A/N: Yeah, another story! Multi-chapter Sabriel for the win, woot! N

Now, I just want to warn you guys that this one is more drama than good, old-fashioned humor, so please read and leave comments!

Chapter One

It had been over two weeks. Dean was sitting on the end of his bed in another strange motel room, scowling and drinking a beer in angry silence.

Sam was sitting at the tiny table in the room, hunched over slightly since the chair and table were just a touch too short for him to sit comfortably. He was typing away on his laptop, trying to glean information on their latest case. Well, mostly that's what he was doing. In another open tab on his computer he was looking up news articles of strange incidents—ironic cases of karma, like jerks getting their "just desserts."

Sam was keeping an eye out for Gabriel, to see if he was up to his usual tricks. Ever since the Geronimo incident (as Dean referred to it), the archangel hadn't come around, leaving them on their own, and leaving Sam to deal with the moody older brother.

This was pissing off Sam to no end. He'd finally—finally—gotten Gabriel in bed, and his older brother was playing professional cock-blocker, with the intention of getting the gold medal for it.

Dean hadn't left Sam's side, and he was always in their motel room. He hadn't gone out to a bar or even to the grocery store without forcing Sam to tag along, and Dean was getting grumpier and grumpier on his self-imposed baby-sitting stint.

After Dean let out another sigh of irritation, Sam closed the laptop harder than necessary. "Hey, Dean," Sam started, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Dean glanced at him, but continued to drink his beer in moody silence.

Sam sighed. "So, I can't seem to find anything on this ghost. City records don't seem to show anything out of the ordinary. Maybe the locals know something? There's a local legend about a woman in white that attacks men near that bar, Logger's Head. Why don't you do some recon there?"

Dean looked at up Sam, eyes narrowed in suspicion, but Sam managed to look completely casual.

"And what were you going to do?" Dean asked curiously.

Sam motioned in irritation at the laptop. "Well, since there doesn't seem to be anything online, I figured I'd hoof it to the library. Maybe even city hall if necessary. Check the town records for who this woman could be, and why she's at that bar, etc."

Dean finished his beer with a long swallow, and tossed it in the trash can next to the bed. "Alright, then library or bar first, where do you want to go?"

Although mentally Sam was pissed, his managed to keep his face impassive. "Dean, it would be faster if we split up and—"

"Yeah, not gonna happen Sammy."

Sam stood angrily, glaring at Dean, who was glaring right back from the bed. "What's your problem, Dean? You've been so far shoved up my ass these past few weeks I've been having trouble sitting down! What gives?" Sam demanded.

Dean stood up, and put his hands on his hips. "My problem? My problem is about this tall," he said, holding his hand at shoulder height, "has golden eyes, and a real sugar addiction. Don't act innocent Sam, I walked in on you! The image of you and Gabriel making out naked in our room has been permanently burned into my retinas!" Dean snapped.

"Well, next time knock, dumbass," Sam retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Next time? Oh, no, there will be no 'next time'! Naked making out leads to naked other things, and I'm not letting you sleep with Gabriel," Dean said, scrunching up his face in disgust. "He's the Trickster, Sam! He's an Archangel! He's all the different kinds of asshole we've had to deal with in one little compact package of dick!"

Sam rolled his eyes in anger, but in his mind he was thankful Dean only thought they were making out. If he'd realized they had done more than that, he would have probably tried to deep fry the angel already.

"Gabriel is helping us, Dean!" Sam said hotly. "Or did you think that group of demons two days ago just offed themselves for the fun of it?"

They had been surrounded by a group of demons at least over a dozen strong, and just when they were about to be taken care of (Sam carted off to Lucifer and Dean killed) all of them had died. Simply fallen over, dead. Sam could have sworn hearing a snap, and the rustling of feathers before the demons fell…

"Or what about the fact that you haven't paid for gas since Gabriel agreed to help us?" Sam said. It was true; no matter how far they had driven, every time they'd gotten in the car, the Impala was still on F. It was actually surprising how much money they had saved when they weren't paying for gas for the old car.

Dean looked pissed that Sam has brought the car into it; their argument didn't need to involve Baby.

"What happened to you being okay with working with Gabriel?" Sam asked.

