Schizo||Destiel||#Wattys2017||

Year 15: He Seems So Real

Castiel had a fresh degree in psychology and an internship back in Kansas.

Yes, after four years of torture, 22 year old, Castiel Novak was done with college, and out in the field, learning on the job. It was a tedious process, really. Castiel was always precise. He'd leave a half hour earlier than he was supposed to, get to the office before the traffic would begin to build up, and have his breakfast there, except for when Dean would insist on him eating at home. Sometimes, Cas was so busy he'd forget to eat, and Dean could sense those days even before Cas could. Today was like every other one. Both of them left the same time. They both had internships, but at different places, and Dean's  wasn't as prestigious as Cas's. Castiel was completely pissed to find out that people wouldn't let Dean work because of his condition. People thought that he wasn't able to even think, let alone think for other people, which, in reality, wasn't the case at all. Dean was one of the smartest, most empathetic people that Castiel ever laid eyes upon. Dean was perfect for the job, and he knew when he couldn't work. He knew when his meds wouldn't work. That's why Doctor Marcus had taken interest in him. She had no limits to her work. She had such an imagination. It was perfect for Dean.

Cas, however, was the more creative one in the work place. He would bring things to the attention of his boss, Doctor Wallace, and She would normally give Castiel all tha thanks. Sometimes, she'd even have him stand in with some of her younger patients. Today was one of those days, really.

Castiel teemed as he dipped his Bear Claw in his coffee. It was becoming more and more bland, the more he ate the same meal from the same shop next door. The sweetness was great, balanced with the bitter, it was amazing, but he seemed to have fallen into a rut. The same ol' same ol'. Yeah, it gets annoying, and it's sometimes so damn tiresome that Cas literally punches the clock, but today, Laura, the receptionist at this god awful office, looked quite worried. She spoke into the phone with panic I her voice.

"But, Miss, you have 6 appointments set up for today. No, no, miss... Do you think he can? Okay, okay, I'll tell him right away. Get better. Okay. Bye." She looked up at Castiel as she set the phone down. "Castiel, you are going to take over today."

"I'm sorry, what?" Castiel wasn't ready. Not completely, at least. He had only ever done anything similar to this on Dean. That was nowhere near the level of difficulty as a stranger is. That's nowhere near the level of knowledge that Cas had for Dean. He blew out a puff of air. "Uhm, okay." He stood, looking down. Laura pointed him to the door in which behind it sat a desk. That desk is where Castie would sit for the remainder of the day and tell people what to do about their problems.

And he succeeded. Most of them were pretty easy to help. Most of them were feeling the exact same way Castiel had when he was a kid, and he knew just how to fix that: find comfort in someone or something, and spend your life around it. That was how it worked for him.

But then 3:00 PM rolled around, and Castiel had the last appointment to take care of. It was not, no, definitely not easy. It was no piece of cake, especially because Castiel knew the patient. He never thought he'd see her again. Certainly not in this state.

That little blonde girl that Castiel met four years ago in the hospital after his attempt. The one little girl who stuck out, who he later found out was 8, when he met her. Castiel couldn't believe his eyes, or his ears...

When Millie said, "Cancer should have killed me."

"Millie," Castiel whispered, looking at her with saddened eyes. She was about to turn 13, now, and Castiel hadn't heard from her since she was discharged all those years ago. "Millie, care to tell me why you think that?"

"Don't act like you know me, Castiel. Last time I saw you was four years ago, and I know what you did. Do you ever wish you succeeded with that, Castiel? Do you ever wish you weren't here?" Millie crossed her arms, looking down. "I didn't like having Leukemia, Castiel. You made it better, and as soon as I was out of that hospital, you were gone along with it."