The sixth installment of my 'Family and Mates' series. Hot damn I'm having fun with this! It was just supposed to be a solitary one-shot! :P

Enjoy!

Dean did a recount, making sure Mary's backpack for school hadn't been taken out again before he shut the trunk. Rubbing his hands together against the chill he started making his way back up to the house, pausing to check the backseat as he went. Mary didn't seem concerned, focusing her attention on a DS. She'd been through this routine before, but even if she hadn't she still spent a lot of time over at Sam and Gabriel's anyway. Getting to spend the whole week was a treat, especially considering Gabriel was the most lenient when it came to handing out sweets.

Henry was a little different. His car seat was still empty. Dean sighed, making his way back up the porch. Castiel stood in the doorway, face creased in a worried frown. He was in sweat pants and one of the Alpha's old oversized hoodies, feet wrapped in thick socks. He was clinging to Henry, who was already bundled up and ready to go. Dean had loaded everything else up, the toddler was the last thing that needed to be in the car before he left.

"Cas, it's time to go."

"I know. Did you remember the diaper bag?"

"Yeah, it's in there."

"Mary's suitcase? And you remembered to put the bear in too? I know she says she doesn't need it but we don't know if it'll storm or not and she can still get homesick sometimes."

"The bear made it in, Cas, don't worry. I've done this before, remember?"

The Omega nodded, absently brushing at some of Henry's tousled locks. It was dark blond and straight, like Dean's. He was only a year and three months, but it was already very clear which parent he took after physically. His eyes had not only stayed green, the color had gotten more vivid, and he'd sprouted freckles as he'd toddled after Mary and John in the backyard or at the playground. Those bright green eyes were starting to look worried, acutely aware his Omega parent wasn't enthusiastic about this arrangement.

"Cas, let me take him, alright? You and me both know you're gonna start within the next twenty four hours. The sooner I get them over to Sammy's place the better. Neither of us are gonna be in any shape to keep an eye on them much less take care of them once your heat starts. You know this."

Castiel still hesitated, clinging to his youngest tightly. Dean sighed, glancing at Henry's face. This wasn't good. It was already up in the air how well Henry would handle this, it was his first time being away for an extended period. The Omega wasn't helping, even if Dean understood why. This close to a heat his maternal instincts would already be spiking, letting go of his children would be difficult. Particularly the one he still considered his baby. Even knowing it was practical, even knowing it would only be for a few days, even knowing where they were going, even knowing they'd be a phone call away.

"Cas, look at me."

Reluctantly, Castiel lifted his gaze to meet Dean's. The Alpha set his mouth in a tight line, staring right into pained blue eyes. He didn't like having to do this, but he'd had to before. The first heat Castiel had had after Mary he'd clung to her too. The first time was always the hardest, but Dean hadn't expected Castiel to be in tears when he'd finally gotten Mary into the Impala.

"They're gonna be fine, Sam will keep them in line and Gabriel will spoil them. You know that. The longer you hold on to him the harder it's going to be for him. Let him go, Cas. Let me take him. Now."

Dean put his hands around Henry as he spoke, coaxing his grip around the toddler so he could lift him from his mate's arms. Castiel let him take Henry, but he didn't look happy about it. Once the Alpha had Henry on his hip he paused, taking a moment to press a hand to his mate's neck and kissing him gently.

"Go back inside, work on the nest," he murmured, resting their foreheads together. "Okay? I'll be back in a few minutes."

Reluctantly, Castiel mumbled an assent, lowering his gaze.

Dean gave his shoulder a squeeze, then moved away before Castiel could get the chance to change his mind. He had Henry in the backseat and strapped into his car seat in record time, pulling out while trying to ignore the mournful looking Castiel still on their porch.

Mary looked up from her game as they peeled off down the road, frowning at his rearview mirror. "Why does Daddy always look so sad?"

"Because he misses you."

"But we're never gone for the whole week."

"He knows."

She still didn't look convinced, but went back to her game.

With Dean behind the wheel it only took a few minutes for them to pull up in front of Sam's place. Mary was out of the car and making a run for the front door before Dean could even get out. He had to stand in the open door and shout, "Hey! Get back here."

