It was well into the afternoon by the time Dean and Castiel drove up to the veterinarian hospital in the Impala. It had reached well into the 80s that day which was hot for Kentucky. It had even Castiel in a polo as opposed to his usual dress shirt. They were slow to make it to the barn in their tired state, but Dr. Milligan was greeting them with a heart-lifting smile.
"She woke up and made it to her stall with absolutely no problems. In fact, I'll say it was better than expected, despite the fact it was the hardest surgery I've ever performed. She's definitely in good spirits," the doctor smiled. "Why don't we go see her? I'll need you both to wear gowns when we go into the treatment area. I don't think it's a good idea to go in the stall with her just quite yet, but you can at least see she's up."
Meg was amongst the several technicians that were bustling around in their scrubs and she handed the two men the blue medical gowns to put on over their clothes. "Your unicorn is quite the fighter, I'll give her that."
Dean knew he should have felt excited seeing Lazarus alive, but the state she was in was devastating to him. Her entire body was placed in a giant sling in the stall to support her weight and her back left leg was completely encased in a giant cast. IV tubes were hooked up to her neck, bags hanging from the ceiling of the stall. Castiel gave his had a comforting squeeze as they were brought closer to her. The filly was munching away at some hay and her ears pricked forward at seeing Dean and Castiel, a small nicker finding its way to them.
"I know it must be tough seeing her like this, but so far we have encountered the best-case-scenario," Dr. Milligan stated.
Dean didn't feel that way. "So...her odds are better? She's going to be ok?"
Dr. Milligan shot him a sympathetic look. "Like I said earlier, she's not out of the woods. Honestly, we can't breathe easy until she's walking on it completely sound, and that will take months. If the bones have fused without complications, in two months or so, then I'd say her chances are good, but right now I can only truthfully give her a 50-50 shot. I really have to worry about laminitis and other hoof problems that occur in her other legs when she tries to compensate." Picking up on downed spirits he added, "We'll see if she can put some weight on it tomorrow comfortably. We'll just take it day by day."
"Thank you, Doctor, we appreciate everything you've done for her," Castiel gave him a nod of gratitude and turned towards Dean with a sad smile. "It's going to be ok."
"I want to go," Dean mumbled, unable to keep his eyes on Lazarus.
"Dean," Castiel pleaded, but Dean gave him an insistent look. "Ok."
They made their way out of the intensive care area and slipped out of the gowns. Dean tried to come up with some reasonable excuse to give Castiel for his need to leave, but there was nothing other than cowardice. Silently they walked outside and they were met with camera crews calling their names and a huge crowd surrounding the facility. Dean's eyes grew wide in initial shock before a wave of anger washed over him. "Son of a bitch! Why can't they just give us five fucking minutes of peace before -,"
"Dean," Castiel placed a hand on his lover's chest to stop him from lunging forward. "Stop. Look."
He was looking, dammit, but Dean stopped in his tracks and turned his view to the crowd gathered behind the camera crew. Many of them were holding signs, and several children held flowers in their hands. A smaller group of people were taping signs to the fence surrounding the facility.
Pray for Lazarus
We love you Lazarus
Go, Lazarus, Go!
Dean's heart gave a flutter and a lump formed in his throat. It was an unbelievable sight to witness, and it was the last thing he ever hoped to see in his lifetime. "Cas, I don't think I can talk to the media right now." With the right questions from the news anchor he felt he would just break.
"Well, unfortunately, talking with the media comes with the job. They are going to want to talk to you, but I'll be right there," Castiel squeezed his arm and it only took a few steps before the media pounced.
"Dean! What is the prognosis on Lazarus?" The blonde woman asked, shoving her microphone towards Dean's face.
Dean cleared his throat and offered the woman a fake smile, "The surgery went very well. Lazarus is awake and eating some, but she's not out of the woods yet. Right now we really just have to wait and see how she heals."
"People all over are coming together to offer flowers, and cards, and all sorts of gifts to Lazarus. Did you ever think she would receive this kind of support?"
Dean gave his inner cheek a quick bite to hold himself together before responding, "It's incredible. It's really amazing to see that Lazarus has affected so many people. She's been an inspiration, not only to me, but to the horse community in general. I am very appreciative to everyone who has come out here today and those that are sending prayers from all over the country."
The woman noticed Castiel behind him and took the opportunity to pass Dean for him. "Castiel, as owner, do you have any plans to breed Lazarus if she makes it through this?"
Dean felt the need to slap the bitch for asking such a ridiculous question, but he knew Castiel did not need his assistance. Calmly, he answered, "At this point we are not concerned with anything other than Lazarus's life and well-being. Nothing would make me happier than to see a foal out of her. However, if the veterinarians recommend she not be bred for whatever reason, we will not do it. The decision to try and save Lazarus was not motivated by money, but strictly by the fact we all love her so dearly."
