Standing Together

Chapter 61

It's the week before the Super Bowl. All Dean has to do is win this game, and he and his team are guaranteed a spot in what's probably the biggest televised event of the year. Castiel sort of hopes they lose, just so they can spend some time together next week instead of Dean going to practice all day, but for Dean's sake, it would be nice to hear that they won.

Castiel isn't watching the game, of course. He never does. He's sure everyone in a 50-mile radius is yelling at their tv screens, but Castiel opts to read some Wattpad fan fiction instead. It's probably a good call, because he's already on his phone when he gets a call from Lucifer that night.

"What's up?" Castiel greets him.

"Hey, Castiel," Lucifer says, and just his tone of voice has Castiel on edge. "If I ask you a question-slash-favor, will you promise not to freak out?"

"Why would I freak out?" Castiel asks quickly. What's going on? Why would Lucifer assume he'd freak out?

"I'll take that minor freak out as a no," Lucifer says. "Should I ask the question-slash-favor anyway?"

"Yes," Castiel says immediately. He'd be paranoid if he didn't find out what it was. What if something really bad happened? What if something happened to baby Alex? She's only 10 months old. She's too young for anything bad to happen to her.

"So, I was watching the game —"

"Dean's game?" Castiel asks. "Like, the one he's at right now?" What could have happened that Lucifer could have seen on a tv screen that's bad enough that he would have called?

"Yes, Dean's game," Lucifer says patiently. "Should I stop here? Will it make you feel better if you don't know what I'm going to say?"

"No!" Castiel practically yells.

"Okay, okay," Lucifer says quickly. "He just got taken off the field in a stretcher."

"He what?" Castiel squeaks. "Is he okay?"

"I don't know," Lucifer says. "That's kinda why I called you. I was hoping you'd tell me when you heard from him." He must realize how this sounds, because he adds, "I'm sure he's fine, though. He didn't look too bad. It was probably more of a safety precaution than anything. He probably just, like, sprained his ankle or something. That type of thing happens."

"Are you sure?" Castiel asks.

"I mean, I haven't heard the official medical report yet, but yeah, I'm pretty sure," Lucifer says. "Just tell me when you hear from him, okay?"

"Will do," Castiel replies. Hopefully, it will happen sooner rather than later. He just wants to know that Dean's okay.

When he and Lucifer stop talking, Castiel immediately goes to Dean's computer. He taps his fingers against the table impatiently as he waits for it to start up, then immediately opens Twitter. It's the easiest place to find videos just moments after an incident occurs. He types Dean's name into the search bar and looks scrolls through the recent tweets, not even reading them until he finds one with a video.

"Looks like Pats QB Dean Winchester's out for the game. Maybe they're not going to win after all."

Castiel opens the video up. Dean's running with the football, and some guy from the other team tackles him, which, from Castiel's very limited knowledge of football, seems pretty normal. It's not until he rewinds and watches it again that he sees Dean's calf literally snap in half on the way down, courtesy of the other guy's foot, and snap back into place as Dean lands face down on the ground.

"Holy shit," Castiel whispers.

As the video keeps going, the guy that tackled him immediately gets up, but Dean doesn't. Someone jogs over to him from nearby, and it takes Castiel a moment to see that it's Mick Davies, judging by the blurry back of his jersey. He crouches down next to Dean, and though he's probably saying something, it's impossible to tell with his helmet on.

Dean rolls the football away and pushes himself over onto his back, then pulls his helmet off. His face is all red, and Castiel can't tell if it's from running all day or if he's crying. It's clear from his expression that he's in pain, though, and just seeing him like that makes Castiel feel sick.

Mick must be talking to Dean, because Dean keeps responding in small nods and head shakes. Finally, people that Castiel assumes are the equivalent of football doctors reach him, and that's where the video ends.

Castiel stares at the monitor for a few moments. Did he really just watch that? Did he actually just see Dean's calf literally break in half? Just the thought of it makes Castiel want to puke.

He turns the computer off and pulls out his phone. He tries calling Dean, but there's no answer. He debates calling Dean again, but he doesn't want to blow up his phone with missed calls, so he texts him instead.

Castiel: Call me when you get this. Just want to know you're okay.

And now, time to wait in painful suspense.