In Over His Head

Chapter 10

Castiel hung up the phone in a panic and tried to call someone to come watch Claire. Finally, he got a hold of Ellen who agreed to come over. As soon as Ellen arrived, Castiel was out the door and headed for the hospital. On the way, he called Benny and informed him what happened. Castiel sped as quickly as he could to the hospital. To you. He arrived in record time.

"I'm looking for Y/F/N," he told the receptionist at the desk. "Cas?" Castiel whipped his head up and saw Dean standing there holding a cup of coffee. "What are you doing here?" Castiel told Dean exactly what had happened from the morning the day before until he got the call from the hospital. "Apparently, I'm her emergency contact," he said sadly. "What happened?" Castiel shrugged. "I'm not sure. All they said was that there was an accident and I needed to get here quickly. What are you doing here?" he asked, just realizing that Dean had already been there.

"Oh! Donna had the baby! I'm a dad!" Dean told him, a wide grin across his face. "Shouldn't you been in there with her?" Dean shook his head. "She's sleeping. The kid was two weeks late. She's earned it." A moment later, Benny came running in the door in a panic. "Where is she?! Where's Y/N?" he cried upon seeing Castiel. Before Castiel could answer, another voice spoke up, "Professor Novak?"

The three men turned to find a doctor standing behind him. "Yes?" The doctor gave them a smile. "Y/N had to have surgery on her leg. Apparently it was a carjacking gone bad at the gas station. She was shot. We removed the bullet and closed her up. She's stable for now." Benny let out a sigh of relief and Castiel asked, "Can we see her?" The doctor shook his head. "Not tonight I'm afraid. We have to make sure she doesn't have to go back into surgery. I'm sorry."

Castiel sank down into the nearest chair and let his tears fall freely. This was his fault. How could he have been so stupid? It was his fault you were out that time of night. Dean looked at his friend in shock. He hadn't seen Castiel cry since Meg's funeral. That had been years ago. Benny stood there next to Dean, his face unreadable.

"Look, Cas. Why don't you go home to Claire and I'll stay here. I'll call you if I hear anything," Dean suggested and Castiel shook his head vehemently. "No." Dean and Benny exchanged a glance and Dean sighed. "Then why don't you come with me? You can't hang out in the lobby all night. I'm going to pop in and check on Donna then, I'm going to go see my baby." Castiel thought for a moment before nodding and getting up. He wiped his tears away, not even bothering to hide the fact he'd been crying.

Benny trailed quietly behind Castiel and Dean, lost in thought. What had happened? Why would anyone do this to you and why the hell was Castiel reacting the way he was? The longer Benny thought, the more clear it became. Benny's blue eyes widened in realization. Castiel loved you. That was the only explanation. Benny put his hands in his pockets, still not speaking as he followed his two friends toward the nursery.

"There she is. Mary Charlotte Winchester. I wanted her middle name to be Charlie, but Donna wouldn't go for it. We compromised with Charlotte." The three men gazed through the window. Castiel saw the softest expression on Dean's face. One he'd never seen before. He wondered if that's what happened when you became a parent. A true parent. He smiled looking at the baby girl with flailing arms. "Got the Winchester tempa, that one does," Benny said with a smile, his mind temporarily taken off the thoughts swirling around.

The three men spent the evening in the hospital. Castiel called Ellen to let her know what was going on and to check on Claire while Benny paced relentlessly. They hadn't heard anything else and that may have been a good thing, but Benny couldn't help but worry all night. The doctor finally reappeared in the lobby around dawn. Benny and Castiel both practically ran to him.

"Good morning, gentlemen. I'm happy to report that Miss Y/L/N is doing well. There were no complications last night and, as soon as we wheel her into an actual room, you're free to see her. She may be a little loopy from the pain medication, but it'll do her good to see that someone's here for her. She'll be in room 303 in about 5 minutes." The doctor turned on his heel and left the lobby. Benny and Castiel wasted no time in finding your new room, making it there just as the nurses were leaving.

Castiel wanted so badly to step in the room first, but he stopped himself. Benny was your boyfriend, not him. It was Benny you needed to see first. So, Castiel took a step back and let Benny go in first. He watched from the window as Benny moved and sat in a chair next to your bed. He took your hand in his and smiled down at you. Castiel looked away when Benny leaned forward to kiss your forehead. Now wasn't the time for his jealousy.

Benny smiled when you opened your eyes. "Hey there, Darlin'. How ya feelin'?" You playfully glared at him. "Fan-frickin'-tastic. Except for the hole in my leg. Did they call you?" Benny shook his head. "Nah. Cas is yer emergency contact. They called him." You felt your heart leap to your throat at the mention of Castiel. "Is...is he here?" Benny nodded and tried to keep his smile from falling. His assumptions were proving correct.

"Do ya wanna see him?" You shook your head. "Not yet. Are you okay?" Benny laughed. "I'm fine, Cher. I should asking ya that question." You gazed at his face, noticing the bags under his eyes. "You haven't slept." He told you he hadn't. You could feel the meds starting to take effect and you knew you were going to be asleep again soon. "Go home and get some sleep, Benny. I'll be alright." Benny sighed, but got up and kissed your forehead again. "I'll send Cas in ta see ya before ya fall asleep again."

He slowly left the room and watched Castiel walk in. For a few moments, Benny just stood there watching. As soon as Castiel was by your side, he broke down in tears again causing you to bring a heavy hand up to cup his cheek. Benny could see you reassuring him that it was alright and that it wasn't Castiel's fault. As he watched, Benny felt his heart sinking to his feet.

Therewas no denying it now. Castiel obviously cared for you more than he let on andBenny knew you once had feelings for Castiel. You'd told him so when you firststarted dating. Clearly, those feelings still existed on some level. As helooked on, Benny could see how good you were together. So he left the hospitalwith a heavy heart. He knew he'd have to talk to you about it all later, whenyou weren't on medication. Benny put his hands in his jacket pockets, his lefthand closing around the velvet box resting inside.