Chapter Text
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"How's Jackie settled in?" Gabriel asks over the phone. Castiel and Jack have finally arrived, the long drive from Little Rock, Arkansas. Castiel had decided to split the nine hour drive into a three day long road trip, allowing the movers to get the house put together and keeping Jack from having to be crammed in the car all day.
"Better than expected," currently, the three year old is running around the backyard with a large dinosaur toy. Castiel keeps an eye on him from the kitchen window, because although the backyard is fenced in and cleared of rocks and sticks, he knows how quickly an accident can happen. Lunch is easy today, just spaghetti and with chicken nuggets since Jack doesn't like meatballs and Castiel doesn't have the energy to make chicken.
"How's he liking the house? Figured he'd like being so close to that park," Gabriel muses, and Castiel can't help but roll his eyes. It's both a blessing and a curse that they're only a ten minute walk from a park, especially since it's painted with dinosaurs.
"You did this on purpose," Castiel accuses. All he's been hearing from Jack is questions about the next time they can go see the dinosaurs. Gabriel laughs, the asshole, clearly not having experienced the hell that is a toddler demanding to go to the same park everyday for nearly a week. "It isn't funny, that park is the only thing he has been asking about. All I have heard the last three days was him asking about the dinosaur park."
"Oh, it is very much amusing," Gabriel laughs again. Castiel rolls his eyes again, looking up from the noddles to find Jack rolling in the grass like a dog.
"That boy," Castiel groans, not looking forward to having to clean the grass stains out of his clothes. Would it be that bad if he leaves them stained? They are his playing clothes anyways.
"What's he doing this time?" Gabriel asks, not out of concern or sympathy, but out of amusement.
"Rolling like a dog in the grass. Thankfully they are his play clothes, but I am half tempted to neglect treating them," there's a combination of ire and amusement in Castiel's tone.
The two continue to talk for a few minutes, mainly just Gabriel rambling about whatever he's been up to when he isn't running his bakery in Los Angeles. Which, for the most part, has him grimacing and threatening to hang up the phone if Gabriel keeps being so graphically detailed. Thankfully the food is finished and plated (the chicken nuggets cut up and mixed into the spaghetti for Castiel, but separate for Jack), so Gabriel let's him go without a fight.
A bag of baby carrots is tossed onto the table next to a container of apple slices, as Jack runs into the house with the dinosaur he was playing with. Jack doesn't hesitate to tear into his spaghetti, getting the tomato sauce and cheese everywhere. Castiel gives him an exasperated shake of his head, glad that the toddler already needed a bath from the grass and mud he's covered in. The red sauce only adds to the mess already covering him.
"Jack, you need to eat those, not play with them," he gently reprimands as the toddler narrates another fight between the his dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets.
The three year old, unsurprisingly, continues to ramble on.
"And then, and then the triceratops kills da T-Rex!" Jack shows Castiel by, very animatedly, smashing the triceratops shaped nugget into the T-Rex one. The plate is a mess of ketchup and breading, with more nuggets destroyed rather than eaten. At least Jack finished his spaghetti and ate a few carrots.
"Jack.." Castiel voices again. The toddler looks at him this time, giving him a big smile that shows all of his teeth. It's a smile Castiel recognizes, the one Jack does when he's doing something he probably shouldn't be.
"Jack, are you still hungry?" Castiel decides to ask, knowing that sometimes kids don't say when they're full. Jack's one of them, not always recognizing when he's full or when he's hungry (something Castiel still has issues).
The kid thinks for a few minutes, before shaking his head. It makes sense, Castiel did give him a fairly ambitious plate of spaghetti when paired with the nuggets. Then the carrots filled him up more, so while only one of the nuggets was eaten, the toddler is far from hungry.
"You ready for a bath then?" Jack is getting a bath now, as Castiel doesn't want to scrub the walls and floors of whatever mess he'll make.
"No! No bath!" The toddler whines. Castiel has to bite back a groan, he seriously does not want to deal with Jack throwing a tantrum on top of him being messy. Lately, these tantrums have been happening more often, and Castiel knows the reason behind them.
Kelly.
