Intermezzo
September 7, 2007, 11:03 PM
SAMMY: Mom's pissed, Dean.
DEAN: I'm not even there anymore. What did I do now?
SAMMY: You were supposed to call and let her know how your first day of classes went.
DEAN: Shit
DEAN: They went like classes, man. Nothing terribly exciting. Big lecture halls, syllabuses.
SAMMY: *Syllabi
DEAN: Whatever, nerd
SAMMY: Jerk.
DEAN: Bitch.
SAMMY: It's too quiet here now. Mom's all weepy about her baaaaaaby going away to college.
DEAN: Thought you were the baby
SAMMY: I don't think it matters.
SAMMY: Make any new friends?
DEAN: A few, maybe. My roommate Benny is cool. A couple people from home came here, but it's a huge fricking school, so there's no way we'll ever see each other probably. Guess it's a fresh start.
SAMMY: Do you miss home?
DEAN: Barely left yet. Haven't had time.
SAMMY: Teachers at school asked me about you, how you're doing.
DEAN: Tell them I rushed a sorority.
DEAN: No, tell them I got picked to be the school mascot. That's me under the beard with the buckskin and rifle.
SAMMY: I'll tell them you changed your major to animal husbandry.
DEAN: Marrying animals?
SAMMY: Sure, that's right.
SAMMY: I saw Cas yesterday.
...
SAMMY: Dean?
DEAN: Okay.
SAMMY: Dude, what happened between you guys? Why won't you tell me?
DEAN: Just drop it. I don't want to talk about Cas.
DEAN: Did he say anything?
SAMMY: He was working at the Gas n Sip. He looked tired.
DEAN: Babies will do that.
SAMMY: I heard Meg had a boy.
DEAN: I have to go now. Class in the morning.
January 8, 2009
Dear Mr. Novak,
Thank you for the opportunity to consider your query regarding your book. Unfortunately, we feel that your premise does not sound like a good fit for our agency. Best of luck in finding suitable representation…
March 16, 2009
Mr. Novak,
Regarding your submitted proposal, I regret to inform you that I am currently very selective about writers with whom I choose to work, and I must therefore decline the opportunity to consider your manuscript…
August 30, 2009
Dear Sir,
Thank you for considering our literary agency to represent your project. It is with regret that we must currently pass on the opportunity to represent you and your work. Please do not be discouraged, and we hope that you will find success with another agency in the future…
December 4, 2009
Dear Mr. Novak,
While I am flattered that you sought me out to consider your collection of stories for representation, I am not currently accepting new clients. Happy holidays…
January 12, 2010
Dear Sir:
Thank you for your submission and interest in our publishing house. We receive many unsolicited manuscripts, and given this overwhelming volume, we do not consider manuscripts received directly from authors. We encourage you instead to seek an agent to represent your work, as it is nearly impossible to find publication without representation…
April 20, 2010
TO: Mary Winchester (mamajude1979 )
FROM: Dean Winchester (dewinchest )
SUBJECT: Sit down for this
Hey, Mom! Good news: the student loans I'll have to repay when all this is over are gonna be a little less heavy. My advisor just called, even though I'm still waiting on the official letter (I think she likes me), and it looks like I'll be sticking around at WVU for med school, starting a year earlier than I expected. I guess I did pretty well on the MCAT, and since all the professors know me and apparently don't hate me, they decided to hang onto me for a while longer.
I know I talked about looking at med schools in bigger areas like Chicago, but I'm not "settling." Staying in-state feels good. I feel like I'm really making this choice, not having it made for me, you know? These past few years have been eye-opening in a lot of ways (and not just that physiology lab with the eye dissection I told you about and promised not to send pictures of). Can't explain, but there it is.
Tell Dad he can keep getting his season football passes, and I'll see him in the parking lot for tailgating.
November 27, 2011, 10:37 PM
SAMMY: Stressed over history test. Distract me? How was your day?
