Hey guys! I thought we could all use some simple h/c fluff so I decided to write another addition to this series :)
Now, I'm almost positive, someone gave me a prompt at some point about human!Cas having to have surgery for some reason since I had it written down in my idea notebook, but when I was looking through reviews and PMs I couldn't find it, so if you *did* request a story like this, I hope you enjoy it :) I thought it was Cas' turn for appendicitis since I gave it to Dean three times in one story once LOL
Title: Cas Goes to the Hospital
Setting: Season 9 Typical Human!Cas AU
Warnings: None
Cas Goes to the Hospital
Set Season 9 AU
Dean woke to the sound of someone throwing up violently—he knew that sound all too well. He was out of bed in a second, and opening his door to peek down the hall, wondering who the victim was this time.
He almost tripped over Trouble who had obviously come to investigate as well, and Sam's door opened, showing his mussed head. Cas then.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked sleepily.
Dean shoved the cat out of the way as Trouble clawed at the hem of his sleep pants, and continued down the hall toward the slightly open bathroom door.
"Cas?" he knocked on the doorjamb before pushing into the room, seeing his friend kneeling on the floor in front of the toilet, one arm bracing himself against the seat, which he was resting his forehead against, and his other arm wrapped protectively around his stomach. Dean winced in sympathy as he crouched down beside the ex-angel. This wasn't the first time Cas had thrown up since he'd become human, but it still looked like he was taking it pretty hard.
"Hey, buddy, what's going on?" Dean asked quietly.
Cas groaned and tilted his head to look at Dean. "I don't feel very good," he said simply.
"Yeah, I can tell," Dean said with a snort and looked up at Sam as the younger Winchester leaned against the door, a sympathetic look on his face. "When did you start feeling bad?"
"Mmm," Cas closed his eyes, leaning away from the toilet slightly. "Kind of started yesterday. My stomach didn't feel so good then, but it's gotten worse."
Dean frowned, thinking back. Truthfully, now that he thought about it, Cas had kind of looked out of it the last couple of days, and hadn't been eating very much. They didn't always eat together, but last night he remembered the ex-angel only picking at his food, and looking overly tired. They had been on a couple grueling hunts lately, so Dean had put it down to that, but maybe Cas had been coming down with something instead.
He was startled from his musings as Cas made a sick sound and hurriedly leaned over the toilet again, retching. Dean reached out a hand to steady him, feeling that Cas was trembling, and had sweat soaking through his t-shirt.
Sam came into the room and grabbed a washcloth, wetting it before he handed it to Dean and filled a cup of water from the sink, crouching down on Cas' other side.
"Here," Sam said as soon as Cas had finished emptying his stomach again, and pressed the cup to Cas' lips. "Rinse your mouth."
Cas did, spitting into the toilet with a disgusted face before Dean wiped his face with the cloth. Cas grunted.
"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"It's time to get up anyway," Dean told him, patting his shoulder. "Besides, it's not your fault you're sick. Now, you finished here?"
"I hope so," Cas replied wryly. "Vomiting may be my least favorite part of being human."
Sam chuckled and helped Dean get him back to his feet before flushing the toilet. "Well, you should get back to bed and try to sleep it off. Hopefully it's not too bad of a bug."
"Thank you," Cas told them, and allowed Dean to guide him back to his room with a hand on his elbow.
"Okay," Dean said as he sat Cas on his bed, and went to rummage through his dresser drawers. He grabbed a clean t-shirt and handed it to Cas. "You'll be more comfortable if you take the sweaty one off. I'm gonna go grab you some stuff, okay?"
Cas nodded and took the shirt as Dean left the room to find some things to make Cas more comfortable. He really hoped this wasn't the flu. Maybe they would get lucky and Cas would have only caught a twenty-four hour thing that he and Sam wouldn't have time to catch too. But he knew that was probably just wishful thinking at the moment.
He grabbed a glass of water, some Pepto, and a bucket in case Cas wasn't done with the vomiting. He thought he or Sam should make a run later to grab some saltines and ginger ale, but that could wait until he was sure Cas could keep anything down.
He came back to see Cas had changed into the fresh t-shirt and had his blanket wrapped around him, Trouble curled up against his hip. The poor guy looked terrible, but Dean knew that sleep would be the best thing for him right now.
"Okay," he said, putting the bucket on the floor by Cas' head and opening the bottle of Pepto. "Time to dose you up."
He handed the small cup of thick pink liquid to Cas and the ex-angel took it with a disgusted look.
"How is this going to help?" he asked.
"Just drink it," Dean commanded. "Down the hatch."