Mary trudged back to the Impala, pouting. Dean opened the trunk then went to get Henry out. She took out her backpack, slinging it over her back and dragging out her suitcase. Henry still didn't look overly thrilled, but he wasn't crying, wrapping both arms around his father's neck and clinging to his back like a monkey so he had both hands free. Dean fished out the remaining two bags as Mary made her way up to the house, slamming the trunk closed. The door swung open as Mary pushed her way through, leaving it wide open. Sam was filling the doorway by the time Dean got to it, a wry twist to his mouth.

"Hey man. Thought you were in court today."

"Long story. Figured I'd try working from home, give Gabriel a hand. The last time you dropped off just Mary he'd locked himself in the laundry room with wine and cake."

Dean arched his eyebrows as he dumped Henry's bags where Mary had already left hers. He could hear her pounding up the stairs, making for John's room. "You guys didn't say they were that bad."

"They weren't, for the most part. But they found his candy stash upstairs and were on a sugar rush for over an hour. Then it was tantrums until they passed out in the living room."

"I can get her back down here, give her a talking to."

"No, it's fine. They were pretty messed up after, and Gabriel keeps whatever stashes he still has under lock and key." Sam reached around, lifting Henry from his brother's back. "Get going, before he notices."

"Who? Him or Gabriel?"

"Both."

Dean chuckled, but didn't argue. He trotted back out to the car as Henry grabbed at Sam's hair, as was his habit. For whatever reason, Henry seemed fascinated by the almost shoulder length hair. As far as Dean was concerned it was the one good thing about his brother's hair style.

By the time he got back to the house, loud opera music was blasting from the speakers and over a dozen vanilla candles were lit. Dean pulled a face, going to turn down the music before he started blowing out the candles. Castiel had always been willing to indulge Dean's habit of blasting his own music, so the Alpha tried not to complain when his rock tunes were occasionally replaced with the sound of a bunch of guys moaning in Italian. For whatever reason, Castiel liked the music, and he found it soothing. He favored the vanilla candles for the same reason, but they didn't come out very often. Dean wasn't a fan of candles. Not inside.

The Alpha went around the house, making sure everything was locked up and put away. It looked like Castiel had gotten a craving for PB&J's before he'd retreated upstairs, and had left a mess. Unusual, but then he wasn't himself at the moment.

Dean grabbed some banana's, the only perishable that wasn't stocked, and pried off his shoes before heading to their bedroom. He set the banana's on the dresser, where water bottles and various other nonperishable's had already been stashed. The mattress wasn't on the bed frame anymore, moved to the floor and wedged against the wall. The hall closet had been flung wide, the shelves mostly empty by now. All the extra pillows and blankets and towels were gone, moved into their bedroom. Castiel had already put most of them to use, and was currently kneeling in the middle of it all, stuffing the remaining soft rags into gaps between the pillows.

"Cas?" he asked carefully, tugging his clothes off after shutting the door.

The Omega barely spared him a glance, moving a blanket from one corner to another. He jammed a towel into the last gap between two pillows, thumped the pillows shielding them from the wall, then sat back on his heels to inspect his work. Dean approached slowly, highly aware Castiel's mood could turn on a dime at the slightest provocation. The first time he'd come home to find his mate in heat Castiel had gone from sobbing, thinking Dean hated him, to a very passionate kiss, to breaking a vase over his head and cursing him to high heaven. In that order. In the space of about two minutes. By the time he'd finally descended into a needy mess, Dean had sported a battered ego, a painful erection, and an eye rapidly going black. After he'd come out of the heat Castiel had been mortified, despite Dean's assurances. Things hadn't been that bad since then, though Dean liked to think it was because he'd learned when it was necessary to tiptoe around Castiel.

"Uh, Cas?" he tried again, tossing his shirt into a corner and undoing his pants.

Finally the Omega turned to regard him, head tilting. "Are they alright?"

"Yeah, they're fine. Don't worry." Dean climbed onto the nest, joining his equally naked mate. When he tried to put his arms around him, though, Castiel shied away.

Peering worriedly into the Alpha's face he asked, "Why did you take them away?"

"I didn't," Dean protested. "You know that. We talked about this. Hell, it was your idea. I took them somewhere safe so you can relax."

