Perception

Calm

Dean could only see a mess of dark hair and a shock of blue over the fuzzy blanket Castiel was curled up under. His eyes were hooded, but when Dean looked back and smiled, they widened and shined happily, crinkling a little in the corners. It was honestly one of the cutest things Dean had seen since Sam was a baby.

"So let me get this straight: Cas' doctor is possessed?"

"Yeah," Sam said, looking down at the papers scattered around his feet. "I don't know what he could possibly be doing here. What motive could he have in a nut house?"

Castiel made a quiet indignant noise.

"Sorry, Cas. Anyway, do you think someone here sold their soul?"

Dean shrugged. "Did it look like a crossroads demon to you?"

"No, but I can't think of- Oh!" Sam suddenly exclaimed. "Cas, didn't Dr. Squill say something about your new pills, this morning?"

Castiel nodded slowly. "Yes."

After a moment of silence, Sam asked, "Do have any I can look at?"

Castiel yawned before answering, "I have some under the tile in the corner."

After looking around for a while (Castiel couldn't give directions for shit), Dean spotted a slightly discolored tile in the corner behind the door. He lifted it with little difficultly and reeled in shock at what he saw.

"Um," mumbled Dean. "Cas, this is a bit more than a few." He pulled up three full gallon bags of pills filled with white powder.

Sam's eyes widened considerably. "Uh, how do you feel after you take them, Cas?"

"Tired," he muttered. "Calm."

Dean still looked outraged. "You know what this is, Sammy?"

Sam shrugged before taking one from the bag and breaking it open. The capsule was easy to open, probably closed with dissolvable glue. He rubbed the powder between his fingers, sniffing it, licking it, and wrinkling his nose in distaste.

"Ketamine."

"What?" demanded Dean.

"Ketamine. It's an anesthetic, but is also used as a horse tranquilizer. This stuff is diluted, though. Won't put him to sleep, just make him drowsy."

Dean frowned and looked over at Castiel, who was now asleep, mouth parted and eyes twitching behind their lids. "Why would they be drugging him?"

"Hell if I know," Sam said. "I wonder how long he's been taking these pills. This is a lot for just a few weeks, if he was saving one from every dosage."

"Do you think he stole them?"

Shrugging, the youngest Winchester stood. "That's a possibility. Ketamine is highly addictive and would help put him to sleep at night. Wouldn't surprise me if he did."

Goddamnit Cas, Dean thought. What have you gotten yourself into?

...

"Pack a bag, Cas," Dean said the next day. Castiel looked up at Dean for a moment before nodding and pulling a duffel from his closet and stuffing his clothes in it. When he moved to put his bags of pills in with his clothes, Dean grabbed his hands and pulled the bags away, shaking his head. Castiel looked as if he were about to cry, but Dean just closed his eyes, set the pills down, and hugged the smaller man.

"We'll help you, Cas. I'll help you," he murmured into Castiel's dark hair.

Castiel felt as though his world was crumbling around him. For 7 years, he had had the same routine. Losing his pills felt like he was losing the only semblance of normality he had seen in all his years at the hospital.

Dean pulled back and looked at Castiel sternly. "We'll leave the moment we gank this thing, okay? Put your bag under your bed. Don't let the nurses see it."

Castiel nodded and did as he was told, chewing his lip and worrying for the first time since his mom stopped visiting.