Grieving her has been difficult for him, he lost his closest and only friend, but he (for the most part) knows how to properly cope and process his emotions. Jack is only three, unable to wear shoes that lack Velcro and clothing with buttons. Everything he is feeling is increased tenfold, resulting in more outbursts than what is typical for the usually calm yet hyperactive toddler.
"Jack, I understand that you don't want to. But we can't ruin your belongings," Castiel stays calm, keeping his voice gentle. He has issues with coming off as intimidating or angry, something he's had to work on since he started nursing. As an EMT, most people didn't give him issues, but the hospital is far different from than an ambulance or roadside.
"No!" Jack shouts loudly again. Castiel cringes at the sound, sensing another meltdown coming up. Lately, any attempts at calming Jack down has only made the boy more upset, leaving him to let the boy wear himself out and giving him space.
Still, the boy needs to be cleaned up before the mess on him gets everywhere else.
"Jack, you need to get cleaned before bed," Castiel explains, trying to keep his voice from showing any hints of irritation. He doesn't want to scare or hurt the kid, but he himself is barely holding on.
Jack doesn't like what he says, only becoming more and more upset before ultimately letting out an ear splitting scream. It's Castiel's final straw, standing up from the table as calmly as he can before shutting himself in the bedroom. He covers his ears, trying to block out the noises of Jack's tantrum.
Castiel's hand rapidly taps the top of his head, his breathing picking up quickly as he fails to anchor himself. He's tired, overstimulated, and remembering nights he'd much rather forget. Calls that started bad and ended worse, one involving an empty car seat and a drunk driver.
It gets harder and harder to breathe, and his hand goes from tapping to full on hitting as he harshly rocks back and forth. The screaming cries of parents and children are so loud he doesn't know what is coming from Jack and what is entirely in his head. He's choking and sobbing, desperately trying to make everything stop.
It doesn't, not for a while.
Not until Jack hesitantly walks into the room, and gently, far too gently for someone so chaotic, curls against Castiel's side. Castiel flinches away from Jack's barely there weight, before realizing who it was and relaxing against his bed. His arm carefully goes around the toddler, pulling the small child into his lap.
He buries his face into the boy's blonde hair, crying softly into the far less messy strands of hair. He breathes in the grass and faint coconut scent, reminding himself that Jack is here and was never in one of the scenes he's responded to in the past.
"I'm sad too," Jack says, whispering into Castiel's chest. Those three words, spoken in a voice far too young to hold that much weight, makes his heart break even further.
"I know Jack," his throat is raw. He strokes the other's hair and back, not knowing what else to do.
"I miss momma," the boy whimpers. Castiel's heart can't take much more. He doesn't respond, knowing that saying anything about Kelly will only make him start crying again.
The two sit there for a while, until Castiel's back starts aching and Jack can hardly keep his eyes open. At some point when Castiel hide himself away in his bedroom, Jack had managed to wipe off most of his mess. A few spots stubbornly remained, like some mud on the very back of Jack's head. Too exhausted to do a bath, Castiel resolved to washing the toddler's hair in the sink and giving him a bath in the morning.
Once both had their teeth brushed and pajamas on, they settled into Castiel's bed. Jack laying on top of him, Castiel was able to focus on something other than the past. Jack is safe, he's there, he's breathing on top of Castiel. It isn't the healthiest thing, but goddamnit, he needs to get some sleep tonight and this is the only way that's happening.
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"Come on Jack, we cannot be late," Castiel tries to get the toddler to move a little quicker. Today is the boy's first day of preschool, and his first day of work, and Castiel cannot afford to be late. He's thankful he thought ahead to already pack away his and Jack's bags in the car, only needing to bring their lunches. Jack's the brightly colored dinosaur print that matches his bag, and Castiel's a basic black bento box.
Jack struggles for a moment to fix his shoe after jumping off the stairs, causing the man to cringe and make a note to replace the rocks with grass. Castiel double checks both of their bags and the time as Jack rushes over to the car. Strapping in the toddler and taking off to the daycare goes quick, and they make it to the preschool with twenty minutes left for Castiel's shift.
"I am here to drop off Jack Kline," Castiel announces once he makes it to the front desk. He triple checked everything to do with this school; other's experiences, the staff members, and even the fire marshal's latest report. It's the best one he could find nearby, although it is a little more expensive.