Castiel worried his lip, but didn't object as his mate wrapped arms around him, pressing open mouthed kisses to his neck. "Could we call them tonight? Can I talk to them?"

"If your head's screwed on straight." Castiel's uncharacteristic worry and motherly hovering was easier for Dean to tolerate considering he knew very well what it was. Already the air was starting to go thick with Omega hormones, his mate's heat hitting in full, clouding his head with lust as slick production increased. Any other confirmation he might have needed was provided when the Alpha slid a hand down, running it over one buttock. Besides a squeak from his mate, his fingers met a stream of slick already starting to trickle down his legs.

Apparently satisfied by this answer, and urged on by the heat, Castiel turned to intercept the Alpha's mouth. He turned the rest of his body as Dean kissed him, wrapping both arms around his neck, whining needily. A growl rumbled in Dean's chest in response, dumping his mate onto his back in the nest. Now wasn't the time for coddling or love making, that would come later. Right now was the first of many waves that would swamp Castiel and take Dean with him. It was the drive that reduced them to pure instinct and the need to mate. Castiel's body was at a peek fertility point, and pulled out all the stops in order to get an Alpha to breed him. Since he had a mate, all that attention was focused on Dean, reducing them both to base instincts.

It would be a while before they came out of it again, and a full day before Castiel would feel coherent enough for the short window of time to make a phone call. But until then, he was hardly suffering. A mate-less heat was an absolute misery for Omega's. In contrast, those who did have a mate enjoyed absolute paradise.

[][][]MINI BREAK[][][]

Castiel's eyes fluttered open slowly, body cocooned in a haze of warmth and contentedness. The heat still had its hooks in deep, but until the next wave hit he'd be a little more coherent. He shifted, lifting his head groggily. He was very happy where he was, warm and sated, but he was also hungry and had to go to the bathroom. This was where the other part of the heat came into play, something that only happened if you had a mate to help you deal with the first part. Times intended to provide an Alpha the opportunity to care for their Omega, to tend them, nurture them.

The most important of which was hydration. Food was a close second, but considering how much slick an Omega in heat produced dehydration was a common problem if there was no mate to help them. Left on their own they had no interest in sustenance. He had vague memories of Dean coaxing bottle after bottle of water through his lips, coming out of his heat to find dozens of empty plastic bottles scattered around the nest. According to him the problem had only been getting the Omega to start, and once a trickle got down his throat he'd chug what was left on his own. Food was a little harder, and aside from the occasional bit of fruit or half a sandwich the only thing Dean could get down his throat were protein shakes.

Mmm, that sounded good. Castiel remembered Dean bringing in bananas. He wanted a banana. After he used the bathroom, of course. Satisfied with this plan of action, Castiel began to wiggle. At first nothing happened, Dean was out cold. Then he tried sitting up, only to be pushed back down again. The Omega huffed, then whined, wiggling some more.

When Castiel started to sit up again, the warmth wrapped around him stirred, and it occurred to the Omega he wasn't laying by a space heater. He was half under his Alpha, their legs tangled, warm arms wrapped around him, his comforting scent filling Castiel's nose. One arm freed itself, reaching up to stroke the Omega's hair, soothing him into settling back down again.

Castiel closed his eyes, lips tugging upward as the Alpha trailed kisses down his throat, a pleased rumble in his throat. He lay there a minute more, enjoying the moment before turning to a more pressing matter. All it took were a few murmured words accompanied by a soft whine to his mate and Dean drew away, one lingering kiss at a time.

The Alpha let him sit up that time, crawling unsteadily out of the nest. He hovered, clearly not liking Castiel's unsteady gait as he made his way to their bathroom. Once his bladder was empty Dean was very eager to get him back to the nest, and this time Castiel didn't put up a fuss. Not much of an issue anyway, considering an Omega's vocabulary shrank a great deal in this state. A majority of their communication was either non verbal or wordless.

"Stay," murmured the Alpha, pushing him down onto the nest and planting a dominating kiss on his mouth.

Castiel melted beneath him, mewling into the kiss. Satisfied with this, his Alpha drew away, leaving the Omega to curl back up with the warm blankets. Castiel tugged over one of the pillows he left at the nest's head, for their original use rather than a barrier. He pulled it under his head and drew a blanket over himself, watching drowsily as his mate ducked briefly into the bathroom to take care of his own business then went over to the dresser. He retrieved one of the water bottles, the requested banana, and some jerky.