Cas gave him a baleful look but tossed it back like a trooper, though looked like he was having a bit of a hard time getting it down. Dean quickly handed him the water and Cas gulped it before he could warn him not too.
"Woah, easy, that will just make you throw up again," Dean said and quickly took the water back.
Cas grunted and slumped back against the pillows. He winced at the movement and pressed a hand to his stomach. Dean frowned. "You okay?"
Cas shrugged miserably. "My stomach hurts."
"Well, you did just heave your guts up," Dean said and reached out to pull the blanket further over Cas' shoulders. "Just try to get some rest. Hopefully you'll be able to sleep it off. If you don't throw up again, I'll bring you something to eat later."
Cas didn't look enthused about that at all, and Dean smirked, patting his knee. "Just call me or Sam if you need anything. I'll leave your door open."
"Thanks," Cas murmured but his eyes were already closing, one hand settling on Trouble's back as the cat snuggled against him.
Dean shook his head and headed out of the room to go get dressed. He would make a supply run now, so that they could have everything they needed for Cas when he was ready.
That was day one.
Cas only seemed to get worse the next day. He got a low-grade fever, couldn't keep much of anything down, and nothing Dean gave him seemed to settle his stomach. At least he could keep liquids down for the most part so he wasn't getting dehydrated, but Dean and Sam were both worried about the fact that this thing hadn't burned itself out by now like a typical flu would have, and it had been three long days, going on four, and Cas still hadn't made any improvements. In fact, if anything, he'd only seemed to get worse.
That and this bug, whatever it was, didn't seem to act like a regular flu. Cas didn't have packed sinuses or a cough, and the fever and vomiting were the only things that told of sickness at all. He also complained of stomach pains a lot. Dean would have thought it was just a bout of food poisoning, but it had lasted way too long and he hadn't thrown up nearly enough for that to be the case.
The morning of the fourth day, Cas complained about wanting a shower. The ex-angel didn't like to be covered in sweat and he kinda did stink, so Dean decided to oblige him and started to pull Cas out of bed since he was pretty unsteady and weak. It would probably make him feel better to wash the sweat off.
He was not ready for Cas to simply collapse with a surprised yelp as soon as he got him on his feet, though.
Dean just barely took his weight before he hit the floor.
"Dammit," he snapped, gripping his friend's arms and lowering him the rest of the way to the floor, crouching down beside him. "You okay? What's wrong?"
Cas was curled around his middle, eyes squeezed shut and sweat pouring down his face. Dean gripped the back of his neck. "Hey, Cas. Talk to me, man, what's going on?"
Cas groaned, the sound swiftly turning into a whimper. "My stomach hurts."
Dean almost let out an exasperated sigh. Cas had been saying that for days, but now…he looked like he was really in pain.
"Hey, what happened?"
Dean looked up to see Sam hovering in the doorway, concern on his face.
"Cas says his stomach hurts again," Dean said helplessly.
Sam frowned and came over to crouch next to Dean. "Cas, has it gotten worse?"
Cas took a couple deep breaths and finally opened his eyes with a slight nod. "It's really bad now."
Sam glanced at Dean, worry creasing his brow and Dean frowned back. "Let's get him back on the bed," Sam suggested.
"I want a shower," Cas protested with a groan and Sam and Dean stood and each took an arm, slowly starting to ease him back up.
"We'll get you a shower in a minute," Dean promised him, looking at Sam expectantly. "Well?"
Sam turned to Cas as they helped him recline against the pillows again. Cas breathed a slight sigh of relief as he lay down and Dean hated seeing the pain lines carved into his face.
Sam sat on the side of the bed and put a gentle hand on Cas' shoulder. "Cas, what exactly does the pain feel like?"
Cas' face scrunched up. "Hm, it's painful, does it matter? I'm not familiar with every type of human pain, Sam, it was different as an angel. Everything seems to hurt worse now, it's hard to distinguish."
Dean felt a pang at his frustration. He hated that Cas had to go through all the crap humanity had to offer as well as the good.
"Okay, well, do you mind if I take a look?" Sam asked gently.
"I'm not injured," Cas grunted.
"I know, just humor me," Sam said and carefully pulled Cas' t-shirt up several inches and touched Cas' stomach searchingly. "Does it hurt anywhere in particular?"
Cas frowned but motioned to his right side. "I…guess it hurts more there."
Sam pressed his lips together and reached out to prod the spot Cas had indicated just to the right of his belly button, and the guttural reaction he got told Dean everything they needed to know.
Cas cried out and curled onto his side, knees drawn up protectively. Dean reached out to steady him as Sam apologized and rubbed Cas' back soothingly.
"Sorry, Cas," Sam told him softly.
