Chapter Text
^
The annoying ringing sound was back and Castiel groaned as he reached out a hand blindly for the alarm clock. His hand collided with his glasses and he moaned when they slid off the nightstand and onto the floor. The beeping was still going and he sat up when his blind search came up with nothing. Slamming his hand onto the off button, he yawned and swung his legs over the side of the bed, bending down to retrieve his glasses. A beating in his chest led him to the bathroom and he opened the cabinet to grab his pills. He bent down to get a drink of water and sighed, ruffling his hair with his hand. After brushing his teeth he undressed and showered, scowling at the broken handle he kept forgetting to report. However, it did wake him up when he scrambled around in the shower to avoid the cold water. He got dressed and headed into the kitchen, fingers moving idly across the soft fabric.
A plate of blueberry pancakes sat in front of him a few minutes later and he grinned, pouring a decent amount of syrup on top. One bite and his eyes were rolling up to the ceiling. He didn’t want to brag, but wow.
As always, three minutes later the plate was empty and in the sink as he made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, slipping it into the plastic bag and heading to the door. He shrugged on his trenchcoat and grabbed his keys, opening the door and locking it. He waved to his neighbor Tessa, who blushed and waved back. It might not have been a good idea, seeing how it was obvious she had a massive crush on him. If he told her he batted for the other team, he could only imagine the disbelief and sadness that the news would bring her. Or disgust. Hopefully not disgust.
He jogged down the stairs and headed to Olivia’s alley where the woman was sitting up and watching the sky. She turned and smiled softly at him as he approached.
“Good morning, Castiel. I didn’t see you yesterday, but a sandwich was staring at me when I woke up,” she said, raising an eyebrow and grinning. Castiel laughed and crouched when he reached her, handing the sandwich over.
“Hello. I couldn’t sleep and decided to go to work an hour early. You were still sleeping so I left it there for you when you woke up. It was probably a bad idea, I hope it wasn’t soggy.”
He winced and watched as Olivia bit into the sandwich. In his hurry to leave he didn’t even think about how a sandwich would survive out in the open. It was protected by the zip-lock bag but that was like using a glass shield against a gladiator. She waved a hand and swallowed.
“It was fine Castiel. Did something happen?”
“No, just restless energy,” he lied, fumbling with the ID in his pocket. There he went again; the lies.
Olivia regarded him curiously before nodding and shifting her gaze to the sky. Both of them knew he was lying, but they didn’t speak of it.
“Did you screw up at work yesterday?”
He snorted and shook his head. “Luckily no, but now I remember that I unfortunately have a job so thanks a lot.”
She laughed and shooed him away with her boney hands, a fond look warming her eyes. Sighing, Castiel stood and waved as he headed to the parking garage.
“Have a good day, Castiel,” she called out. He gave a thumbs-up and turned the corner.
Mornings still suck, he thought faintly.
^
Pushing open the door to the hospital, he froze briefly at the unfamiliar blonde at the front desk. In return, the blonde furrowed her brows and let her eyes travel along his uniform. She locked eyes with him and smiled.
“You must be Castiel. I’m Jo.”
Were all the women who worked here absolutely gorgeous? He walked up to the counter and shook her outstretched hand, wincing faintly at the tight grip. Jo was small but she was strong. The friendly smile on her face made him believe she was innocent, but he realized she could probably rip him apart if needed. Castiel nodded and retracted his hand, clenching and unclenching it where she couldn’t see. A thought prodded at his brain and he frowned.
“Where is Meg?”
She was gone from the front desk when he left the night before and Castiel had felt a wave of relief wash over him. It was weird that he felt oddly protective of the woman. Jo shrugged and went to type something on the computer.
“Not sure. She looked exhausted last night so Zachariah sent her home to rest. Probably gave her a few days off since he called me and told me to run the desk today.” She rolled her eyes and he smiled at the familiarity of the gesture. Even if she was forced to go home, at least Meg didn’t have to work.
“Charlie is back today so you can finally meet her. She’s usually goofing off in the day room. It’s hard to miss her; bright red hair,” Jo said, standing up to put a pile of papers in one of the file cabinets. Castiel smiled, remembering another red-head he knew.
“Like Anna?”