Dean crawled back into the nest, sitting next to Castiel and drawing him upright. The Omega obligingly settled in his mate's lap, nuzzling against his neck contentedly. The Alpha stroked his hair, pressing the half peeled banana into his hands. Castiel munched his way through it, all but purring happily. His cravings tended to fluctuate during the heat, but for whatever reason he either loved the yellow fruit or hated them. At least he was consistent, making things a little easier on Dean.

Once the fruit was gone, Dean tried to get him to eat some of the jerky. Castiel refused that one outright, as he often did. Even when Dean poked a piece against his lips he just turned his head away stubbornly. Eventually his Alpha sighed, popping the piece into his own mouth and tossing the bag out of the nest.

The last thing he opened was the water bottle. Per usual Castiel refused, to which his Alpha responded with a low growl, lips pressing to his ear. Obedient, if reluctant, the Omega parted his lips to let the liquid in. He took a tiny sip, then a bigger one, then a bigger one. He didn't even notice how much he was drinking until the bottle was empty and Dean was taking it away, kissing his temple and murmuring praises.

His needs met, Castiel's eyelids began to flutter. The Alpha laid him back down, settling next to him. Castiel nestled against his chest happily, closing his eyes. Unfortunately it didn't last this time. Before he could doze off, his eyes fluttered open as a fresh wave of lust and need rolled through him.

BREAK/BREAK\BREAK

Gabriel had thought he'd been prepared. All the candy and other sugar-infused goodies were out of reach, his own stash under literal lock and key. He'd already planned to order pizza that night, as the first day they were always too stirred up for him to do anything that resembled cooking. He had made sure they were fully stocked on any snacks or drinks that would keep the miniature terrors fed between meals, he'd put a new padlock on the gate that John hadn't learned to pick yet, and he'd put new batteries in a majority of John's toys. He even had the benefit of Sam this time.

At first things had gone well enough. Henry was content to toddle after Mary and John, as usual, and Gabriel had gotten out John's old toys for when he bored of that. The twins he kept contained on the first floor, but after lunch they got tired of this. It was the first time they'd tested the integrity of the baby gate, which Gabriel soon found didn't do too well against a pair of determined tykes. Mary and John got into a shouting argument over who would spin who on the tire swing outside, and he had to go outside to break it up. By the time he got back inside he found Sam making his way back down the stairs, mouth set, a twin under each arm. Neither looked very repentant.

Things only got worse when Sam got a call from one of his partners, something he couldn't discuss with his mate though apparently it required his immediate presence. The Alpha had been reluctant, asking several times, "Are you sure? I can say no if you need me to stay?" For whatever reason this only served to annoy Gabriel, who eventually had to all but kick his mate out the door.

His annoyance with Sam was short lived. As soon as he was gone the Omega drooped, guilt gnawing at his belly. Why had he been so mean? Sam had just been trying to help. He was being nice, and Gabriel had just bitten his nose off for it.

He didn't get long to mourn this, though. Soon he had to break up the older children yet again, this time from a light saber fight that had gotten too physical. No sooner had he done that than not one, not two, but all three of the younger ones needed changing.

Gabriel had just finished slapping a clean diaper onto the last of them when a shriek emitted from the living room. He ran in to find Mary drawing tattoos on Henry with John's markers while said offspring was attempting to climb the bookcase, the one Gabriel had put their light sabers on top of.

The Omega plunked Orion down on the floor, grabbed the screaming Henry away from his sister, then hauled John off the bookcase. As he read both of them the riot act as sternly as possible without actually swearing, he wondered wildly why it was worse this time. This wasn't a sugar rush like before, this was deliberate and on level with what he was used to dealing with. It was just that there were more of them and they all had decided to act out in the same timeframe.

"I'm going to give him a bath, and when I get back this place is still going to be in one piece, understood? If either of you want any cake after dinner you're going to behave."

Mary looked chastened enough. John, on the other hand, still looked defiant. He'd been like this for the last week. Gabriel didn't like it, but he also knew it was part of raising a kid. Besides, John had been easier than most over all until now. It was high time he'd paid the price most parents had endured by this point, at least to his reasoning.

