The Hardest Part
Title: The Hardest Part
Author:
signalfire
Pairing: Implied Dean/Cas, referenced Doctor/Rose
Rating: G
Words: 954
Spoilers: Assumes knowledge of Sherlock, Supernatural S4. and the existence of The Doctor.
Warnings: Too much awesomeness.
Summary: "Your companion?" The Doctor asks, his expression gentle. "I'll take you back as soon as you're well enough."
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Unbeata'd and thrown together pretty quickly, as you can probably tell.
“Cas, Cas, Cas.”
Castiel cracks open an eye, glancing blearily around him. Carefully he pushes himself into a seated position on the bed he has found himself occupying. He's dressed in a shirt that isn't his and a smart pair of grey pants.
“Doctor.”
“Hello, sleepy head. It's about time you woke up.”
Cas frowns and swings his legs around, placing his bare feet on the floor of the Tardis. “How long have I been here?”
“Cas, we're in a time machine. We've had this discussion.”
Cas huffs, standing and stretching, feeling the bones of his human body pop and click, his muscles singing with the pleasure of being worked. “You look different.”
“Yes, well, you're hardly the man I knew last time, either. What was this one? An investment banker?”
“He was in marketing, of sorts.” Cas replies, taking a few slow steps forwards, thinking of Jimmy. Just for the moment. He is still in possession of his vessel, put it through so many things- He sighs and the man darting around the control panel ahead of him stops.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing-” Cas replies immediately. And then, almost without a pause; “Everything.”
“Well, you did seem in a bit of a predicament when I found you in that lake-” The Doctor grins. “I can't imagine getting down there was any fun.”
“The lake?” Cas asks before it begins to come back to him. The creatures crushing him down, the pain, the aching in his entire being that had him begging them for death. And then the release. The Leviathan. He half steps and half stumbles back to the bed, sinking back down onto it heavily. “Dean-”
“Your companion?” The Doctor asks, his expression gentle. “I'll take you back as soon as you're well enough.”
“They're in great danger. We must go now-” Cas protests, attempting to stand and realising that his legs aren't going to obey this time. “Doctor?”
“Oh, come now. You know I'm not going to let anything happen to them. Tea?”
“I...don't eat or drink?”
“Oh come on, you'll make an exception for little old me, won't you?”
Cas rolls his eyes and scoots further up the bed. “I always seem to.”
“Good man!” The Doctor approaches the bed, already holding two cups of tea. “Milk and three sugars, just how you like.”
“You remembered that-”
“Of course!” The Doctor flops down onto the bed beside Cas and bears up the scrutiny of the angel as he takes in his new face.
“I liked your hair better last time.”
“I know, I know. But I'm taller!”
“I suppose that works.”
“And I'm young! You're a lot younger than your last vessel, come to think of it.”
“Yes,” Cas says simply, sipping his tea. It's a catalyst for nostalgia, for the times they've sat doing this before. “Are you alone, Doctor?”
The Doctor hums a little, a noise that Cas has learned is one of his avoidance tactics. “Not alone. Well, obviously I am up here, for the moment. I had two companions, adorable they were, but they're not here at the moment. And there are others, colleagues, two gentlemen in London. I think you'd like them.”
Cas nods his head. “I'm glad. I'm glad you're not alone.”
The Doctor turns to look at him and their eyes meet, there being the familiarity that stretches back over so many complicated years. Thousands of years.
“And you?”
Cas tips his head. “And I what?”
“You've changed a lot since you left the Host, Cas. I can only assume it's because of your companions.”
“Humans are very-” Castiel frowns and then looks down into his tea. “They're very emotional creatures. But I find I can't keep away.”
The Doctor laughs. “Do you understand it?”
“Not really,” Cas replies. “Not the amount I should. I know things are escaping me.”
“Well, they're strange creatures.”
They sit in silence, though it isn't awkward. It's companionable. It would perhaps have been so much more beneficial for the two of them to have spent their lives travelling together, the Time Lord and the Angel, companions through a long history. They are painfully similar in a lot of ways, which is why the time that lapses between their meetings never lessens their friendship. And, similarly, they can't keep themselves away from humans, delicate and mortal as they are. Neither of them would be able to choose another life, would be able to choose someone else over the people they have befriended.
“Do you remember when we last spoke-” Castiel starts, looking down into his tea. “You told me your regrets about Rose?”
The Doctor says nothing but Castiel knows him well enough by now.
“You were in love with her. You wanted to do what was right for her-”
“Yes,” is the reply, short and sharp and edged with the kind of pain Castiel feels right down to his grace.
“How do you know- Doctor, how do you know?”
“That it's love?” The Doctor asks, a frown knitting his brow for a few seconds because he had been so convinced that Castiel had passed this point.
“No,” Castiel confirms that with a shake of his head and a smile only the love lorn can wear. “No, I am confident in that. How do you know you're doing what's right? How do you stop hurting the person you love?”