More importantly, it's the closest to his work. Cutting down on travel time and allowing him to get there quicky if something happens.
"Excellent! First day, correct?" The receptionist asks, preparing some sort of paperwork. Castiel could do without having to read another paper for the next few months, having re-read several different legal documents multiple times.
"Yes," he needs this to go quickly. There's only fifteen minutes left until he needs to report to his shift. Although his boss seems to be understanding, with her being a grandmother, he'd rather not be late on his first day.
"Well, I'll need you to fill out this paper real quick, just hand it in during pickup today. Other than that, Jack is free to go to his class," she explains. The woman seems very nice, even as she fully leans over her desk. "Second one on the right sweetheart. The one with tadpoles on the door."
Checking the time, Castiel starts to walk Jack to the classroom. The boy is nervous, he is as well, but there is no alternative. Jack needs to go to school and for someone to look over him as he works, and Castiel needs to, well, work.
Thankfully, the boy seems much more excited when they get to the classroom. It's bright and full of toys, and even at 6:40 in the morning the teacher appears happy.
"Hello, I'm Ms Kasi! You must be Jack and your..." the young woman, Kasidy her name tag says, pauses when she turns to Castiel. "Mr Novak-Shurley, correct?"
"Yes, but call me Castiel," he offers her his hand, ignoring the curdling feeling in his gut. She smiles and nods, instead of questioning him. Which he's thankful for, considering he needs to leave now.
"Jack's been..." he sighs as he watches the toddler shove his bookbag into one of the empty cubbies before running off to play with the train table. "He's been having a difficult time. A lot of meltdowns, and he's been very argumentative lately. He tends to have his toys fight each other, typically until they...to the 'death.'
His mother died a few weeks ago, and it's been very difficult. I put it on the paperwork, but I wanted to make sure you know before I leave since I typically am unable to access my phone during work."
Kasidy, to her credit, doesn't look at him with pity like everyone else does when he explains Jack's behavior. She looks very sympathetic, like she's experienced similar in the past.
"I understand. We have a quiet room available since a couple of our kids have sensory issues, that'll most likely be were we take Jack if something happens," she explains. "We have information on some local grief counselors, along with therapists if you're interested."
Castiel notices she doesn't specify if it's for him or for Jack, but he nods anyway. He dismisses himself, really needing to get to his shift at the hospital and away from this conversation.
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Nobody is angry when he shows up five minutes late, hastily explaining that he got held up while dropping Jack off at school. The Charge Nurse simply nods, telling him to try and make it on time tomorrow before showing him around. This ER is no different from the others he's been in as an EMT, only slight differences in the layout.
He's shown the nurses station, break-room and a dozens of other rooms for testing and storage. Their computer system is the biggest difference from the one he worked at in Little Rock, but it's for the best. This one is better organized and faster, if strange to Castiel.
His work day is full of orientation and learning hospital policy, which is the same repeatings of the Hippocratic Oath he's sworn to since he was eighteen and just graduated from his EMT course. He doesn't actually work with any of the patients that come in, but he's able to get through the paperwork he's been given. By the end of the day he has the last of Jack's papers done and he's got his hospital ID.
With nothing else for him to do, Castiel starts flipping through the book that was left in his bag. He needs to get a babysitter for Jack in order to go to his night classes, since he's halfway through a master's program for nursing and needs to get this finished. He's looked everywhere and hasn't been able to find anyone that can do the hours he needs, not anyone he'd trust around Jack that is.
Call him paranoid, but Castiel has seen what happens when irresponsible babysitters are left in charge, especially late at night. The last thing he wants is for something to happen to Jack, as that kid is everything he has left of Kelly. He doesn't want another child's blood on his hands, and would rather not have to be so close to the carnage.
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Picking Jack up is far less stressful than dropping him off was. Castiel gets there at three-thirty and watches as Jack runs around the school's playground while dropping off the papers. They were all simple, emergency contact forms, allergies and dietary preferences, and a questionnaire on Jack's development. Things he'd already filled out when applying Jack, but were at least quicker this time around.
Castiel already has Jack's bookbag, covered in dinosaurs of course, when the toddler comes crashing into his legs.