Jo paused and turned to him with raised eyebrows. She smiled. “So you’ve met Anna. She’s a sweetheart isn’t she?” She brought a new pile of papers to the front desk and set them down, grabbing a pen and pulling the cap off with her teeth.
“She is. She declared us friends on my first day. I was quite proud,” he said, digging in his pocket and pulling out his ID. As much fun as it was to waste time; he did have a job to attend to. Jo snorted and looked up, pen held loosely in her hand. She nodded and motioned to the door, raising an eyebrow and smirking.
“Yes; I know,” Castiel deadpanned, moving to the door and scanning his ID. The cold air hit him and he shivered. It continued to amaze him that he forgot how cold it was. He pulled his trenchcoat tighter around him and frowned when he realized he was still wearing it. He frowned deeper when he remembered he had worn it all day yesterday. Concluding that if he had gotten away with it yesterday then today would be no different, he relaxed. The hallways were quiet but the faint sound of laughing could be heard from the day room and he smiled, walking faster to reach the door. A red-head – Charlie, he assumed - was sitting at one of the tables across from another nurse with long dark brown hair, engaged in a very animated chat. Castiel raised his eyebrows and walked closer, picking up on the conversation.
“Dude, seriously? You’re going to sit there with a straight-face and tell me Superman is better than Batman?” Charlie said, incredulously, mouth gaping as she looked at the other woman.
“Come on, Charlie. Superman is a man in tights who actually has super-powers! What the hell does Batman even do!?” The other nurse exclaimed, throwing up her hands in disbelief. Castiel snorted; he’d been thinking the same thing.
Charlie huffed and crossed her arms. “He doesn’t need super-powers to be badass; he uses his fists for that. And he has that voice.”
Rolling his eyes, Castiel sat down next to Charlie, uninvited. “Personally, I find the Batman voice obnoxious and irritating,” he said, grinning at their shocked expressions. The other nurse recovered fast and smiled smugly, raising a hand in Castiel’s direction. He gazed curiously at her before she waved her hand insistently and he caught on. Making full eye-contact with Charlie, they high-fived. The red-head glared openly at them both before sighing and resting her head on her fist. She blew a strand of hair out of her face and turned to Castiel, sticking out her free hand.
“You must be Castiel,” he nodded and shook her hand, “ I’m Charlie, though you probably already know that. Totally bummed out I couldn’t be here on your first day. I got infected with some god awful disease and was banished to my bedroom for three days,” she sighed dramatically and smiled, “I only threw up five times; I don’t see what the big deal was.”
The other nurse punched Charlie in the shoulder and glared at her. “You had a fever of one hundred degrees for seventy-percent of the three days. Shut up.” She smiled suddenly and turned to Castiel, extending a hand, “Madison. I was stuck taking care of her.”
Castiel shook her hand and glanced at Charlie, eyes calculating. He remembered Jo saying she goofed off, so he took a chance.
“That must have been terrible.”
Madison laughed, turning to Charlie and pointing at Castiel. “I like him. Why can’t he be in my ward?” She pouted and ran a hand along the table. She looked absolutely adorable and Castiel furrowed his brows, looking between the two women. Why on Earth was everyone here so attractive? Charlie had a bright smile and beautiful green eyes, red hair tumbling down her shoulders. Her white lab coat was covered in knick-knacks and he smiled softly at the pure unashamed childish affect it had. The “What Would Hermione Do?” pin stuck out like a sore thumb. While Charlie had a childish aura, Madison had a tough and sneaky feel about her. Her sharp eyebrows punctuated her dark eyes and charming smile.
“I have a question,” he said, regarding the two of them seriously.
Charlie frowned and gestured for him to continue, looking slightly concerned at the change in his voice. Madison folded her arms on the table and furrowed her brows.
“Is every person that works here physically attractive?”
Madison snorted and covered her face with her hands, shaking her head with a smile. Charlie raised her eyebrows and bit her lip to keep the grin that was trying to spread across her lips at bay. She cleared her throat and patted Castiel’s arm.
“Yes. This isn’t a hospital, Castiel; it’s a strip club. How did you not realize this?”
He nodded in understanding, looking around the room with fake amazement. He imagined poles on the tables and the patients sliding dollar pills into the nurses’ pockets. As awkward as it sounded; he could see it. The laughter that was bubbling up in his chest broke through finally and he grinned, shaking with the force of his laughter. The two women joined in after a few moments and they all wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall.
