Castiel stops Lucifer in the middle of Samuel Seabury's song when he gets a text from Dean. Right now, Dean's his priority. Well, Dean's usually his priority anyway, but right now especially.

Dean: Want ride to hospital

Castiel: Yes.

Castiel: Wait, from who?

Dean: Idk I'll ask Benny

Dean: Or Mick if he can't

Dean: Idk some1 from team

Castiel: Okay.

Castiel waits in silence for Dean to text him back. It's takes almost 10 minutes for him to get a response.

Dean: Sorry

Castiel: Why?

Dean: Only 1 able to get u was Ketch

Castiel sighs. He doesn't remember much about Ketch, but he does remember that he didn't like the guy when they met last year. It was bad enough when Dean has invited him over with two other people there, but just Castiel and Ketch alone for the entire ride to the hospital? This is going to be pure torture.

Castiel: If he'll get me to the hospital, I'm fine with it.

Dean: Sorry 4 anything stupid/annoying he says & I promise he's always like that & has nothing to do with u

Castiel: Now I'm slightly concerned.

Dean: Ull be fine

Dean: He's on his way rn, so listen 4 doorbell/car honk

Castiel: Good to know.

Castiel: Do you know how long you're going to be at the hospital yet?

Dean: No

Dean: I'll explain when ur here

Dean: Mostly cuz I have an IV in my arm & typing w 1 hand is hard

Castiel: I was wondering why you were typing so weirdly. That would make sense.

Dean: It's v hard

Dean: I give up

Dean: Ttyl

Dean: Ily

Castiel: Love you too.

Castiel decides to text Lucifer while he waits for Ketch to get here, even if it won't last very long.

Castiel: Dean texted me again. He's still at the hospital, and he didn't tell me a whole lot, but I do know that he has an IV in and he doesn't know how long he's going to be there. I'll fill you in more when I get there. One of his teammates is going to drive me there.

Castiel waits for his response, but he doesn't get one. Lucifer probably fell asleep. It is pretty late. Maybe he finally decided to listen to common sense and go to bed.

Dean would be getting home just about now if it was a normal day. Instead, Castiel is putting on his shoes and trench coat and heading off to the hospital. It's not quite his ideal nighttime routine, but he doesn't have much of a choice.

It's a few minutes later when there's a knocking on the front door. Castiel peeks out the window to make sure it's Ketch before he opens the door. He pretends not to notice Ketch eyeing his trench coat like he'd rather see it in a fire than on a person. That seems to be the general consensus when it comes to his the coats.

"Hi," Castiel says awkwardly.

"Ready?" Ketch doesn't wait for an answer, gesturing for Castiel to follow him.

Castiel quickly locks the front door, then rushes to catch up with him. He sort of wants to sit in the back seat, just because he knows it will be awkward sitting up front with someone he barely knows, but he doesn't want to give Ketch the impression that he thinks nothing more of him than a chauffeur. He reluctantly sits shotgun and braces himself for the awkward small talk.

As they're pulling out of the driveway, Castiel says, "Thanks for driving me."

"It's really no problem," Ketch says in his light British accent. "Someone has to go make sure Winchester is still in one piece. Might as well take you along since you don't have a license."

"What do you mean, I don't have a license?" Castiel asks. "Of course I have a license. Why wouldn't I have a license?"

"Wait, you do?" Ketch asks, seeming genuinely surprised by that. "I just sort of assumed A-list celebrities like you didn't need one. Don't you have a limo to take you anywhere you want?"

"And make a scene everywhere I go?" Castiel scoffs. "God no. The only people who do that are, like, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé."

"I thought you were bigger than Taylor Swift and Beyoncé," Ketch says, and now he just sounds confused. "I'm pretty sure I hear your name on the radio more than those two combined. Shouldn't that put you in the limo category?"

"What? No one's bigger than Taylor Swift and Beyoncé," Castiel says.

"I'm pretty sure you're wrong but I don't really know," Ketch replies. "So if you have a license, why am I driving you?"

"I don't have a car," Castiel says.

"How do you not have a car?" Ketch asks. "Everyone has a car. Don't you have, like, a billion dollars? Just buy one."

"I wish I had a billion dollars, and I can't buy a car because Dean's driveway isn't big enough for two cars," Castiel explains.

"Then get a bigger driveway," Ketch says. "It can't be that hard, especially with your income. Wait, how much money do you have? I always assumed your type had about a billion dollars."

"I literally have less than half of that," Castiel says.

"But you still have hundreds of millions of dollars? So you're still excessively rich; you're just not a billionaire."

"Why do you care?" Castiel asks, and he realizes after he says it that he may have been a little too sassy with that question.

"I really don't, honestly," Ketch says. "I could probably find your whole net worth with a single google search if I wanted to. But this is just... It's weird."

"What's weird?" Castiel asks, sounding a bit too defensive for the situation.

"You," Ketch says. "You're not what I expected."

"And what were you expecting?" Castiel asks. "A rainbow cape and excessive use of the word 'Yasss'?"

"No," Ketch says, but then adds, "Well, yeah, that's how I used to picture you, but Winchester said that was all just an act. No, it's not the gay thing; it's the rich and famous thing. No offense intended, of course, but I kinda expected you to be all stuck up and snobby, but you're actually just really normal."

"Well, yeah, I'm still a normal person," Castiel says. "People probably think the same thing about you. If the fame didn't get to your head, why would it get to mine?"

"I don't know," Ketch says. "I feel like you live a really different life. My 'fans' just care that we win, and they have no problem taking it out on me if we don't. Your fans literally worship the ground you walk on."

"At least most of the country's never even heard your name," Castiel says. "I have half the world telling me how much they hate me."

