When Sam returned to the cabin it was just getting dark. He slipped in quietly, hoping that Cas might have found some sort of rest. He hadn't received any calls, so he was tentatively confident that Dean was at least doing the same, if not improved. He cracked open the door to the bedroom, looking in to see if the former angel was awake.
Sam was surprised by the scene before him. Cas and Dean were both asleep. Dean was on his side, pressed against the angel's chest, an arm across it. Cas' arm was around his brother, nestled behind his back. And they both looked… peaceful.
Sam decided to forgo checking Dean's vitals, instead slipping backwards from the room, his mind turning over what he just saw. Morphine and Vicodin must've done a number on them, Sam didn't think Dean would let himself be caught dead in that position. Right now Sam just hoped Dean wouldn't re-break Cas' healing nose when they woke.
In the morning Dean woke to a fair amount of noise outside the door of the room. He wasn't yet willing to pry his eyes open just yet, finding himself warm and relaxed. The feeling was swiftly receding however, the return to consciousness bringing with it the return of pain. He groaned, hissing with the jolt that even that caused. Finally he focused on the sounds, realizing it was Sam getting ready for the day, sounding a little like a bull in a china shop. He withdrew his arm from what he realized was Cas' chest, trying to tamp down the knee-jerk embarrassment he felt. He moved backwards as gently as he could, trying to avoid causing himself as much discomfort as possible.
Not two minutes later and Sam was knocking on the door. "Come in." Dean was surprised by Cas' gruff answer to the knock, unaware he had been awake.
Sam opened the door slowly, peeking his head in before entering. "Hey. Figured both of you were overdue for some pain medicine."
"God yes." Dean sighed, scrubbing his hands over his face. "Help me sit up a bit, will you?"
Sam rolled his eyes. "Good to see you awake." He grabbed a couple of the blankets off him, rolling them up against the headboard and helping Dean get into more or less a sitting position.
"You think you can hold down a pill, or do you need it in the IV?" Sam asked.
"Pill's fine."
Sam shook a couple pills out, dividing them between them. He put a bottle of water in Dean's hand, nodding as Cas grabbed his own from the day before. "Breakfast is on. I'll be back in a few minutes with eggs. Then antibiotics for both of you."
"Yes mom." Dean grumbled. He waited for the door to shut again before relaxing fully against the mound of pillows.
Cas slid himself towards the edge of the bed, out from under the now too-warm blanket pile, taking a moment before stretching his good arm, and rolling his neck. He got up onto his unbroken foot and half hopped half shuffled until he could fall somewhat gracelessly into the armchair beside the bed.
Dean let out an involuntary snort of laughter, wincing slightly as the sudden breath jostled his ribs. He bit his lip, looking up at Cas, but was relieved to find a smile playing across the former angel's face instead of indignant annoyance.
"I'm glad to see you feeling better." Cas offered simply.
"Yeah… thanks." Dean looked away. He was giving himself a pass on thinking about what happened last night. He deserved to skip the more heavy or complicated thoughts for the time being. He instead opted to direct the conversation. "It's nice to finally sit up. Who would have thought such a small thing would feel like a victory." He grinned slightly to himself, but when he looked up, Cas had that look of grim worry. "What?" He asked, cringing internally as he practically invited a conversation that fell into his 'complicated thoughts to avoid' category.
"I know you and Sam have a firm grasp of medical care to avoid hospitals, but isn't recovering from surgery… more than you would normally handle without a medical environment?"
"Nah." Dean supplied.
"Yes." Sam said, voice flat to match his eye roll as he walked back in with two plates, passing them out. "Far beyond. Unfortunately with an entire hospital turning up dead, the hospitals around here are going to be asking the wrong kind of questions." Sam had spent the better part of the evening before googling everything that could go wrong after surgery, and he didn't like basically anything he had read. As he tried to prepare for every eventuality, he hoped this was one of those times where you look up your cold symptoms online and come away sure it's cancer.