"Well, we certainly hope the best for her and her recovery."
Dean scowled at the woman as they moved past her and towards the Impala. "Bitch."
Castiel sighed as he reached for the door handle, "It was a fair question."
"No, it was an asshole question," he responded. He was about to duck his head down to get into the car when there was a tug at his shirt. Turning around he saw a little girl, no older than 6, staring at him with a letter in her hands.
"Mr. Winchester?" She asked, hiding behind the large pink piece of paper in her hands.
"Hey there, kiddo. What's that you've got?" Dean asked, kneeling so that he was her height.
"I wrote Laz'us a letter. Could you give it to her for me?" She asked, blue eyes wide and pleading.
Dean held his hand out for the letter, "Sure thing." She handed the letter over and then scurried off back towards the crowd.
"What does it say?" Castiel asked curiously over Dean's shoulder.
In bright crayon and scribbly writing it read:
Dear Lazarus Rising
I am sorry u hurt ur leg. I hope u get well soon so u can race again. I will think of u every day.
From Tracy
At the bottom of the letter was a stick-figure horse with a heart around it. Dean held the letter against his heart and leaned into the kiss Castiel gently placed on his cheek. "What if she doesn't make it, Cas...?"
"She will, Dean. She will."
There were signs all over town supporting Lazarus. Store marquees were filled with prayers and the local flower shop was offering specials on bouquets sent to the hospital in honor of the filly. Although there were no tears, Dean felt like a blubbering mess by the time he and Castiel finally made it home. The aroma of Missouri's freshly made pies were comforting as they scuffled into the kitchen tiredly.
"How is she doing?" Jess asked, nursing a cup of tea at the table with Sam across from her. He had his laptop on and several folders scattered around him full of work related cases. It was a reminder to Dean that the world didn't stop for one horse.
"As good as she can be," Dean sighed, muttering his thanks to Missouri as she placed a slice of apple pie in front of him, but as he went for the fork he found his appetite wasn't there.
"You don't want pie?" Sam frowned in concern.
Dean shrugged, "Not hungry, I guess."
"Please do not make me force feed you," Castiel said teasingly as he took a seat next to him, but he frowned when Dean did not smile at his jest. "Dean, please. Eat. There is no sense in beating yourself over this any further. It's no longer in our hands."
With a reluctant sigh he picked up the fork and bit off a piece of the pie. It was good. It was damn good. He took a larger bite the second round and they all smiled at him, knowing there was no way he could resist it for long. "You know," he began, "I'm glad you two are here, but don't feel like you have to stay."
"Dean, don't be stupid," Sam responded simply. "We're staying as long as we are welcome."
"And you are welcome for as long as you want to stay," Castiel nodded.
"Dontch you have wur' or som'king?" Dean asked between chews of a now full mouth of pie.
Sam's initial reaction was his infamous bitch-face. "There are other lawyers than can handle things right now. I can do research for them without having to be there."
Dean shrugged and got up to slice another piece of the pie, all his earlier worries seemed forgotten.
Over the next few weeks Lazarus got increasingly better, and Gabriel finally came out of hiding to go see the filly. She responded with so much excitement to the jockey's presence that Dr. Milligan had actually requested he go in the stall with her. She was still hooked up to some IVs, but she had been taken out of the sling and she was placing weight on the back leg, although somewhat gingerly. The jockey hand walked her up and down the aisle a few times to help get the blood flowing and he was practically beaming with pride.
"I have high hopes," Dr. Milligan told them as they settled her back into the stall. "The bones are almost completely fused back together and we can start taking her on longer walks and maybe letting her go outside to graze.
That night, Dean found Castiel at his desk, furiously typing away at the keyboard. Sprawling himself out on the desk suggestively he asked, "What are you doing?"
Castiel smiled and gave Dean a kiss over his shoulder. "I'm working on a historical document."
"That so?" Dean hummed, swinging his legs over the desk and reaching for the top buttons of Castiel's shirt.
Castiel shrugged Dean away and whined in annoyance, "Dean, I'm trying to work here."
Dean rolled his eyes, "History will be there forever, Cas, my erection won't. What are you even writing about, anyways?" He placed his hands on Castiel's shoulders and leaned in towards the screen. At the top of the word document in bold leaders read "LAZARUS RISING: UP THROUGH THE ASHES". Dean sucked in a breath. "Are...are you writing a book about Lazarus?"
"Maybe," he smiled.
"Babe, that's not exactly a historical document," he said in amusement, placing a kiss to the top of his head.
"Of course it is. Lazarus will forever be known as the first, and maybe only, filly to win the Triple Crown. Therefore, it's historical, and it is a document in which I am writing," he retorted.
Dean wrapped his arms around Castiel and snuggled his cheek up against his lover's stubble. "Don't ever change, Cas. Don't ever change."