OK, let me start by saying I am unimaginably sorry for how long it took to post another chapter. I'm really, REALLY sorry you guys! I was trying to find a job and then I had friends asking me to come over and I really couldn't make myself sit down and type so I'm writing now… Also, pleeeeaaassseeee send me an idea for more chapters! I want to hear from you! I'm terribly addicted to attention (I'm an attention something-that-rhymes-with –core-but-I-don't-want-to-type-cuz-mods-can-be-super-sensitive) Ok, so now I will shut up and finally get to my story :)

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The next few days were a pleasant blur for Dean Winchester. He and Cas hung out pretty much every day, and the essay was coming along real well. Three days after Cas revealed his secret, Dean and Sam were eating lunch together, something they tried to do every week. Sam was eating one of his overly-healthy, unappetizing salads while Dean enjoyed a bacon cheeseburger.

"So, you and Cas have been hanging out a lot lately," commented Sam.

"Yeah, he's pretty cool. Unlike my geek brother, he's not allergic to anything that might be considered remotely fun," replied Dean, smiling.

Sam flicked a crouton at his brother and Dean dodged it easily, both of them grinning at each other. "Seriously though, you guys seem really happy together. I'm glad," said Sam. "Cas deserves someone like you."

"What are you talking about, Sam?" questioned Dean, suddenly nervous that someone had found out about Cas.

"Well, he said he told you. About what happened at that party. He and I text pretty much every day."

"When the hell did this start?" replied Dean, looking somewhat offended at being kept out of the loop.

"Chill, we exchanged numbers when I was over a while ago and we're friends." Dean still looked mildly affronted, and Sam rolled his eyes. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, he thinks you're a great guy, and telling you really helped him. He was…" Sam trailed off, looking worried.

"Was what Sam?"

"He was in a bad place. I'll leave you to sort through the meaning of that yourself," replied Sam. "Besides, it's really something he should talk over with his boyfriend, not his best friend."

"Shut up Sam, we're not dating."

"Oh no, of course not, you just happen to spend practically every waking moment together and wind up sleeping in each other's dorm rooms all the time. That's definitely not dating. I was obviously reading it wrong." Sam dodged the fry Dean threw at him and continued in a softer voice. "All I'm saying is, would it be so bad? You haven't let anyone in for a long time. Maybe you should trust Cas as much as he trusts you."

"Look, just…leave it, ok?" said Dean, unconsciously echoing Cas. "Lisa was a long time ago, and it's not as though I was…it's not as though what happened to me happened to him."

"I can't help but notice that your argument isn't that you don't love him, or at least like him that way," commented Sam.

"And you know damn well why that is, so shut the hell up," commented Dean.

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Dean," replied Sam, going back to his salad. Dean glared for a minute, then went back to his burger. The two of them finished lunch, talking about how things were going with Sam, assignments that were coming up (here Sam again slipped in something about how hard Dean was working on his English essay), and other trivial topics. Dean left eventually, telling his brother he would text later, and headed for his dorm to study for a Calculus test he had coming up. He was still struggling a bit on indefinite integrals.

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He'd been studying for what felt like days and was probably only a couple hours when he heard Smoke on the Water blaring from his bedside table. Picking up his cell phone, Dean saw the name on the caller id and picked up immediately. "Hey Cas, I can't really hang tonight, I-"

"Dean.…" Cas made a coughing, whimpering sound. "A couple of guys…I was walking back to my… dorm and I think…I think they broke a rib or two."

"Cas, where are you?" asked Dean, already putting his coat on.

"Near a fountain…Somewhere near Caspard Hall."

"I'll be there in five minutes. Stay there," commanded Dean, now jogging down the stairs of his building.

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It was more like two minutes later when Dean rounded the fountain Castiel had described at a flat run and saw Cas sitting with his back against the wall of the fountain looking like he had gone three rounds with a wood chipper. His face was cut and bruised, one arm looked broken, and the way he was sitting told Dean he had meant what he said about his ribs.

"Cas!" Dean yelled, skidding to a stop in front of him and whipping out a cell phone. "Cas, I'm here, it's ok, just breathe. I'm here."