For the first time in his life Gabriel found himself having to stare down his own son. For a long minute John set his jaw stubbornly, and Gabriel wondered if he'd have to put the kid over his knee. He hated doing it, but he would if he had to, and it was effective.

In the end it was that willingness to hand out discipline that got John to give in, and the Omega knew it. He started to put Henry down, who'd settled to a quieter level of sniffles, and John blurted, "Fine!"

Gabriel adjusted Henry on his hip, glancing at the twins. Artemis was pushing a baby walker around the living room, the kind with lots of fun buttons and thingamabobs on the front should she get tired of walking, babbling baby nonsense. Orion, unlike his sister, seemed to be acutely aware of the tension flying over his head. He was the only one of Gabriel's children so far that had inherited his father's eyes, for which he was glad. He sat where Gabriel had plopped him on a thick blanket, those big, innocent doe eyes were staring up at him, chubby arms wrapped around his favorite stuffed Tigger. The one even Artemis wasn't allowed to touch. Gabriel had to sneak it away at night to wash it and smuggle it back into the boy's crib by the time he woke up, or there would be hell to pay.

For whatever reason, having a clearly worried Orion staring up at him and clutching his favorite toy eased the anger that had been burning in his chest. He sighed, nodding at the TV. "Watch a movie or something while I give Henry a bath," he ordered wearily. "And keep an eye on the twins, would you?"

This seemed to divert the older children easily enough. They were making for the stash of movies as Gabriel climbed the stairs, feeling more worn out than he thought he should be. Castiel would have more to juggle, at least in comparison to his normal load, once Gabriel's own heat came around. He never heard his brother complain. What's more, while they called it a week Castiel was always kicking Dean out of his nest after five days with orders not to come back without his kids. It was one of those things that differed for every Omega, how long a heat was and how intense. Gabriel, meanwhile, took the full seven days.

Henry had stopped crying, but he looked miserable. Gabriel didn't blame him. He found at least half a dozen very badly done marker tattoo's, which he had to admit were somewhat creative. If he'd been having a better day, and Henry didn't look so miserable, he might have found the antic amusing. The doodles ranged from a pink flower on one knee to the classic arrow through the heart on his arm to what he thought might have been a skull on the back of his neck.

Not for the first time Gabriel thanked a variety of deities he'd had the foresight to get washable markers. All it took was a single occasion of finding John in the hallway with an assortment of Sharpies he'd taken from Sam's home office. He'd been two, something very evident in his art. They'd had to outright repaint that section, and to this day one portion of the wall was visibly brighter than the rest. For what it was worth, Gabriel had had a good laugh when he'd walked in on a very guilty looking John wearing only a diaper and a black marker in each hand. Sam's expression, when he'd come home to find the artwork, had been less amusing. Gabriel had found himself being used as a shield, their son peeking out from around his leg at his outraged father. The Omega had simply waited out his temper, then pointed to the bucket of fresh paint he'd made sure to procure prior to Sam's arrival. He'd informed the Alpha in a stern tone, "Either help me or go away." Sam had still looked pretty pissed off, but had stiffly gone about prepping the area to paint. He liked to do things by the book, breaking out the blue tape and plastic. In the end the worst he'd done was banish John to his room for the rest of the day and revoke dessert privileges for a week, which unknown to him Gabriel had ignored when he wasn't home.

In the end it didn't take overly long to scrub Henry clean. He seemed to be in a better mood once his skin was marker-free, splashing in the tub contentedly by the time Gabriel wrapped a towel around him, hoisting him out. He dried the toddler off, drained the tub, and got him back into his clothes. Satisfied, the Omega made his way back downstairs, not noticing until he was setting Henry down at the stair's foot that there was too much noise coming from the living room. One of the perks of putting the kids in front of a movie was that it kept them quiet. If it was one they liked they'd sit, transfixed, for however long it ran. If he was lucky they'd even fall asleep. Wall-E was a personal favorite because not only did Artemis love it, but she was guaranteed to be unconscious by the fire extinguisher scene. He could make out the familiar dialogue from Toy Story, which he took as a good sign. Okay, they'd agreed on one, but what were they doing? It sounded like at least two of them were arguing, and there was clattering. There shouldn't be clattering. There shouldn't be talking. There shouldn't anything but the movie. Oh gods...