"What's wrong with me?" Cas groaned.
"With the symptoms, it looks like it might be appendicitis," Sam said, sharing a look with Dean who had to nod in agreement. He'd kind of started to wonder.
"Yeah, looks like it, but we'll have to take you to an actual doctor to be sure," Dean offered.
"We should go to the ER now," Sam said, worry clouding his brow. "Cas has already been bad off for days, it needs to come out."
"What?" Cas demanded, glancing up at them. "Can't you fix it here?"
Dean let out a wry chuckle. "Dude, I'm not gonna perform kitchen table surgery when we actually don't have a reason to. This is a perfectly normal thing to have happen. People get their appendixes out all the time."
Cas didn't look convinced, but he also seemed in too much pain to care.
"Help him get into some clean clothes," Dean told Sam. "I'll put some pillows and stuff in Baby to make him more comfortable."
Dean quickly grabbed some fresh pillows and a blanket from the closet and went to situate them in the backseat of the Impala. He also grabbed a bucket just in case Cas felt the need to throw up. He may love Cas like a second brother but that didn't mean he wanted either him, or Sam for that matter, to puke in poor Baby.
He went back to find that Sam had helped Cas into a clean pair of sweat pants and a hooded sweatshirt. Cas was still shivering and hunched over as he perched on the side of the bed while Sam tied his shoes for him since he couldn't bend over.
After that, Dean and Sam both helped him to his feet, and Dean didn't miss Cas gritting his teeth against the obvious pain. Part of him wanted to chew his friend out for not mentioning how bad it was earlier, but at the same time, he did sort of understand what Cas was going through. It couldn't be easy to suddenly be human and then get something as painful as appendicitis.
Trouble tried to follow them out to the Impala, but Sam shoed him back inside as Cas said, "It's okay, Trouble. I'll be back soon."
Dean shook his head at the cat and the ex-angel before he opened the back seat of the Impala so they could get Cas inside.
Sam helped Cas lay down before Dean tucked a blanket around him and then got into the driver's seat. Cas groaned miserably and curled around himself as they started off.
Sam cast him a sympathetic look. "It's not too far, Cas. Hopefully we won't have to wait a long time in the emergency room."
Dean pressed down on the gas a little more as they got out onto the highway, making it into town in record time. He pulled right up to the ER doors and Sam nudged him in the shoulder.
"I'll park the car, you get Cas inside."
Dean nodded and let Sam slide into the driver's seat as he got out and pulled open the back door to reach inside for Cas. The ex-angel propped himself up as much as he could manage but Dean still had to practically haul him out of the car since every move Cas made was obviously making his stomach ache. He finally got him upright though and wrapped an arm securely around his waist to make sure he didn't collapse. Cas gripped Dean's coat with one hand, his other arm still wrapped protectively around his middle. Dean bit his lip, again cursing himself for not thinking about the possibility sooner that Cas hadn't just caught a bug.
It seemed like forever before they got into the ER waiting room and Dean deposited Cas into one of the chairs before he went to the desk to check him in.
"Just hold on. Hopefully they'll be able to get you in soon," he said, though looked around with some chagrin at the other people waiting there. A few with broken bones and such—they could wait, their injuries weren't life threatening. Cas was the one who needed attention sooner rather than later.
Cas grunted and slumped gratefully into the chair. Dean went to the receptionist and grabbed the inevitable paperwork, but at least got the woman's assurance that they would get a doctor to see Cas as soon as possible after Dean had explained his condition and the woman glanced over at Cas, seeing for herself how bad he looked.
When he turned back around, Sam had gotten inside, and was sitting next to Cas, rubbing a soothing hand over his back as the ex-angel listed slightly against the younger Winchester. Dean bit his lip, knowing that Cas must really be hurting if he was being more clingy than bitchy like he and Sam both usually were when they were injured or sick. He'd never actually seen Cas like this before. Usually, he was as bad about admitting he was hurt as Sam and Dean were.
He sat down on Cas' other side and patted his knee comfortingly. "She said they'll try to get you in as soon as possible, so just hang in there a little longer buddy."
Cas was silent for a moment, and then spoke for the first time since the car ride. "They're going to cut me open, aren't they?"
Dean shared a look with Sam over Cas' head and was thankful when his younger brother took up the task of answering. "There's nothing to worry about, Cas. It's a relatively easy surgery; like we said before, lots of people have to have their appendixes out. And we'll be here when you wake up."