“Seriously, though; everyone here is attractive. I feel like an outcast,” Castiel said, resting his head in his palm.
Charlie’s eyes widened and she looked at Madison, who was shaking her head. She reached across the table to lift Castiel’s chin with her fingers.
“Have you looked in the mirror lately? You’re fucking hot,” she said, smiling smugly.
Castiel blushed and pulled his face away, scratching at his stubble. His glasses were sliding down his nose and he pushed them up with a finger causing Charlie to snort. The perfect representation of a nerd was sitting right next to her. She grinned, leaning forward to fold her arms and rest her head on them. The day room was still fairly empty; most patients were in the cafeteria eating breakfast. It was quiet, but the silence was comfortable, each lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly, Madison sighed and stood up, stretching her arms above her head and rolling out her shoulders.
“As entertaining as it is to talk about strip clubs and superheroes, Sarah will be pissed if I hide in here for the whole day,” she said, yawning and smoothing out her uniform.
Castiel tilted his head and frowned. “Sarah?”
“She’s basically the Charlie of Ward C. Just without the red hair and childish knick-knacks” Charlie squinted at her. ”Don’t give me that look you know I love them.”
With a wave, she turned and left the room, whistling the theme to “Golden Girls” as she did. Castiel liked her; she was spunky.
“And then there were two,” Charlie said, trailing off and giggling. The sound was full of pure bliss and Castiel felt the air shift around them. She yawned and leaned back, stretching her arms above her head. When she turned to Castiel, her eyes took on a look of childish glee. He wasn’t surprised by her next words.
“Wanna play checkers?”
“You don’t even need to ask.” Castiel raised his eyebrows and stood, moving to the board game chest.
He pushed open the chest and dropped to his knees, shifting through the numerous amounts of games. The boxes were beaten and tattered; an obvious sign of use and he smiled softly. It reminded him of the years with Jimmy when they would spend hours sitting around playing every board game possible. Jimmy always won; his strategies were planned out the second the game started. It made no sense, considering that the games were based on pure luck, but somehow Jimmy always managed to succeed in driving Castiel into bankruptcy. He supposed it was just because of Jimmy’s ability to think through every scenario. At least, that’s what his self-esteem told him.
His fingers brushed against the checkers box and he grinned, pushing aside the other boxes and pulling it out. It was a small red box with the words “Checkers” written in plain white font. The box was slightly tattered and he carried it gently back to the table, sliding in across from Charlie instead of next to her. Charlie opened the box and Castiel huffed a laugh when he realized that the checkerboard was made out of puzzle pieces. In order to play you had to put the board together. He picked up a puzzle piece and raised his eyebrows at Charlie, gesturing for her to take one as well. She snorted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before dumping all of the puzzle pieces onto the table. Two bags of checkers sat at the top of the pile; one black and one red. Castiel’s hand shot out and he gripped the bag of black checkers, surprising Charlie with the sudden movement. She slowly reached out and took the red checkers, watching Castiel with a raised eyebrow.
“I like the black ones,” he said lamely, rubbing the back of his neck.
Charlie smiled smugly and nodded, murmuring, “I can see that.”
She smoothed out the pile of puzzle pieces and bit her lip, worrying it around before pursing her lips. There was a moment of silence before she tapped her fingers on the desk and glanced up at Castiel. Her eyes were thoughtful and Castiel tilted his head as they locked eyes. She seemed to be calculating something, and then she smiled.
“Every time one of us gets a king, we have to tell one fact about ourselves. And, technically, I am your boss, so you can’t refuse.”
Charlie shrugged and smiled wider. All of the blood drained from Castiel’s face and he sighed. There wasn’t much to tell. He was twenty-six and he lived alone. He worked at a mental hospital and didn’t have a single friend. Besides Olivia. Unfortunately, Charlie had him cornered and there was no way out. If needed, he could just make something up. He nodded and started gathering the puzzle pieces into piles. When he was a kid, he used to start puzzles by randomly finding pieces that went together and putting them aside for later. But Jimmy had taught him how to start from the outer edges and work from there. Figuring out the shape of the puzzle somehow made it easier for Jimmy to finish it. Castiel didn’t see a difference, but he wanted to be just like his older brother.