"But that's just the trendy kind of hate," Ketch says.

"It's the what?"

"Hating you's just kind of a trend now," Ketch says. "You've been around so long that you're undeniably popular, and everyone thinks they're cool when they hate popular things. It's not like they hate you for something you did or said or some song you sang." He glances over at Castiel, who's just confused. "Did you not know that? I thought it was kind of common knowledge at this point."

"No, that would be news to me," Castiel says.

"Well, surprise," Ketch says. "People hating you is actually kind of a compliment. It just means they think you're popular. It's the same reason people hate people like Taylor Swift and Katy Perry, even though their songs sound exactly like all the other pop songs. I can't believe you didn't know that."

"Well, I never exactly got an outsider's view of the situation," Castiel says.

"Well, now you have," Ketch says. "And if you never make another song like that obnoxious gay one, you'll be fine."

Castiel chuckles. "I would love to agree with that, but it actually reached number one on the Billboard Top 100, so apparently people actually liked it, god knows why."

"So you didn't like it?" Ketch asks. "Your own song? And didn't you write it?"

"Well, yeah, but the songs I like never get anywhere," Castiel says. "Only the obnoxious ones make it on the radio. The good ones are just on the album."

"Really?" Ketch seems genuinely interested in that, although he may just be faking it for Castiel's sake. "Now I'm curious what your actual albums sound like."

"I'm going to tell you to buy one just so I get paid, but honestly, you probably won't like it," Castiel says. "It's a bit too pop-ish."

"I don't have anything against pop music, if that's what you're thinking," Ketch says. "I know your boyfriend would sooner drive off a cliff than turn on the pop radio, but I'm pretty sure he hates it more than everyone else on the planet."

"In that case, maybe you won't hate it too much," Castiel says.

"And didn't he say your music sounds more like Led Zeppelin than modern pop anyway?" Ketch asks.

"You do remember that I never see him at the same time you do, right?" Castiel says. "I have no idea what he's said to you. He could have told you he's plotting my murder for all I know."

"No, isn't that what he said on Jody Mills' show?" Ketch asks.

When even was the last time he was on Jody's show? It was when his last album came out, wasn't it? So it's already been almost two years. How would Castiel remember that?

"Maybe?" Castiel says uncertainly. "I don't know. I forget most of my interviews after a week." He pauses, then asks, "Wait, how do you remember that? That was ages ago."

"Because I still make fun of him for it," Ketch says. He must sense Castiel's uneasiness at that, because he adds, "Don't worry. He knew what he was getting himself into. If he hadn't done that, I would have made fun of him for something else."

"Sounds like a really healthy friendship you've got there," Castiel jokes.

"Oh, definitely," Ketch agrees. "And, just for the record, it's a mutual thing. I don't just relentlessly harass your boyfriend because I can."

"I know," Castiel says. "There's no way Dean would let anyone talk shit to him without doing it right back."

"You're not wrong," Ketch agrees.

"While we're on the topic of Dean, do you know if he's okay?" Castiel asks. "It looked really bad when I saw it."

"Honestly, I haven't got a clue," Ketch says. "I didn't have a very good view from the field so I don't really know what happened. They can handle most things at the stadium, so the fact that he's at the hospital at all isn't promising, but all I've really got to go on is what Mick said."

"And what did Mick say?" Castiel asks.

"Just that Winchester thought he just fractured his leg and would be back on the field by next season," Ketch says. "I don't know if I buy it, because god knows he'd never admit anything's wrong, but it's all he's said."

"Well, let's hope he's right," Castiel says.

"Shouldn't you be hoping he's wrong?" Ketch asks. "Means more alone time for you two."

"At the expense of his career?" Castiel shakes his head. "Not my ideal outcome."

"Well, aren't you selfless," Ketch says. "Probably a good choice, though. He's not the ideal trophy wife."

"He's really not a trophy wife," Castiel says. "If anything, he's kind of the opposite. No one really likes him."

"Of course not," Ketch says. "Have you met him?"

Castiel chuckles. "I should have seen that coming."

"You really should have," Ketch agrees.

"It occurs to me that I never even asked if you guys won tonight," Castiel says.

"Yeah, we actually did pretty good for losing our quarterback mid game," Ketch says.

"So you're off to the Super Bowl next week?" Castiel guesses.

"It would seem so," Ketch replies. "Which is going to be interesting without Winchester there."

"I'm sure you'll do great," Castiel says.

"Careful," Ketch says, "your lack of knowledge of football is showing."

"Just because I don't think losing Dean is going to kill your chances?" Castiel asks. "It's not like he carries the whole team on his back. Didn't the Patriots do really good before he joined?"

"It's not that," Ketch says. "It's that we know what to expect from him. He's fairly consistent."

"Oh, that makes sense," Castiel says, even though it doesn't really make sense.

"How about I leave the explaining to Winchester?" Ketch says.

"Random question, but why do you guys call each other by your last names?" Castiel asks. He's pretty sure he wondered the same thing last time he saw him. "I haven't noticed that with anyone else you two have mentioned."

"That's actually a very good question," Ketch says. He thinks about it for a moment, then says, "I don't know. I think it's just always been like that."

"So there's no secret backstory or anything?" Castiel asks, only partially joking.

"Nope," Ketch replies. "Not unless it's a secret from me, too." He gestures out the window. "And here we are."

"Are you coming in too?" Castiel asks, and he's honestly not sure if he's hoping for a yes or a no. He's actually starting to like Ketch, even after a rocky start to the conversation.

"If you don't mind me interrupting your quality hospital time, then sure," Ketch replies.

"Then you might as well come," Castiel says. "Dean'll probably be glad to see you."

"He's never glad to see me."