The Doctor is silent. Castiel says nothing more.
Author:
signalfire
Pairing: Implied Dean/Cas, referenced Doctor/Rose
Rating: G
Words: 954
Spoilers: Assumes knowledge of Sherlock, Supernatural S4. and the existence of The Doctor.
Warnings: Too much awesomeness.
Summary: "Your companion?" The Doctor asks, his expression gentle. "I'll take you back as soon as you're well enough."
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Unbeata'd and thrown together pretty quickly, as you can probably tell.
“Cas, Cas, Cas.”
Castiel cracks open an eye, glancing blearily around him. Carefully he pushes himself into a seated position on the bed he has found himself occupying. He's dressed in a shirt that isn't his and a smart pair of grey pants.
“Doctor.”
“Hello, sleepy head. It's about time you woke up.”
Cas frowns and swings his legs around, placing his bare feet on the floor of the Tardis. “How long have I been here?”
“Cas, we're in a time machine. We've had this discussion.”
Cas huffs, standing and stretching, feeling the bones of his human body pop and click, his muscles singing with the pleasure of being worked. “You look different.”
“Yes, well, you're hardly the man I knew last time, either. What was this one? An investment banker?”
“He was in marketing, of sorts.” Cas replies, taking a few slow steps forwards, thinking of Jimmy. Just for the moment. He is still in possession of his vessel, put it through so many things- He sighs and the man darting around the control panel ahead of him stops.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing-” Cas replies immediately. And then, almost without a pause; “Everything.”
“Well, you did seem in a bit of a predicament when I found you in that lake-” The Doctor grins. “I can't imagine getting down there was any fun.”
“The lake?” Cas asks before it begins to come back to him. The creatures crushing him down, the pain, the aching in his entire being that had him begging them for death. And then the release. The Leviathan. He half steps and half stumbles back to the bed, sinking back down onto it heavily. “Dean-”
“Your companion?” The Doctor asks, his expression gentle. “I'll take you back as soon as you're well enough.”
“They're in great danger. We must go now-” Cas protests, attempting to stand and realising that his legs aren't going to obey this time. “Doctor?”
“Oh, come now. You know I'm not going to let anything happen to them. Tea?”
“I...don't eat or drink?”
“Oh come on, you'll make an exception for little old me, won't you?”
Cas rolls his eyes and scoots further up the bed. “I always seem to.”
“Good man!” The Doctor approaches the bed, already holding two cups of tea. “Milk and three sugars, just how you like.”
“You remembered that-”
“Of course!” The Doctor flops down onto the bed beside Cas and bears up the scrutiny of the angel as he takes in his new face.
“I liked your hair better last time.”
“I know, I know. But I'm taller!”
“I suppose that works.”
“And I'm young! You're a lot younger than your last vessel, come to think of it.”
“Yes,” Cas says simply, sipping his tea. It's a catalyst for nostalgia, for the times they've sat doing this before. “Are you alone, Doctor?”
The Doctor hums a little, a noise that Cas has learned is one of his avoidance tactics. “Not alone. Well, obviously I am up here, for the moment. I had two companions, adorable they were, but they're not here at the moment. And there are others, colleagues, two gentlemen in London. I think you'd like them.”
Cas nods his head. “I'm glad. I'm glad you're not alone.”
The Doctor turns to look at him and their eyes meet, there being the familiarity that stretches back over so many complicated years. Thousands of years.
“And you?”
Cas tips his head. “And I what?”
“You've changed a lot since you left the Host, Cas. I can only assume it's because of your companions.”
“Humans are very-” Castiel frowns and then looks down into his tea. “They're very emotional creatures. But I find I can't keep away.”
The Doctor laughs. “Do you understand it?”
“Not really,” Cas replies. “Not the amount I should. I know things are escaping me.”
“Well, they're strange creatures.”
They sit in silence, though it isn't awkward. It's companionable. It would perhaps have been so much more beneficial for the two of them to have spent their lives travelling together, the Time Lord and the Angel, companions through a long history. They are painfully similar in a lot of ways, which is why the time that lapses between their meetings never lessens their friendship. And, similarly, they can't keep themselves away from humans, delicate and mortal as they are. Neither of them would be able to choose another life, would be able to choose someone else over the people they have befriended.
“Do you remember when we last spoke-” Castiel starts, looking down into his tea. “You told me your regrets about Rose?”
The Doctor says nothing but Castiel knows him well enough by now.
“You were in love with her. You wanted to do what was right for her-”
“Yes,” is the reply, short and sharp and edged with the kind of pain Castiel feels right down to his grace.
“How do you know- Doctor, how do you know?”
“That it's love?” The Doctor asks, a frown knitting his brow for a few seconds because he had been so convinced that Castiel had passed this point.
“No,” Castiel confirms that with a shake of his head and a smile only the love lorn can wear. “No, I am confident in that. How do you know you're doing what's right? How do you stop hurting the person you love?”
The Doctor is silent. Castiel says nothing more.