"Uncle! Uncle! Guess what I found!" Jack shouts, hanging off of Castiel's leg. He can't keep himself of huffing in amusement, looking down at Jack with the head tilt that makes the toddler call him an owl.
"An oryctodromeus," Castiel answers, fully serious. The toddler finds it funny when he says the most absurd things with a straight face, it never failing to get a smile out of him. Even better is the fact that it's a dinosaur that makes Jack giggle everytime he sees it, something about the creature having a funny face. And after looking at a few pictures of it himself, Castiel had to agree.
"No!" The toddler shouts, giggling. Castiel makes a gesture, slowly lowering his hand to tell the child to quiet down as they leave the building. "It was a bug. Like this big!"
Jack let's go of Castiel's hand as they step into the parking lot, trying to show him the supposed size of the bug. The lack of Jack's hand in his makes the nurse panic, causing him to quickly grab onto the boy's arm with a bit too much strength.
"How many times have I told you to not let go in the parking lot?" Castiel tries to keep his voice calm, but the sudden surge of anxiety makes that difficult. He takes a few deep breaths, practically dragging Jack to the car before realizes his hold on the little boy.
"Jack...Jack I'm sorry," Castiel apologizes, loosening his hold and kneeling in front of the blonde child. There's tears in his eyes and a red mark on his arm, and guilt replaces panic at the site.
"I didn't realize I was holding you too hard. You.." Castiel struggles for the words. He doesn't want it to sound like he's blaming Jack, it wasn't the boy's fault. But he's never been good with words or actions either, always ruining things when he tries to fix them.
"I got scared Jack. You know my job at the hospital and in the ambulance? I saw a lot of scary things, and I don't want them to happen to you."
He leaves out the blood, the screaming, the pieces of bodies that had to be scraped off the pavement. Doesn't mention the mourning parents, the kids covered in far too much blood, and tries his hardest to forget the empty carrier.
"I didn't mean to hurt you, and I'm very sorry I did. I'll try not to do it again."
The boy takes a second, staring deeply into Castiel's eyes with a look that's far too old to be on a toddler's face, before nodding. He nods back, unlocking and opening up the car for him, letting Jack climb into his car seat as he sets Jack's bookbag into the passenger seat. Once he makes sure Jack is secured, he gets into the driver seat and starts the car.
"What happened with the bug you were telling me about?" Castiel asks, trying to get the too quiet toddler talking once again. Thankfully, it works and Jack goes back to rapidly telling him about the bug.
"It was really big, and blue. Ms Kasi said it was a...a damselfly!" Jack kicks his feet as he gets excited, and Castiel is reminded of one of the many reasons Jack doesn't sit behind him.
"I wanted to touch it, but Ms Kasi said no. And there were butterflies! One landed on my hand!"
Castiel can't help but smile as the toddler continues to ramble on about his day, which mainly involved saying hi to everyone. Apparently he already has a best friend, a girl named Lola and they were playing house until the dinosaurs came in and ate the Barbie dolls.
He isn't sure if that's normal toddler weirdness or a young child grieving, but his teacher didn't feel the need to call about it so he won't question it. He's not quite sure he wants to know the answer either.
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"Can I play soccer?"
Is apparently an extremely important question that needs to be answered at...3:12 in the morning. According to Jack, it's a perfectly acceptable time to barge in and ask Castiel about anything. From what a brachiosaurus' favorite color is (he said yellow), to whether or not ladybugs have dreams (his answer was yes, but only about unicorns). This time it's about a sport Jack has showed no interest in playing, nor has ever really been exposed to.
"It's too early to play right now. The sun is still sleeping, just like we should be," especially since he has to get up in three hours for work.
Castiel is unsurprised when the blankets covering him move and a second, far warmer body snuggles up to his naked chest. He doesn't fight it, just adjusting to comfortably drape one arm around Jack and fully pull the toddler on top of him.
He's nearly asleep again when he hears it, fully sure that it's a figment of his imagination even though he can feel Jack speaking against him.
"I love you daddy," and he'd be lying if it didn't make his heart sink and melt at the same time. Instead of saying anything in response, he squeezes Jack tighter and presses a kiss into his hair.
In the morning he's Uncle Castiel again and he's sure Jack doesn't remember what he said, but it doesn't matter, not to him. It's heartwarming and terrifying, it makes him cry and smile at the same time, but it's what Kelly would've wanted.