DEAN: Pretty good. Remember that friend Charlie, the one I said you needed to meet when you come up to visit?
SAMMY: The one who works in the library?
DEAN: Yeah, her. She dragged me to a student GSA meeting with her. Free meal, even if it was mostly cookie-based.
SAMMY: Wow. Dean, I'm so proud of you.
DEAN: What
DEAN: No, hang on.
DEAN: It's "Gay Straight Alliance." I'm the ALLY here.
SAMMY: Oh
SAMMY: Um. My bad. Let's just pretend I didn't say anything, then.
DEAN: No, we're not pretending that!
SAMMY: I just thought you were finally letting yourself be open and relaxed about everything
DEAN: I have no idea what you're talking about. Dude, as long as you've known me, at what point did I ever give any evidence that I'm not straight?
SAMMY: Well. Cas?
DEAN: DUDE!
SAMMY: I know, we're not talking about him. You asked, though.
DEAN: He was just my friend, not my BOYFRIEND.
SAMMY: Dean, if he was "just your friend," you wouldn't have this much trouble talking about him now. You haven't even seen him in six years. That wasn't just a falling out, it was a breakup.
DEAN: We are not having this conversation
SAMMY: You started it! And it's not like he's the first guy crush I've ever seen you have. He's just the only one you really…you know.
DEAN: I really don't.
SAMMY: You loved him.
...
SAMMY: Dean?
...
SAMMY: You still there?
SAMMY: Look, I'm sorry if you're freaked out. I'm not sorry I said that, though. I'm sort of shocked that apparently it was news to you – I just thought you guys were doing a poor job trying to hide it from everyone.
DEAN: We?
SAMMY: I'll believe you didn't know what you were feeling, but I'm not buying that you couldn't see he loved you too. Nobody's that blind.
DEAN: This has been a really long, weird night, and I think I need to just be unconscious now.
SAMMY: Yeah, okay. We'll talk later.
11:52 PM
QUEENOFMOONS: Hey, Dean! You still up? Just got off the phone with Aaron – you met him at the meeting tonight. The guy you were totally awkwardly flirting with?
QUEENOFMOONS: Anyway, he thinks you're cute and wanted me to give him your number, so I thought I'd give you a heads up!
DEAN: Charlie, I do not have the words to describe your timing. Can we get coffee before seminar tomorrow? Need to talk.
January 4, 2012
TO: Missouri Moseley (mmoseley )
FROM: Castiel Novak (cnovak )
SUBJECT: Greetings
Thank you again for making the introduction between me and Mr. Adler; as of yesterday afternoon, he has agreed to work with me as a ghostwriter with his publishing firm. I will admit, it is not exactly what I had hoped to be doing; looking over the first project he's assigned me, I am less than enthusiastic about the subject matter. (Monster books. Think more "Twilight" than Lovecraftian.) But I am capable of doing the work professionally, and perhaps I'll be able to make that silk purse out of a sow's ear, as you assured me I could do. You were right; I need to get my foot in the door, and this will be better for me than the convenience store. I probably should have listened sooner. I still feel that there is a certain nobility to service work, however.
On the other hand, the added money will come in handy soon, I think. I'm sure you remember Meg, my wife (yes, you've told me what you think about that), and you know that Jesse, her son, is getting bigger and becoming increasingly self-reliant on a near daily basis, as children do. We've decided that at this point, he's old enough that we feel comfortable moving out of the "survival mode" in which we've lived since he was born. After much discussion, Meg has decided to return to school, which I am happy to be able to help her do, particularly in light of how it will benefit Jesse. He may not be my son, but he is dear to me. (As is his mother, my friend.)
Thank you for your assistance in helping us all move forward…
West Virginia University Office of Admissions
March 4, 2012
Dear Meg Masters,
Congratulations! You are admitted to West Virginia University! We know you have what it takes to succeed as a Mountaineer.