"Working with him is not the same thing as being okay with him…doing inappropriate things with my little brother! Come on, man, you know how con-men work! That's what we are! He's dangerous and you have a terrible track record when it comes to what you sleep with!" Dean snarled.

Sam looked like he had just been smacked across the face. The look of hurt and betrayal that flashed across his face made Dean hate himself for causing that look, but he had to get Sam to understand.

"The last person you had a relationship with was Ruby, and she tricked you into ending the world. What the hell could Gabriel, a professional Trickster and Archangel, manipulate you into doing? No, I'm sorry Sam, but I've got to watch out for you since you can't seem to do it yourself."

The color drained out of Sam's face. With an angry scoff he walked towards the door, grabbing his jacket and angrily shoving his arms into the sleeves, without saying a word to Dean.

"Sam," Dean started to say, but Sam whipped around and focused a stare of such cold fury onto his brother's face that Dean was struck mute. He swallowed nervously, realizing he might have just pushed Sam too far and was now unsure he could reel his brother back. "Sam, wait—"

"You keep bringing up the fact that I started the Apocalypse, like I haven't had that weighing on me since the second Lilith died. You really think I might have forgotten that little detail, Dean? Because I haven't.

"Every day, it's like I'm a punching bag, and I beat myself up about my mistakes. And if I don't feel like I deserve this beating, then the angels do. And if I manage to not catch the angels' attention that day, then Lucifer rubs it in my face in my dreams. And then, if I manage to stay up after all those hits, you come along and deal the final blow." Sam said in a quiet voice, his calm tone revealing just how close he was to kicking Dean's ass all over the room.

Dean stood there, disgusted with himself, but unable to back down and unsure what to do.

Sam glared at him, and put his hand on the doorknob, then paused. "Everyone likes to remind me that I killed Lilith, but no one seems to remember that you started this too, Dean. You broke the first seal, remember? We are both just as guilty as the other, yet I never bring it up because I know you're dealing with that aftermath all the time. You have nightmares, you barely sleep, your drinking is becoming a real problem. I don't kick you when you're down, Dean, so why do you feel the need to do it to me?"

Sam left those bitter words in the air as he wrenched the door open, and slammed it behind his hurrying form. Not wanting Dean to follow, he ran as fast as possible from the motel. His jacket flapped around him and his feet sounded like thunder on the pavement as he ran across the empty street towards a small patch of trees.

Once the motel was out of sight, obscured by trees and bushes, he stopped and started pacing around, growling and grunting in anger. He kicked at a rock and sent it flying through the air, and he was trying desperately not to cry. They ignored him though, and Sam felt the hot tears fall down his face. He picked up another rock and threw it as hard as possible, allowing all the bottled up emotions to be released at that moment.

Gabriel felt the prayer rather than heard it, and he knew something was terribly wrong. Sam hadn't prayed to him, not in the traditional sense, but his soul had cried out with such force that Gabriel was up and flying before he'd even realized what had called him. Sam was suffering, and that was all Gabriel needed to know. Luckily, he hadn't been in the middle of a job (not that it would have mattered—the trickster would have dropped everything anyway to race to Sam's side).

Gabriel appeared in a little patch of woods, and he looked around the recent damage, taking it in and trying to figure out what might have happened.

Small bushes were ripped out of the ground, large rocks thrown about, a few low-hanging tree branches had been ripped right off the trees themselves and tossed about. Now more worried than curious, he turned around and saw Sam Winchester, huddled on the ground in the middle of the carnage. He sat on the ground, knees pulled up to his chest and arms wrapped around his body; quiet, shuddering breaths came from his chest.

It was such a shock to see the calm and happy brother so distraught that Gabriel was frozen solid in shock for a good ten seconds. He reached out with his Grace to see where Dean was, but was surprised to see the older Winchester about half a mile away and still very much alive. Something had driven Sam to this breaking point, though, and Gabriel realized that he was going to kill whatever it was.

"This is one hell of a temper tantrum, Samsquatch," Gabriel said slowly, quietly as too not spoke the hunter. "What in the world did the shrubbery ever do to you?" he tried to joke.