After all, Castiel has been in Jack's life more than his biological father has been. It was Castiel there with Kelly in the delivery, there when she was buying clothes and toys and furniture. There to offer massages and take care of the house.
He was there and Lucian wasn't. And that was a good thing.
Jack also doesn't seem to have remembered asking about soccer, that or the toddler is too tired to ask about it. Given the fact they're eating breakfast at 6:15, he doesn't blame the boy. Technically preschool doesn't start until eight, but they offer before and after school daycare, something Castiel is thankful for.
Jack doesn't finish his breakfast, so Castiel puts the leftover fruit salad and banana bread in a container in case he wants it later. They're quick to get their shoes on and lunches in hand, having grown used to this routine over the past few weeks.
Pulling into the school at exactly 6:34, Castiel knows he'll be able to make it to the hospital on time. Ms Kasidy doesn't keep him waiting, knowing he's in a rush most morning than not. Anything he needs to know can be said at pickup, when Castiel isn't rushing and stressing about making it to work on time.
He cannot be late, not now, not when he's actively taking care of patients.
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There's no resting in the ER, something is always happening, even on the slow shifts. Today isn't a slow day, which leaves Castiel rushing from bed to bed. Sweat collects in the creases of his scrubs, and he's positive there's blood staining his shoes now. He's gone through nearly a whole box of gloves and there's still three hours left until he goes to pick up Jack.
Nobody says anything when intake slows down, nobody wanting to be the one to jinx it. Anyone who works in healthcare knows you don't mention anything about work being quiet or slow, you're bound to curse the rest of your shift.
Currently his rounds consist of checking in on patients, taking vitals and making sure their fluids are going well. He's called in by his female coworkers from time to time to deal with particularly rowdy or handsy patients, something he handles with ease. Those years as an EMT are incredibly useful for several reasons, and his blunt demeanor makes this role even easier.
Then, finally, he's able to clock out and change out of his extra disgusting feeling scrubs into an old T-shirt and a zip up hoodie. His jeans have pen marks and dye all over them, courtesy of an over-eager one year old Jack two Easters ago. He bids goodbye to his coworkers on the way out, being vigilant of the parking lot as he walks to his Lincoln Continental.
The car is an eyesore, a vintage eyesore, but an eyesore none the less. One that makes Gabriel joke about him being a pimp, although they both know Castiel is far from it. Why he has it, he doesn't fully remember. Something about Kelly having seen it or liking it. The pale yellow needs to be re-done, and Jack is adamant on covering it with dinosaurs.
Maybe the pale gold pimp car is better than a cartoon nightmare.
(It definitely is, but he'd never tell Jack that)
This time when he pulls into the school, Jack and his class are waiting outside with their backpacks. A couple of adults, almost all of them a few years older than Castiel, stand there waiting for Ms Kasidy to finish.
"Looks like our first sport will be....soccer!" She announces after the class of 3-4 year olds give her a drumroll without prompting. She goes through the list of sports; soccer then t-ball, and lastly flag football.
Jack hands him a few papers that are minimally wrinkled, explaining that the school is doing a six-week long 'sports trial' after school for free. All that's required is for Castiel is stay for the practices and to sign off on each activity.
Castiel signs them quickly, knowing that he'll either forget or leave them in the rush to leave tomorrow. It doesn't matter what time him and Jack are up, they always end up cutting it close. And while his boss is understanding, he can't come into work late every single day.
So this must be why Jack asked about playing soccer so early this morning. Despite his anxieties, Castiel knows that Jack participating in age appropriate sports will be extremely beneficial for his development, even if Jack doesn't listen to the rules and just runs around instead. He seems interested in it too, rambling about it on their way home.
It'll be good for him, he'll have an opportunity to run around and use his brain during the games. And it'll give him something to luck forward to that isn't his toys at home or their Land Before Time movies.
Besides, they're too young to get that hurt playing soccer. At worse they'll get turf burn or bump heads, nothing too serious, nothing fatal.
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Today is Jack's first scrimmage, and they're going against the four and five year old class. They've been practicing all week, something that Jack has been very excited about. Thankfully Castiel has today off, so he's able to watch. What he didn't know, or simply forgot, is that the local highschool has been helping out with the program. The two Varsity captains taking lead of each team, with other players helping coach the kids.
