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Doctors Appointment

Castiel POV

Up until now, the day had been normal - same hot sun, same sweltering heat and sweaty men, same poorly air conditioned hospital. Everything was as it should be until 1400hours. Reports were flooding in from helicopter pilots, Commander Leon's last radio speech was playing on loop in at least ten different stations - General Greg was marching around trying to piece together what happened and soldiers readied their weapons and jogged to trucks. Orders were being shouted everywhere, the usual military chaos rumbled on, and there was Castiel - also as usual - standing by the hospital doors, not really sure what to do with himself yet.

"Novak!" Hollered a distinctly British voice from just inside the building, "What the bloody hell are you doing standing out there! Get to your stations we've got wounded soldiers coming in!"
Castiel jumped, it seemed like he was always getting yelled at. He hurried inside and donned the hospital scrubs as quickly as he could, after washing his hands he joined the other doctors and nurses at the delivery doors. This was always the strangest part of the day - the calm before the storm - the moments before everything would be a mess of blood, monitor beeps and nurses calling out vitals. Castiel heard the distinct thrum of helicopter propellers overhead, it wouldn't be long now. He adjusted his rubber gloves nervously, wondering for the millionth time how the hell he got here, how the hell he managed to become a doctor. Castiel knew he looked poised on the outside, he always did - but on the inside he was a spluttering wreck of insecurity. Cas shook his head, this was not the time to worry about how he felt. The helicopter landed and seconds later three soldiers burst through the doors pushing trolleys. Suddenly everything was moving, the quiet day transformed into another emergency.

"BP 180 over 90 and dropping!"
"We're loosing him!"
"Charging to 300!"
Nurses and doctors flew around like anxious but extremely professional birds as more soldiers continued to pour through the doors. Castiel inwardly cringed, as he himself rushed to another stretcher and took control, this had been a massacre.

"What's the status?!" he curtly asked the nurse who had pushed the man through the doors.
Women and men continued to bustle about the man as Castiel took in as much information as he could.
"Many minor burns to his face and neck, patient has sustained multiple lesions to the chest and lower legs, we believe there is shrapnel embedded in his left thigh," the nurse looked up. "He's bleeding a lot sir," she added sharply as Castiel's mind swiftly worked out what to do, "I hope you can work miracles."
Castiel ignored her comment as he ordered his helpers to move the cart. "Move him to bed 32A, and be snappy. Williams fetch my operating tools now, don't waste time." He helped push the cart through the bustling halls, as they ran he looked down at the bloody man. There was something about him... had he seen him before?
"Doctor?" one of the nurses took his attention back to the moment. They wheeled the stretcher to an empty space between two curtains as Williams returned with Castiel's operating bag.
"Clarence cut away his shirt and the fabric around the shrapnel wound. Williams, put him on morphine now. Donavan put him under." Castiel issued orders as he inserted an IV into his arm and checked his blood pressure. If they didn't get the wound on his leg fixed up soon he would probably bleed out in a matter of minutes. Suddenly a young guy, probably no younger than 20 showed up with some papers.
"Patient ID," he said sharply before moving on.
Castiel glanced down at the sheet,
//Dean Winchester// it read. Where had he heard that name before? He handed it off to Donovan.
"Prepare a blood transfusion. He's gonna need it."
Donavan hurried off and he turned back towards his patient. Williams and Clarence were cleaning his burns and bandaging them, Cas looked over his patient's chest and stomach - it didn't seem like there was any internal bleeding. Castiel paused slightly, he would have really liked to take a better look at this guy, it was a magnetic feeling but he stopped himself. No time for that.
"Clarence get the gauze, I'm going to attempt to remove this shrapnel but there's going to be a lot of blood when I do. Are you ready?"
Clarence nodded, so carefully, ever so carefully, Castiel started to remove the shrapnel. It looked like it would come out okay - the piece was smaller than it looked. Committing to the task he pulled out the metal and immediately blood gushed out - Clarence placed the gauze over the wound but suddenly the monitor started beeping frantically. The nurses shared a sudden look of surprise and fear but Castiel kept his cool.
"Keep him stable!" He ordered as he injected another needle into Dean's leg. "Donavan get the transfusion working. Williams I'm going to need some more gauze - make sure to keep a firm hold on that Clarence." Castiel readied himself to stitch the wound. The gauze absorbed a lot of the blood as he started stitching, and gradually the flow got less and less and the beeping from the machine got less and less frantic. Donavan bandaged the other cuts on his legs and arms as Castiel finished up the stitches, he tied them off and took a step back. Williams looked at the machine and then looked back at Castiel, pulling down her face mask.
"Patient is stable sir," she said professionally.
"Good work team," he said encouragingly as he pulled off his bloody rubber gloves and disposed of them. "Dismissed!" he said as some trainees came in and started cleaning up and getting ready to move Dean to one of the longer term beds. The hospital was quieting down again, and another day was drawing to a close. Castiel sighed deeply and looked down into the bandaged face of his patient.

Dr. Novak was seeing him for the first time, before he had been too busy trying to save his life to get a good look at him - but now - even with all the bandages, Dean Winchester was strangely beautiful. He looked down at him curiously, even hooked up to a considerable amount of morphine and sleeping Dean looked haunted, pained even, like he had sustained something greater than an injury.
"Who are you?" Castiel whispered. It was a strange feeling of recognition Cas felt when he looked at him, but also like he had never seen him before in his life and he just wanted to continue staring. As he turned to go to the meeting they always had after an event like this, the doctor looked back at Dean Winchester - a feeling of intense emotion overtaking him - as it often did when he realized that he saved someone's life. It felt different somehow this time, like it wasn't a mistake that he was the doctor who stitched up Dean's leg. Castiel narrowed his ocean blue eyes as he took a final glance, he would definitely be coming back to check on THIS patient.