You are admitted as a Resident student into the Pre-Nursing major for the coming fall term. We look forward to seeing you on campus! To confirm your enrollment…
October 12, 2012
TO: Castiel Novak (cnovak )
FROM: Meg Masters (memasters )
SUBJECT: HI
Hi Cas. This is me Jesse! Mama told me I could write you email on her compyuter. I miss you very much. Our new apparttmant is small and mama's room mate is not as nice as you. Mama told me that your mama died and that you are sad. Pleas dont be sad. She is probaly with angels and is an angel and has wings now. Mama says its okay to be sad somtimes but I dont like it when people are sad. So dont be sad too much.
Mama gos to scool and I go to scool too now. I have a pink back pack and som boys were meen and said boys cant have pink back packs but they are rong. I am a boy and I lik pink very much. One boy was very meen so I punched him and mama said its not okay but im glad I did it anyway. Dont tell mama because she will be mad agan.
I miss you very very very very very very much. I think you need a frend to give you a hug.
March 15, 2014, 11:27 AM
DEAN: Hey, Sammy, how do you feel about seeing me back home in the near future?
SAMMY: You mean none of your residency programs matched you? Dude, sucks!
DEAN: What? No! I matched where I wanted! I'm doing a rural residency, not too far north of home.
SAMMY: Just messing with you. Of course you matched. Didn't see your pick coming, though. Thought you'd pick a big hospital or something.
DEAN: Why?
SAMMY: I thought you always wanted to be some bigshot doctor, people coming from all over to have you save them
SAMMY: Maybe come up with some new surgery or treatment they'd name after you. The "Winchester Procedure."
DEAN: Yeah
DEAN: That used to be the plan
DEAN: Well, not the "Winchester Procedure," because I'm not a douchebag
SAMMY: So why the change?
DEAN: Med school rotations. It was like, room 45 is a heart transplant, room 523 is cataracts, this lab result is sepsis
DEAN: And it bugged me because room 45 wasn't a heart transplant, it was a woman with three kids and a corgi. That lab result was an old guy who wanted the nurses to play chess with him.
DEAN: And part of that was the fact that med school is fucking insane, but I saw attending doctors doing it as much as students. They'd just put on blinders and look at numbers and diagnoses. I even had one instructor tell me that I should actively TRY to avoid humanizing the patients too deeply, or else I'd burn out.
SAMMY: Damn
DEAN: if I ever hit that stage of dissociation, tell me to retire or find another career
SAMMY: Deal.
DEAN: So I'm heading back into the sticks.
SAMMY: Did you just use an emoticon?
DEAN: Shut up
SAMMY: Now I know you've really changed
DEAN:
October 21. 2015
Your Highness,
Bet you're rethinking this whole Global Health focus now, Charlie. I mean, my residency might be what you'd call rustic, but at least I'm not doing a rotation in a location where a package of Red Vines requires a customs form. I've stuffed as much sugar and MSG as I can into this box for you - you're lucky I wound up owing you so many favors from med school that you can call in now. I still think you're nuts, but they're lucky to have you down there.
Writing paper letters feels so damn old-school. So ironic that the most tech-savvy person I know is now more dependent on paper and pen communication than any of us. Just don't fall too much in love with the whole "wilderness adventure" thing. I want you back here at the end of all this, you hear? No running off with any jungle princesses, never to be seen again except for the occasional vaccine clinic. (You'll have to imagine I used snarky emojis here. It's like I've forgotten how to be sarcastic in long-hand, and it's mostly your fault.)