Uneasy, Gabriel put the baby gate back up in a hurry before rushing to the living room, only to stop dead in his tracks.

At first they didn't even notice him. Yes Toy Story had made it into the DVD player, and an exasperated Woody was coordinating a recon mission, but the only one who seemed to be paying attention was Orion. Orion who was sitting with a cup of applesauce in his lap, face and hands smeared with it, more on the front of his shirt. He was ignoring the rabble next to him, jamming applesauce covered fingers into his mouth. Technically the twins were still being breastfed, but only about half the time. They were trying to wean them before the next kid came, with mixed results. Considering the chaos next to him, Gabriel was glad Orion was just eating applesauce.

Apparently, the kids had decided to make their own snacks for the movie. Gabriel's biggest mixing bowl had been filled with popcorn, three microwavable bags scattered around the floor, along with dozens of un-popped kernels. It was drizzled in what appeared to be chocolate sauce and ketchup, judging by the still open bottles lying on the carpet. They had also added an entire bag of mini marshmallows, though it looked like they'd had to tear into the bag with their teeth. One of the older kids, probably John, had put the twins up on the couch, one on either side. Artemis had been given a jar of marshmallow fluff, which she was eating via fingers stuffed into the jar. The white goo was on her face, her hands, her shirt, in her hair, and on the couch. Over the arguing of her brother and cousin she kept shrieking, "I want one! I want one!" On the floor in front of the couch, next to the big bowl of messy popcorn, John and Mary were fighting over a jar of pickles.

As Gabriel watched, still in shock, John gave a particularly hard tug, yanking the jar from Mary's grip. Unfortunately he lost his own in the process, and the jar went flying. Pickle juice was added to the carpet's new decor as the jar spun out, loosing several pickles along the way.

For a moment, Gabriel didn't move, didn't speak. He hadn't been gone ten minutes. He'd made sure of that. The Omega had no idea how they'd managed to do so much damage in such a short period of time. Then it hit him that if the living room looked this bad, what was the kitchen like?

At first Gabriel didn't realize what was happening. He went cold all over, limbs and fingers tingling, black starting to close in around the edges of his vision. The Omega stumbled a step, and the kids finally fell quiet, even Artemis, as they noticed him. He had every intention of letting them have it, probably not in a very G rated manner, but when he opened his mouth nothing came out.

What's wrong with me? he wondered wildly. Wait, am I...am I falling?

Slowly, one hand braced on the doorway, Gabriel found himself descending to his knees, the black gradually growing to cover his vision entirely. He felt his shoulder hit the floor, his breath loud in his ears, but after that all went blank.

[][][]MINI BREAK[][][]

The first thing Gabriel noticed was the poking. Things were poking him on both sides, hard things. Something else kept prodding his cheek. There was also a weight on his chest, and ringing in his ears. As the ringing began to fade, he was able to make out familiar voices babbling in distraught tones.

At first he fought the urge to groan, struggling to open his eyes. What were they fighting about now? Why was he on the floor anyway? He didn't remember lying down.

Then what the voices were saying became clear, and Gabriel's eyes snapped open.

John crouched by his head, face torn and scared, cradling Gabriel's cell phone to his ear. He'd sounded close to tears as he begged, "What do we do? He's still not moving, Dad. Hurry, his face is all white and he doesn't feel warm. He's not gonna die, is he? He can't die, please don't die."

Mary was standing at his feet, their home phone pressed to one ear. She looked white herself, eyes wide and wild, voice panicky as she demanded, "Can't they get here any faster? Turn on the siren and the lights, people always move out of the way. No, his eyes still aren't open. Wait, they are! They're open! He's awake! He's not dead!"

Gabriel winced as he struggled to sit upright, looking down to find a tearful Artemis curled up on his chest. He also noticed most of their toys had been positioned around his sides, which were the hard poking things. Orion was toddling back towards him, tears on his chubby cheeks and a lamb rattle in one fist. His prized Tigger was already under Gabriel's right hand. Henry had positioned himself behind the Omega's head, and was prodding his cheek very insistently with an index finger, green eyes worried. He beamed when he saw Gabriel was awake, withdrawing his hand. Orion dropped the rattle and reached both arms out towards his Omega parent, a fresh wail already on his lips. Artemis sat up, still covered in marshmallow fluff, and threw her sticky arms around his neck before he could get himself upright.