He finds it strange, watching the teenage boys gently explain the game to the toddlers. They seem amused and irritated, but holding back any unruly comments. Toddlers are, after all, not the greatest with retaining information, especially not while excited.
Jack seems fascinated with one of the boys in particular, the younger captain with fluffy hair hanging into his eyes. From what Jack's told him, the boy's name is Sam and it's distantly familiar. One of his colleagues has a teenager, maybe they go to school together?
Either way, Sam seems like a very good player from what Castiel can tell and seems to have an abundance of patience and compassion. All of the boys do, but they aren't quite as swarmed by the children as he is.
The game starts thirty minutes into Castiel sitting there, his medicine bag sitting under his legs. The worker running the camp, and a counselor and director of activities here, Garth had asked him to bring it.
"I assure you we have a good first aid kit, and we're all qualified, but it's better to be over-prepared. They won't get anything worse than bruises, but it'd be nice to settle some anxious minds."
Castiel is sure the bag is more for him than the other parents, but he would've brought it anyways. It practically lives in his car now, with a heavier one sitting in one of his kitchen cabinets. If having it within grabbing distance makes him less restless, then so be it.
The game is going well, with all of the kids getting plenty of playing time. They're playing a much shorter one, only playing two fifteen minutes halves with a ten minute break in between, than the standard 90 minute games. All of them are wearing mismatched jerseys and cleats that have seen better days, but they all look happy playing.
Castiel can't help but smile when Jack waves to him during a reset, raising his hand back to the boy. He's not as into it as the other parents surrounding him are, never having been one for sports, but he's not letting Jack seem like he doesn't want to be there. He's happy to be here, happy to see Jack having fun and being a normal toddler.
They've had a few bad days these last couple of weeks, both of them. With Castiel having to fight with himself to go to work and drop Jack off, anxiety clawing through him as he tries to reassure himself that the school is safe. Jack's been clingy at night, refusing to sleep in his own bed or waking up wailing from a nightmare. The boy won't talk to him about them, and the search for a counselor that works with their schedule has been fruitless.
So Castiel will take sitting hunched over on the uncomfortable metal bleachers if it means Jack can be happy.
"You see that? You see that Uncle Cas?!" Jack asks, rushing over to him at the start of the break. Castiel nods, pulling the sweaty toddler into his arms. His shirt is marred with the boy's sweat and there's mud on his pants, but there's no way he'd push the kid away.
"I did Jack. That was a good goal," they aren't keeping score, but the kids are happy when they make a goal or block one. He's sure that the goalie for the other team, a rather tall and large five year old, is letting them score every other attempt, but they're all having fun. It's a casual game after all, it's meant to be a fun learning experience.
Jack runs off to the rest of his team, gleefully taking the snacks offered to him and sitting next to his friend Rosie. It's awkward sitting here and not knowing the other parents, especially when Jack asks about wanting to have playdates. Castiel doesn't know where to begin with those, but thankfully he isn't asked very often and can easily avoid it.
"Which one's your's?" A voice startles Castiel, causing him to jolt and look over his shoulder. He's greeted by a fairly young man, with blonde hair falling just under his brow bone and eyes that are too green to be real. Castiel doubts he's a parent, maybe one of the highschoolers' brothers?
"Jack, the one with the pink jersey," Castiel answers, pointing to where Jack is now playing Duck-Duck-Goose.
"He's got a good kick. Ever done this before?" The man asks, his voice is deeper than someone would expect, given how he looks.
Castiel shakes his head, Jack's never been old enough to do any youth sports before now. Although the boy has always had a penchant for running around, and Kelly did hurdles in highschool and college. Strong legs run in that family, as far as he can tell with Kelly's parents.
"Dean, Winchester. My brother's Sam," the man-Dean introduces himself, pointing a thumb over to said highschooler. Castiel nods, not having to look over at the boy.
"Castiel," he offers, eyes gliding across the field. Break is almost over, only three minutes left until they go back to playing.
Dean leaves after a few moments, shouting for his brother and teasing the boy. Castiel watches as the two bump shoulders, before Dean ruffles the boys hair and leaves to sit down. They look like they're only a few years apart, although Sam is just barely shorter and still has the remnants of baby fat clinging to his cheeks.
