands," he says. "Open up, Sweetie." Dean runs a finger inside Hannah's mouth. The baby grimaces and smacks her mouth a couple times, but does calm down somewhat.
"Works like a charm," Dean says, setting the glass aside. Cas smiles to himself.
"You're just full of surprises, aren't you Dean?" Cas exclaims. Dean shrugs absently and settles back onto the couch next to Cas. Hannah begins to snore softly on Cas' chest, and Dean's hand curls lazily around Cas'.
Cas has to agree with him: he sees Dean in his future as well.