Cas shuddered and curled in on himself even more. "I know, I just…I don't like the thought…I don't like people…"
He trailed off, and Dean, with a sick feeling of realization in his stomach, thought he understood Cas' reluctance, and he couldn't say he really blamed him either after everything his own angelic brethren had done to him. Dean shook his head slightly, jaw clenched, once again wishing he had that bitch Naomi in a locked room with an angel blade. Leave it to Cas to be able to defiantly stand up to torture and certain death, but wig out when it came to a routine surgery.
He reached out and gripped Cas' shoulder. "Hey, you don't need to worry. The doctors are here to help you, not hurt you." At least he hoped there were no monsters running around this hospital. He swiftly pushed that thought from his head. "And like Sam said, we're gonna be right here waiting for you."
Cas seemed to relax marginally, and Dean squeezed the back of his neck briefly before a nurse came over and told them she would lead them to a room to wait for the doctor.
Sam nodded to Dean after they both helped Cas to his feet. "You go with him. Those rooms are too small for all of us. I'll go grab some coffee."
Dean nodded and supported Cas again, helping him down the hall.
"The doctor will be with you soon," the nurse said as she showed them into the room.
Dean nudged Cas over to the exam bed. "Wanna lie down?" he asked, seeing how much Cas was struggling.
The ex-angel nodded, and Dean helped him to lie down on the bed. Cas curled up, and looked miserably at the wall in front of him. Dean shrugged his coat off, and folded it into a pillow to put under Cas' head.
"Thank you," Cas murmured.
Dean propped a hip against the bed and settled a hand on Cas' shoulder, rubbing soothingly to try and calm him, seeing that he was still pretty tense. Dean almost smiled ruefully as he remembered countless times having to wait in hospital rooms with Sam after one of them had been injured. Yeah, it was pretty bad that their lives sucked so much that a case of appendicitis was the most normal thing they'd probably ever been to the hospital for. At least they wouldn't have to lie about this one.
Thankfully the doctor came in after only a few minutes, looking over her clipboard and sharing a brief, tired smile with Dean and Cas.
"Okay, Mr. Winchester, I'm Doctor Reilly, and from the looks of it you've been feeling like crap the last couple days."
Dean smirked, liking her already, as Cas offered a small smile. "Yeah," he said.
"Well, let's check you out and see if it is appendicitis," she said and looked up at Dean. "You going to leave while I examine your brother?"
Dean saw Cas tense slightly and look up at him. Dean patted him on the shoulder again. "I'll stay if that's alright." He said it in a way that brooked little argument.
Dr. Reilly shrugged. "No problem, if it will make him more comfortable. Alright, then, Cas is it? Can you roll onto your back?"
Dean stood to one side while Dr. Reilly did her examination, having to stop himself from intervening when she caused Cas pain. But to her credit, she was quick and efficient, and came to the same diagnosis as they had.
"Yep, that's definitely appendicitis. And lucky for you I think we caught it just in time. I would highly suggest immediate surgery though. I can get you in in half an hour."
Cas looked at Dean with a flicker of fear, and the elder Winchester nodded to him encouragingly. "Cas, it has to come out."
Dr. Reilly smiled. "Don't worry, it's a quick and easy surgery, and if you do well, you should even be able to go home by tomorrow night."
"Okay," Cas said quietly, seeming resigned, and probably at this point too miserable to care about anything but having the whole thing be over.
"The nurse will be in to get you prepped soon, and I will see you again before too long," she smiled and nodded to Dean before heading out of the room.
Dean sent a quick text to Sam, telling him the news before he turned back to Cas. "Don't worry, buddy, it will be over before you know it."
Cas grunted, curled up again, his eyes closed. "I know. I want this to be over."
Dean nodded in agreement. He did too. "I know you do," he said gently. "I'm just sorry we didn't figure this out earlier."
Cas shrugged. "Not your fault. I can't tell what's wrong with my body anymore, and humans are so fragile—so many things can go wrong."
Dean smirked slightly. "Hey, we're not all so fragile, and I think you're pretty damn tough. I just wish you had told me how bad it was before it had to get worse."
Cas gave him a withering glance. "Dean, I wouldn't know the difference between a flu or cancer. It all hurts and makes you feel miserable. I haven't had as much experience as you."
"Well, I hope for your sake you never have to," Dean told him, and looked up as the nurses came in to get him ready for surgery. Dean squeezed Cas' shoulder.
"They're probably gonna ask me to leave now. But Sam and I will come see you before you go in, okay?" Dean glanced over at the nurses and they nodded to him.
Cas offered a wavering smile and Dean forced himself out of the room. Damn, he was almost more of a nervous wreck than Cas.
He went back out to the waiting room where Sam was sitting with two cups of coffee. He stood and handed one to Dean as soon as he saw him. "Well?"
"They're getting Cas prepped for surgery now," Dean said, his stomach roiling at the thought.