After a few minutes of silence, Castiel had the border of the checkerboard completed and Charlie was working on the middle. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, but they were both trying to come up with something to fill the void. When the checkerboard was finished, they set up their checker pieces and locked eyes.
“Remember the deal,” Charlie said, watching him intensely.
Castiel sighed and nodded, moving his first checker piece forward.
^
Apparently, Charlie had forgotten that checker games don’t last very long, so she insisted they play more than just one game. Castiel, unfortunately, had to agree, but by the end of it he was genuinely enjoying the game. Throughout the numerous games they played, Castiel learned that Charlie was a wiz with computers, an only child, and crushing on the security guard named Garth. Castiel had raised an eyebrow at that; he had never seen any of the security guards, and he was eager to find out who this “Garth” was. She was also best friends with Jo, the two of them being inseparable after bonding over comicon. Though Jo would never admit that she had gone. Charlie used to have crush on Jo, but when they tried dating it didn’t work out. She attended LARP conventions and convinced Castiel to try it at least once. Her mother was left brain-dead in a hospital for sixteen years, and during those years Charlie read “The Hobbit” to her, until she finally pulled the plug. Castiel squeezed her hand from across the table and nodded, attempting to comfort her the best he could. It worked.
In return, Castiel told her that he was now an only child; Jimmy had died when he was 16. He used to play the violin and was in an orchestra for four years after he graduated. When she asked why he left he simply shrugged. She nodded, curious, when he told her that Jimmy and him actually had separate birthdays. Jimmy was born on October thirtieth at 11:50pm while Castiel was born on October thirty-first at 12:02am. It wasn’t that rare for twins to have separate birthdays considering the amount of time women were in labor, but Charlie was still interested, digesting the information as if storing it for later. He told her that he liked to draw; in fact it was the only thing he did better than Jimmy.
The atmosphere was comforting to Castiel and he smiled easily when Charlie talked. He could see a real friend in her. That is, until he got too comfortable.
“I’m gay.”
He froze and Charlie looked up, her mouth forming an “O”, hand frozen over one of her checker pieces. Castiel fidgeted and bowed his head. He hadn’t meant to say that. But things had gotten so comfortable between the two of them that he let his guard down. Stupid. He could see the scenarios flying through his head of being fired for being gay or mocked. While he was having a mental breakdown, Charlie simply nodded and tilted her head.
“Then that makes you special.”
Castiel’s head jerked up as Charlie leaned over the table and gave him a kiss on the cheek, smiling as she leaned back. Castiel’s eyes widened and he placed a hand over the spot she had kissed. It tingled slightly and he felt warm. She hadn’t rejected him; quite the opposite, actually. A sense of calm settled in him and he smiled shakily and nodded, letting his eyes focus on the checkerboard. The game picked up again and the tension eroded away. The two fell back into their childish and competitive banter. Of course, in the end Castiel lost. At checkers. He groaned while Charlie fist-pumped and let out a whooping sound. She glanced at the clock and sighed, biting her lip. They had been sitting there for half an hour and she was procrastinating immensely with her paperwork. Castiel followed her gaze and frowned.
“Charlie, if I’m keeping you from something, you don’t have to stay.”
Charlie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “You are, and I wish you weren’t. ‘Cause this has been really fun.” She turned back to him and smiled warmly, teeth on full display. Castiel felt himself return the smile.
“I know. I had fun too, but if you need to be somewhere you can go,” he trailed off, shrugging.
Truthfully, he didn’t want her to leave, Charlie was definitely someone he could see himself being friends with. But she had a job and, frankly, he had one too. Having this much fun seemed almost wrong. Especially considering that Charlie was his boss. Charlie nodded and stood up, yawning and rolling out her shoulders. She winked at him and started walking towards the door. She was nearly at the doorway before Castiel realized something and called out to her. She turned around and raised her eyebrows, smirking.
“Scheduling a rematch?” She asked, voice mocking.
Castiel snorted and shook his head, running a finger along the table. It was a good idea, but not what he wanted to talk about. He looked up, eyes earnest.
“Thank you.”
Charlie’s eyes softened and she nodded, her smirk turning into a fond smile as she waved and left the room.
If things didn’t work out, at least Charlie was on his side.