Playtime starts up again, with slightly different lineups. The kids that were at the front are now in the back, and the ones playing center are now goalies. With the exception of the five year old goalie, who adamantly refuses to change positions. Once everyone is in place, one of the highschoolers drops the ball and the kids start running.
It goes well for a few minutes, with Jack cheering everytime somebody scores and jumping when he manages to steal the ball from another kid. He's moving to pass it to a teammate when the collision happens, one of the older kids slipping on the turf and slamming into him. There's a sharp thud as Jack's head hits the ground and everything is silent before the kids start crying.
The kids are called off the field and Castiel keeps himself calm as he grabs the medicine bag and walks towards the crying toddlers. No reason to scare or upset them any further.
The other kid's mom doesn't hesitate in rushing over, pulling her son into her lap as Castiel kneels on the turf. He's quick to pull on his gloves, a force of habit from EMS.
"Jack, Jack look at me," Castiel's voice is sturdy, shutting out the emotions he feels at hearing Jack cry. Compartmentalize, he reminds himself, treat it like a call and not the boy who's become your son. "You need to breathe for me, remember. I can't see your eyes if you're crying."
He soothes the boy, gently pulling him closer. Jack holds tightly onto his shirt, trying his hardest to breathe while crying. Castiel hums softly as he checks the back of the boys head, thankful when his glove comes back clean of blood. The boy's head is tender, but he isn't bleeding, and for that he's thankful for.
"Are his eyes reacting appropriately?" Castiel asks the mother of the boy, looking up at her. She looks at him confused, not fully understanding what he means. "He hit his head. Are his pupils contracting the same?"
"I...what are you talking about?" The woman looks at him weirdly, going from him to his bag and the gloves on his hands. Castiel holds back a sigh, grabbing the penlight in one of the side pockets.
"Can I?" He asks, referring to the boy with his light. The mother looks at him for a few moments, before angling the boy to face him. He's calmed down significantly, allowing Castiel to quickly check his pupils. "There you go, nothing's wrong with them." He soothes the boy before turning to his mother.
"Watch him closely tonight. If he's pupils start reacting weirdly, complains his head hurts badly or if he gets sick take him to the ER, otherwise he should be fine with some Tylenol, water and rest. If he doesn't get better within a day, take him to urgent care to check for a concussion."
The mother nods, helping her son up and to the bleachers. Castiel turns his attention to Jack, the boy having finally calmed down enough that he's only sniffling. He's gentle with lifting the boy, bending down to loop the bag on his arm and taking him inside. Garth is quick to let him in the building, taking him to the empty nurse's office.
"Take the time you need, we'll make sure Jack doesn't fall behind if he has to miss school."
And just like that, the two are alone as Jack lays on the cot. He whines when Castiel has him opens his eyes, quickly flashing the light in both of his eyes. One of his pupils doesn't react as much, and Castiel feels a pang of worry at it.
"Let's get you home Jack," he whispers. Jack fits snug against his chest as they walk out to the car, although the boy whines when the sunlight hits his eyes. Getting him into the booster seat is the difficult part, the toddler refusing to let go of his jacket. Eventually he manages to get the toddler strapped in and heads to the hospital he works at, going slower than usual to avoid jostling the concussed toddler.
Getting Jack checked in goes by quickly, and soon enough he gets a quick X-ray to check for a fracture given how hard the boy hit the ground. With everything coming back as normal, the plan is to make sure Jack gets plenty of rest and go easy on activity.
By the time they get home, Jack is asleep in his car seat. Castiel carefully lays the boy onto the couch, tucking a blanket around him. The rest of their day is quiet, with Castiel making an easy dinner of chicken soup and garlic bread. Jack thankfully scarfs down two bowls of soup and three pieces of bread, before asking for a cup of orange juice.
Getting ready for bed is the easiest affair of the day, with Jack falling asleep in the bath. The boy is still clingy in his sleep, refusing to let go of his uncle. Castiel doesn't mind, having changed into a clean shirt and sweatpants when he got home. It's a tight fit, a large man on a bed meant for a toddler, but he manages to fall asleep eventually.
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