"Dean...Oh thank God," whispered Cas, trying to smile. As Dean was dialing, Cas tried to joke, "I guess I'm not much of a fighter, huh?"

"Shhh Cas, just shut up," said Dean, listening to his phone ring. Then, into his phone, "Sam! Get the Impala and bring it to the fountain by Caspard hall, ok? Quickly." He turned to his hurt friend, who maybe he might want to be more than a friend but God why was he thinking about that now, and started talking, just to distract them both. "I know, I should call an ambulance, but by the time the call gets routed through and they finally show up, we could already be at Mercy."

After what felt like hours, Sam finally showed up and helped Dean get Cas into the car as gently as possible. Cas didn't make a sound the entire time, something that made both brothers nervous. For once, Dean let Sam drive while he sat in the back just talking to Cas, trying to distract him.

As soon as they arrived, Dean helped Cas out of the car and into the emergency room, where they were swarmed by doctors. Cas was taken into the triage area and Dean was told to stay in the waiting area.

Mostly numb after all the excitement, Dean just nodded and sat in a chair. Sam came in and sat beside him, but Dean barely noticed, just stared at the door through which Cas had disappeared. Sam left, came back with coffee, sat with him some more.

At long last, a doctor came through the door, looked around and headed for Dean, who stood up immediately. "Is he ok? What happened? Is he awake? Come on, tell me something!"

"Dean! Deep breath. He can't answer if you're yelling at him," cut in Sam, jerking Dean out of his rant.

The doctor looked at Sam gratefully, then turned to Dean. "There was no damage to the internal organs, that's the good news. The bad news is that he fractured his radius and sustained greenstick fractures to several ribs. Not enough to need pins, but we will have to keep him overnight. You can come see him if you want." At this, Dean brightened considerably and followed the doctor through a pair of swinging doors into a long hallway, practically stepping on his heels as he led the brothers to a door and stepped to one side to allow them to enter. "He might be a bit out of it, we gave him some morphine for the pain." He murmured as the two entered, looking at Castiel, who was sitting up in bed smiling idiotically at them.

"Sam! Dean! Sam and Dean!" Here Cas stopped and giggled, actually giggled, at what was apparently a hilarious joke. "Guys! This morphine stuff…it's like distilled butterflies and rainbows."

"So I take it you're feeling better?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow at Sam.

"Oh yeah. I feel great. My arm doesn't even hurt. Kinda heavy though. Casts are very heavy. Ha! It sounded like I said 'cats are very heavy'. I don't have a cat though, so I can't say for sure. Oh! I forgot to tell you! The police were here, they're gonna look for the guys who got me. They offered to post a guard, but I said you guys were here, so that's ok. Plus, the guys were both like 40, not cute at all. Also, I asked the doc and he says since you guys are like family, you can stay past visiting hours as long as you're well behaved." Cas waggled his eyebrows suggestively at this. Dean wasn't sure whether to ask if Cas was ok or burst out laughing. Sam was trying for a concerned face and trying not to laugh, so it just came out constipated. Dean finally decided to say something just to get Cas to stop talking.

"So you're all right? I damn near had a heart attack when you called me."

"I'm ok," said Cas, now yawning. "Kinda tired though."

"Just go to sleep Cas, we'll be right here," replied Sam, smiling and walking out to ask a nurse about some pillows and blankets, knowing Dean wouldn't be willing to leave Cas.

Dean just sat in the comfy chair that he had dragged over next to Cas's bed and watched him sleep.

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Ok so that's longer than usual, to make up for my evil nonposting-ness. Sorry about all the angst and stuff, but that's apparently all I can write. XD Please, for the love of destiel, send me ideas! As per usual, I love you all, lots of hugs and Impala cookies for all of you. More reviews or PM's or stuff means faster updates. Need even more destiel? Try my blog! Now only 19.95 plus shipping and handling (sorry, it sounded like a bad infomercial and I love making fun of myself). But in all seriousness, my blog is on Tumblr, I'm yrnight (and this is Disney channel!). Goodbye, for real this time!