Cas nodded, looking somewhat sullen.
Dean looked up, speaking immediately, mouth still full, muffling his words. "Don't worry, we'll rehab your arm and leg just fine."
Cas glared at him for a moment, getting the point across that it wasn't him he was worried about. Dean rolled his own eyes, going back to shoveling eggs in his face.
Sam sighed. "Yeah. We have some practice, and the large pile of shit we stole from the hospital and ambulance. Fingers crossed."
Dean set aside his plate, relaxing back slightly. He accepted the antibiotics and additional pain meds.
Sam ducked out of the room, returning rolling a new wheelchair, shoving it over near the angel should it be needed. He unrolled a pair of stocking like socks, unrolling them and shoving the blankets, going for Dean's foot without receiving permission or giving warning.
Dean tried unsuccessfully to dodge him with at least his good leg. "Really Sam? Grandpa stockings?"
"Compression stockings." Sam corrected. "Unless you want to die of a blood clot."
Dean muttered something under his breath that Cas didn't catch, but Sam threw a sideways semi-evil smirk at his brother.
"And you tell me if anything funny happens to your breathing." He furrowed his brow, looking up at Cas. "Actually you tell me if anything funny happens to his breathing."
Dean pulled a face. "What, don't trust your own brother?"
"Not even a little."
"Bitch."
"Jerk." Sam finished, yanking the blanket back down to cover Dean's now compressed feet.
"And try to take some deep breaths or cough a few times today, okay?"
"Yeah… sure. I'll get right on that." Dean turned his attention to watch as Cas put aside his plate and followed up with the offered meds.
Sam sank into the other chair in the room. "Cas, how are you holding up?" As much as Sam didn't trust his brother to let him know how bad his injuries were, he really didn't trust Cas to know what injuries were worth mentioning. "Your ribs okay?"
"They do not appear any worse than yesterday. None were broken through and I do not believe I worsened the fractures in yesterday's escape."
"Your leg and arm?"
"Similar." Cas concluded. He flexed his fingers sticking through the brace the doctors placed on him.
Sam nodded. "Well, take it easy." He turned to Dean, sharpening his glare. "Both of you."
Dean found himself too tired to disobey Sam's order anyway. Once Sam left them to their own devices to go do whatever it was Sam did when he left, Dean relaxed fairly quickly. The day was split between naps and conversation with Cas.
"I'm thinking next we find ourselves a case down south." Dean said with an ear to ear grin. "I think barbecue is next on the list for you."
Cas was smiling too, the book he was casually flipping through resting on his lap, forgotten about. He was amused by Dean's eagerness to get back on the road for new food and cases so soon after this incident. "And the best barbecue is down south?"
"Hell yeah. You're gonna love it."
"I look forward to the experience."
Dean chuckled, absently turning the granola bar Sam had shoved in his hand a half an hour ago in his hands, not yet unwrapped. After breakfast his appetite seemed to remember the recent trauma and all but disappeared. Sam of course wasn't having his refusal of dinner, and thus the granola bar crumbling slightly under it's wrapping.
Castiel leaned back against the chair. "Will you be able to repair the impala?"
"Yeah. Baby's tough. She'll need a lot of work, but we'll get her going again. You ready to learn how to fix a car?" Dean cleared his throat, absently using a hand to massage his sternum as it began to ache.
The former angel thought about it. "I do not know the first thing about repairing vehicles."
"Well…" Dean cleared his throat again. " The first…" He coughed, cringing at the sudden movement. "The fir-" The hunter coughed again, the fit ending in an abrupt strangled noise. His other hand flew to his chest, and his eyes widened, looking to Cas.
"Sam!" Cas shouted, calling for the other hunter to come as he thrust himself forward on his good leg, scrambling to the bedside, putting a hand on Dean's shoulder, trying to hold him firm as he grew increasingly agitated. Dean meanwhile clutched at his chest, trying desperately to pull in any air.
Sam came running through the door, stopping short just inside the doorway. "Fuck."