How are the jungle princesses, anyway? I have to ask, since you never hesitate to bug me about my own prospects, and it feels weird not to have a ringside seat for the dramas of your lovelife at the moment. You'll say I'm deflecting now, but I swear, I'm not. It's just weird. Like, remember when you told me that coming out was a process, not a one-time-deal? Remember how freaked I was, but you reassured me it would eventually get easier? (Seriously, do you remember? Because that weekend is still a liquory haze to me…) I mean, you weren't wrong , but I guess I assumed it would be more of a linear thing, not whatever this bullshit is. I'm "home" now, and even people who didn't actually know me from before I left think that they did, so I'm fighting off old reputations and country boy assumptions. "Oh, John and Mary's boy! The ladykiller rascal!" It's just easier not to date at all, even the "very available" daughters and granddaughters people keep trying to push at me.
Anyway, it's not like there's anybody around here pinging my radar. Even the bar scene - which is a bad idea anyway in this kind of a small town where everybody talks - is pretty bleak. And before you say it, and I know you would because Sam already has, it's not about hiding who I am or being scared or anything. The people whose opinions matter all know, and that's enough. If the stars align and the right person comes along...well, I'll think about that then.
Anyway, enjoy the care package. I feel like some kind of father figure, sending one of these. Wear sunscreen, young lady; you're closer to the equator now. (Imagine me shaking my cane or something.)
Ever your servant,
Dean
September 2, 2016, 3:15 PM
MEG: Whatcha working on now, vampires or werewolves?
CAS: Zombies, actually. It's a romance.
MEG: Oh, please tell me the main pairing is both undead.
CAS: Bingo. They initially wanted one to be living, but "Warm Bodies" got there first.
MEG: I can only imagine the sex scenes. Moaning and groaning will have whole new meanings.
CAS: I'm still trying to understand how a zombie can get an erection. Circulation would be required, wouldn't you think?
MEG: That's your problem. You're overthinking it. HE'S HARD THROUGH THE POWER OF LOVE.
CAS: That will probably sell, actually. I'll include it.
MEG: You're either vastly over or underpaid.
CAS: My opinion varies.
MEG: At least it's not hard work, though, right? You have lots of free time to screw around with whatever you want.
CAS: I'm working on a series of short stories based on interpersonal relationships of bees, actually. Social networking, power dynamics, communication.
MEG: …no, I said "screw around." I don't know what all that is, but it doesn't sound like relaxing and having fun.
CAS: I like watching the bees!
MEG: Oh, trust me, I know. But when's the last time you tried "social networking" with another actual human?
MEG: And don't say your publisher. Zachariah Adler might write your paychecks, but I wouldn't call him human.
CAS: I suppose it's been a while.
MEG: Clarence, what are you doing?
CAS: I don't know what you mean.
MEG: You can't use our marriage as an excuse anymore. Isn't it time to get back out there? You were more connected when you were serving Slushees for a living.
MEG: I just miss seeing you smile. Of all the guys I've ever known, you're the one who probably least deserves to end up lonely.
CAS: I'm not lonely.
MEG: Sure. Be honest, then: when's the last time you physically touched or were touched by another person? Even a handshake?
MEG: It even got called out in one of our lectures not too long ago. People need touch to thrive.
CAS: Are you trying to practice medicine on me, Nurse Masters? And without a license?
MEG: Nice deflection.
CAS: Look, I'm fine. I'm great. There's just nobody that I want to touch, if we're being honest. I did try dating a few times, but maybe it's just me.
MEG: You're still pining for him, aren't you. Have you ever thought about emailing him or something? You're all single and available now. Could just see if what you're missing even exists anymore.
CAS: Please, stop.
CAS: Hang on, somebody's at the door. I can't imagine who…
...
MEG: Cas? You still there?
MEG: Everything okay?
CAS: Meg, I need to go. I will call you later.
TO: Zachariah Adler (zadler )
FROM: Castiel Novak (cnovak )
SUBJECT: Upcoming Pittsburgh trip
Mr. Adler,
I apologize for the short notice, but I will need to alter the plans for our upcoming meeting at Sandover in Pittsburgh. My estranged father is apparently dying and has returned home to do so. As soon as he has passed and the necessary arrangements have been handled, I will reschedule with you.
Again, I regret the inconvenience.