Groaning, he put an arm around each twin as he sat up, head spinning. Years of partying finally came in handy, as while he felt somewhat hung over he still managed a very convincing, "I'm not dying, John. Don't give your old man a heart attack. You're not talking to 911, are you?"

Mary nodded, eyes still wide but intent. "Linda says you fainted. She said the ambulance will be here in three minutes." She paused, then corrected, "One minute. Daddy says if something bad happens and it's an emergency you always call 911."

Before Gabriel could free an arm to snatch the phone away from her, the door to the garage was thrown open. He jumped, then sighed as Sam came running. He dropped to his knees next to the Omega, wrapping two long arms around him and holding him tight. He only loosened his grip when a squished Artemis protested, but even then he didn't go far. He stroked a hand through Gabriel's hair then pressed it to his forehead, looking him over carefully. Gabriel was startled when he realized his mate's hands were actually shaking a little as they worked.

"What happened?" Sam demanded, voice steadier than his hands. "Why'd you pass out? You scared them half to death."

Gabriel made a face. "I'm fine, relax big boy."

Needless to say, Sam didn't believe him. The ambulance showed up when the 911 operator, Linda Mary had called her, said it would. John ran to open the door for them as they strode up the yard, Sam refusing to budge. He only moved away at the paramedic's insistence, so they could work. Gabriel tried to protest, but was silenced by a hard look from his mate.

It was a true testament to his concern that Sam didn't comment on the mess in their living room, just went around picking things up before taking the bowls and jars back into the kitchen. At first Gabriel was glad to have one less person hovering as the paramedics did their thing, but he started to get worried when he heard the vacuum cleaner turn on.

"What are you doing?" he called, twisting around to look back. "What did they do?"

Judging by the guilty look Mary and John exchanged, nothing good.

"Never mind. I don't want to know. So am I good? There's nothing wrong?"

"Please hold still sir."

Gabriel made a face, but did as he was bid. They gave him oxygen and had checked everything from his blood pressure to his retinal response. Eventually one of them asked, almost absently, "Is there any chance you might be pregnant?"

The Omega frowned. "What would that have to do with this?"

"Your blood pressure is a little low, but otherwise we aren't seeing any symptoms. Are you a diabetic?"

"No. Wait, I passed out because I'm knocked up?"

The chatty one of the two glanced at the still hovering children. "It hasn't been a symptom previously?"

"Okay first of all, only three of them are mine. Second, no it hasn't." He hesitated, then admitted slowly, "I didn't have morning sickness the first time, just with the twins." He turned that over, then made a face as it hit home. Well, so much for needing a heat. "So I get fainting spells the third time around?" he demanded incredulously. Turning to shout into the kitchen he called, "Dean-o still owes us one, big boy. We won't be needing that heat."

Sam materialized in the doorway, sleeves rolled up, arms streaked with what looked like pudding, and paper towels covered in orange juice in his hands. Ignoring Gabriel, he turned on the paramedics and demanded, "He passed out because he's pregnant?"

The two exchanged looks, then both Betas looked back up at the looming Alpha. Gabriel rolled his eyes. He kept forgetting how intimidating Sam could be in Alpha-mode, particularly when they didn't know him.

"I've heard of it happening," he prompted.

"Uh, yes, it's a possibility. There's no other symptoms that we can find. You didn't have a stroke or a heart attack, but we'd recommend a CT scan just in case. You might want to get a pregnancy test while you're at it."

Gabriel closed his eyes slowly. Great. Just great. Why couldn't he just keep having cravings that made even Dean turn green? That had been so much fun, if weird to think about later. He and Castiel still laughed at remembering the look on his brother-in-law's face when he'd put horseradish and hot sauce on a piece of bacon-wrapped cherry pie.

Opening his eyes again as the paramedics packed up their gear, he looked down at his still flat tummy. "If you're this much trouble before you're even born," he informed it, "you'd better be a very well behaved rug rat."

There are no names as of yet for the final additions to the Winchester clan, but if you make suggestions they will be considered! :)

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