Sam frowned sympathetically. "He'll be okay."
"I know."
They waited for what seemed like forever before Dr. Reilly came out and smiled at them.
"Cas is ready to go in, but you can see him first," she told them.
Sam and Dean followed her gratefully back to a small room where Cas was lying on a bed, dressed in a hospital gown, and looking pale and terrible. Sam reached out and clasped his hand with a smile.
"You'll do okay, Cas. Don't worry."
"We'll be there when you wake up," Dean said, squeezing his shoulder.
"Thank you," Cas said gratefully, and the doctor nodded to them.
"Let's get that thing out," she said in a businesslike manner, turning to Sam and Dean. "I'll come get you when he's set up in a room."
Dean swallowed hard and nodded. "Thanks, doc."
He and Sam left the room reluctantly and went to the small waiting room off the surgery ward. Sam took a seat, his knee jiggling as he tried to focus on a magazine he took from a nearby table.
Dean didn't even bother trying to distract himself. He just paced, unable to sit still. Sam cast him an understanding look and didn't try to stop him.
It was a couple hours later and they still hadn't heard anything. Dean was starting to wonder if something had gone wrong, if maybe he should go back there and try to find someone. But eventually Dr. Reilly strode into the waiting room with a smile on her face.
"Your brother is out of surgery and doing well. We've got him in a room and he should be coming around soon," she said.
Dean breathed a sigh of relief and saw the anxiety wash out of Sam as well. "Thanks, doc. Can we go see him?"
"Of course," she replied. "Follow me."
She led them to a small room where they saw Cas lying, eyes closed, in the bed, hooked up to an IV and various monitors. He still looked pretty bad, but Dean knew he would be able to start recovering now. Even if it would be in human time and not angel time.
"Someone will be by to check on him in a little bit," Dr. Reilly said.
Sam and Dean nodded and pulled a couple chairs over to the bed, one on each side, and sat down.
They waited for a while in silence for Cas' eyes to flutter open. When they did, he glanced around the room and murmured groggily. "Sam, Dean?"
"Hey, buddy," Dean said, leaning over him, as Sam squeezed his wrist. Cas blinked blearily but a small smile pulled at his lips.
"s'it over?" Cas asked.
"Yeah," Sam assured him. "No more appendix."
Cas tried to shift and winced, grunting.
"Don't try to move," Dean told him. "You in pain?"
"Little," Cas admitted, looking slightly ashamed.
Sam smiled. "Don't worry, you're gonna be pretty sore for a while." He pointed to one of the monitors next to the bed. "This button is for morphine. You can press it whenever you need it, it won't let you OD." Sam touched the button and Cas looked like he relaxed a bit more after a few minutes as the morphine worked through his system.
"When can we go home?" he asked.
Dean smiled. "Probably not until tomorrow, buddy. The doctors have to make sure you're alright."
"This bed is uncomfortable," Cas complained. "And this gown is scratchy and cold. And I don't like being without underwear."
Dean smirked, sharing an amused glance with Sam, but already felt better. If Cas was being bitchy that meant he was on the road to recovery.
"I can run back to the bunker later and grab you some pajamas and boxers, okay?" he assured the ex-angel.
"Can you feed Trouble?" Cas asked.
"Yes, I'll feed the cat," Dean sighed. "You feeling okay other than being groggy and sore?"
"I'm thirsty," Cas said, sounding defeated, as his eyes closed tiredly.
Sam looked over at a table where there was a small cooler and cups. He found some ice chips and brought them over to Cas, helping him get a couple in his mouth. "Just suck on these. They'll let you drink something later."
Cas sighed and accepted the ice chips.
"I want my bed," he continued complaining. "And I still want a shower too. I smell terrible and my hair is greasy."
Dean chuckled and Sam smirked and shook his head.
"No showers for a while with those stitches," Dean told him. "But hey, if you're good, maybe a hot nurse will give you a sponge bath."
Cas gave him a longsuffering look but seemed too tired to argue. Dean reached out and pulled the blanket up around his shoulders.
"You should try and rest. You'll feel a little better once you sleep off the anesthesia."
Cas hummed tiredly, eyes sliding shut. "Thank you. For being here," he murmured.
Dean gripped the back of his neck briefly. "That's what family's for, Cas."
"Exactly," Sam added, patting his shoulder.
Cas smiled and fell back asleep. Dean was perfectly happy to sit and watch over his brother until it was time to take him home.
If you guys need some S12 finale fix-it, I wrote one that I put in my series Guns, Grace, and Rock Salt but Aini NuFire and 29Pieces have also written a couple awesome fix-it one shots so I would suggest checking them out :)