Work Text:
“Ten-four. Okay, we got a domestic violence call. Are you ready for this, rookie?”
“My first one. Let’s do this!”
“Officer Winchester, settle down. I know your first time is such a thrill but trust me, once you step foot in a house or see the violence first-hand, your thrill is sucked out of you within an instant.”
Dean bites his lip, wanting to say something inappropriate but he can’t, knowing that their body cams are on. As they pull up to the large, gated fence, Dean steps out, waiting for Cas to join him, “It’s always the rich folks, huh? What a shame.”
“Knock on the door, Boot.”
“I told you before, not to call me that.”
“Do as you're told. Boot.”
Squinting his eyes, he goes ahead and proceeds to knock on the door, “Police! Open up!”
Not hearing anything from inside the house, Dean knocks again, “We got a domestic disturbance call. Open the door!”
Cas looks into a window, when the standing fan blows the curtain open a bit, he sees legs lying on the floor. Cas pulls out his gun as he nods to Dean. Dean pulls out his gun as well as he kicks the door open. Cas pulls Dean so he stays behind him.
“Behind me, Winchester!" He practically growls.
"Police!” Cas calls as he sweeps the room. Dean instantly goes to the victim on the floor, checking his pulse. The man is covered with blood, bullet wounds to his upper torso, since there are plenty of exit wounds on the man’s back. The victim is topless with multiple bruises on his chest, arms, and face. There’s a pool of blood where he lies lifeless on the floor. The blood is no longer expanding, meaning the damage was done a long time ago. Sighing, Dean shakes his head at Cas.
Looking straight ahead again, Cas makes his way through the house, looking for the suspect, announcing his presence as he goes. When he makes his way up the stairs, Dean is instantly behind him, whispering to him, “Who called? The husband?”
“Yes.”
“So are we looking for another husband?”
As Cas opens one door, he scans the room, “Clear.”
Dean going on ahead, doing the same in a bathroom, “Clear.”
When they are side by side again, they position themselves to open the double doors leading to the master bedroom. When they open it, they hear loud sobbing.
“I told him.”
Cas’ eyes go wide, seeing a woman standing by the foot of a king sized bed with a gun pointed to her head, crying.
“I told him I was gonna do it. He’s been cheating! This whole time! I warned him! It’s not my fault! It’s not- it’s not my fault. He's been making me hurt him. He made me do this.”
Cas lowers his gun but not fully, “Ma’am? It is not your fault. Please lower down your weapon.”
Dean is breathing harder than anybody in the room, gun shakily raised at the woman.
Cas glances at Dean, knowing his partner is on the verge of a panic attack.
In an instant, the woman angrily shouts at both of them, "You're all alike! He'll put his dick in anything that moved! This is why I always had to punish him. This is why you all deserve to die!" She points her gun at Cas but the woman staggers back as a shot is fired. Cas looks at Dean, trying to keep his smoking gun steady in his hands.
“Winchester? Dean?”
Breathing even harder now, Dean slowly makes his way to the woman who is now lying dead on her bed with the gun still clutched in her hand.
“Is she? Did I just- did I just kill her?”
Checking on her, Cas finds she’s not breathing at all with no pulse, “She died instantly. You just saved my life. You did the right thing, Officer Winchester.”
Dean’s eye catches something on the bedside table of the woman and her husband, smiling happily. But next to it, another picture frame is of the wife and husband together on a beach with a toddler building a sandcastle, looking so happy.
“Ohmygod. Cas, look. They have a son.”
“Maybe that picture was taken years ago? That child could be a grown man by now.”
Remembering what he saw in the living room with the deceased husband, he noticed toys scattered around the jumbo television. He drops his gun as he falls to his knees, shocked.
“Officer Winchester? Oh, Dean.”
Turning off his body camera, he does the same to Dean’s as he holds him.
“I know this is hard. I can tell you it gets easier as the years progress but I don’t want to lie to you. You are just a rookie right now. I understand if you want to quit. This life is hard as you saw first hand. I was so happy they chose you to be my partner, not knowing we’ve been together for over a year now. But like I’ve said before, this life is not for everyone.”
Turning back on their body cams, Dean sniffs as he gathers his strength to lift himself back up, “I’m good. I’m good.”
Taking a huge breath, he still can't get over what just happened, “They were a family, Cas. A fuckin’ family and I just murdered her.”
“You were protecting your fellow officer. You did the right thing, Officer Winchester.”
He waits until Dean nods as Cas calls it in. As soon as the call is made, Cas guides Dean out of the house.
“You’re in shock, Winchester. It hasn’t fully hit you yet but when it does, I’m right here. Okay? Officer Winchester?”
As Dean walks with Cas out the house, he notices his eyes are unfocused. Taking a deep breath, he makes sure Dean is completely out of the house before he makes him face him. Taking his face in both hands, Cas silently asks Dean to make eye contact.
“There you are. You’re still in shock, Winchester. After our shift today, we’re going to hit a bar, okay?”
Saying nothing, Dean simply nods.
Slapping him a little harder on his shoulder, Cas nods too, “Okay, you’ve got this.”