SPN fic: A Simple Act of Kindness
Title: A Simple of Act of Kindness
Author: drabblewriter
Wordcount: ~800
Rating: PG-13 (language, car-on-deer violence)
Characters: Dean, Cas, ,Sam
Prompt: listen @ spn_30snapshots
Notes: Set mid Season 5
Summary: Castiel teaches Dean a lesson on just what exactly they're fighting for.
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” ~Aesop
They’re motoring down a dark road in western Wisconsin between jobs on the way to a suspected wendigo sighting near Faribault, Minnesota. Dean drives while Sam lounges in the passenger seat and Castiel sits stiffly in back, recharging between flights on his mission to find God. They’re just about to the border when Dean catches a flash of brown out of the corner of his eye, and suddenly there’s a deer in the middle of the road. “Son of a bitch!” He jams on the breaks, but it’s no use. The car slows, but they can’t avoid the collision completely. There’s a thump, and the deer goes spinning off into the darkness.
Sam blinks awake and demands, “What was that?”
“Damn deer,” Dean grumbles, pulling the Impala to the side of the road. “Ran right out front of me! I swear, if that thing hurt my car…” He grabs a flashlight from the glove compartment, gets out, and stomps to the front of the car. A few sweeps of the beam across shining black chrome real a few tufts of fur stick in the grill but no real damage.
Dean sighs in relief and is about to get back in when he hears Sam call from behind him. “Dean, grab one of the guns. It’s still alive.”
Dean curses again and heads for the trunk. Sure it’s just a dumb animal, and they do have someplace to be by morning, but he can’t very well leave it laying there in agony. Sam will be bitching at him for the rest of the night. Probably Cas too.
When he returns, pistol in hand, it’s to find Sam standing beside the deer. The smell of blood is strong in the air; the animal’s hair is matted with it. Cas is kneeling beside, one hand resting gently on the deer’s side as it struggles to breath. When he looks up at Dean, blue eyes wide, it’s like a kid watching his puppy die. “His back legs are broken,” the angel murmurs, “and there are internal injuries. He’s in pain.”
“I’m sorry,” Dean finds himself saying. “I would have avoided it if I could, but-” He realizes this is ridiculous and gets back to business, gesturing with the gun. “We’re going to put it out of it’s misery.”
“No, you aren’t going to kill him.” Castiel turns back to the deer and strokes it gently, murmuring low enough that Dean can’t make out the words. He strokes down its back a few times then moves his hand to rest in the center of the bloody patch. Cas closes his eyes, speaks lowly again.
Something happens, an almost-undetectable shift in the air, and then the deer is struggling to it’s feet, suddenly whole again. Cas doubles over, breathing hard, and the deer looks at him with big black eyes.
Dean wants to say something, demand if the angel is okay, but can’t quite bring himself to disturb the moment (and how chick-flicky is that?).
The deer takes a tentative step toward the angel and leans down to nuzzle his cheek gently. Cas gives the animal a tired smile and runs his fingers across its cheek and neck. The deer’s eyes flicker to Sam and Dean for a second before it’s loping off into the woods.
“You all right, Cas?” Sam asks, stepping forward and offering the other man a hand.
“Yes, Sam, I am fine. My grace was not yet fully recharged, and healing him took a bit more energy than I had anticipated.” He takes Sam’s hand and rises, swaying a little on his feet before the taller man settles him.
“Why’d you waste your energy on that?” Dean wants to know. “It’s just a deer. In case you don’t remember, we have an apocalypse to end and a God to find. We kind of have more important things to deal with.”
Cas turns the full power of his disapproving gaze on the human. “Yes, Dean, we are fighting to save this world. We are fighting to save this world for all the living beings on it. We may fail, yet still we do all we can. Even this small act of kindness is an accomplishment. All are our Father’s creations and deserve to be cared for.” He turns and heads for the Impala, adding, “I will be ready to leave in the morning.”
Dean shoots Sam a look, and the glare he gets in return clearly says that his brother agrees with their angel’s little speech. With a roll of his eyes, Dean too heads for the car. (What he doesn’t say aloud is that Cas probably - okay, more than probably - has a point. And he’s glad the damn deer is still alive.)