Sam looked up, and the archangel saw just how red his eyes were, the tear stains down his face. Sam tried to wipe them away, suddenly ashamed to be caught in such a state by the archangel himself. "Gabriel, uh…what're…what are you doing here?"

Gabriel was suddenly kneeling at Sam's side. "You called me, Sambo."

Sam tilted his head curiously. "Wait, what?"

Gabriel tapped his chin, trying to figure out how to explain it without scaring the poor Winchester off. He decided, for once, that honestly was probably the best policy. "Well, Sam, the best way I describe it is that your soul called out to me, and I answered. Sort of an unconscious prayer thing."

"I—prayed to you?" Sam said, unsure how to react to that. He looked so embarrassed, it was downright adorable. "I, uh, I didn't mean to—drag you from work."

"No biggie, Samikins. Just finished up a job myself," Gabriel said in a dismissive tone.

"But, how did I do that? And did anyone else hear it? Oh, God, did Lucifer hear that?" Sam asked in a horrified tone. His eyes darted around, suddenly expecting the Devil to appear next to them.

Gabriel put his hands up to keep Sam from bolting. "Easy there, big guy, no need to give yourself an aneurysm! That S.O.S. was for me only."

"I'm sorry," Sam said again. "I didn't…I didn't mean to be a bother," the hunter said with downcast eyes, trying to take several deep breathes to calm himself.

"What happened, Sam?" Gabriel asked. He didn't like seeing the hunter in such a vulnerable state. His hand gravitated to Sam's shoulder and he patted it in a slightly awkward/comforting fashion.

"Dean," Sam said in a huff, trying to sound nonchalant but his voice cracked at his brother's name.

Even though the layers of clothes, Sam could feel Gabriel's hand pause and then become hard with anger. Looking through his bangs, wet with sweat from his outburst, Sam saw the righteous fury in the archangel's eyes on his behalf. The realization that that anger was on his behalf made Sam suddenly feel a little better.

"What did he do?" Gabriel asked incredulously. "I've seen you two fight and I don't think I've ever seen deforestation like this before."

The tears had stopped as he let out a low chuckle; Sam's breathing was mostly back to normal now. Feelings of frustration and betrayal were now becoming embarrassment, but Gabriel didn't shy away from Sam. Though he didn't seem sure what to do, exactly, he didn't seem to be a rush to run away, either.

So, Sam explained what it was like being under house arrest for the past weeks and argument with Dean which was the straw that broke the camel's back. The whole time he could see Gabriel's eyes change from warm amber to sharp gold. Sam half expected the archangel to go smite his brother as soon as he was done talking.

"Don't tempt me, Sam," Gabriel said. His tone was strained; he was trying to make a joke of it, but the anger was too real and too raw for him to hide.

"Reading minds isn't nice," Sam said.

"It's not mind-reading if you're practically shouting your thoughts at me," Gabriel pointed out, but he smirked slightly. "I could go smite him, though. Just to teach him a lesson. I'd bring him right back, no one would know," he said to Sam, and the hunter actually let out a little chuckle.

"Dean's an asshole, but I wouldn't let you do that to him."

"You are, literally, too good for your own good sometimes, Sam," Gabriel said with a little chuckle. It was more in amazement, to be honest.

"Yeah, well, give Dean half a chance and he'll convince you otherwise."

Gabriel stood in front of Sam. He held Sam's face in his hands, forcing the young Winchester to look at the archangel. "Sam, you did the right thing. Your brother needs to be reminded sometimes that people screw up, himself included. But he also needs to be reminded that people can learn from their past mistakes. That's why I do the work I do. It doesn't happen often but people do change for the better."

His eyes softened a little, and his warm hands seemed to dry the rogue tears that once in a while leaked from Sam's hazel eyes. "I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't realize your brother would be such an ass about us. I wasn't trying to do that to you."

"Are you saying that, if you'd known Dean would react like this, you wouldn't have slept with me?" Sam asked. His eyes got that hurt look again.

"I'm saying I would be rigged it so we wouldn't have gotten caught!" Gabriel said, laughing. "You're awesome, Sam! And I won't let your bone-headed brother make you think any differently about yourself."

Gabriel offered a hand to Sam. Sam hesitated for a second (mostly because he wasn't sure how little Gabriel was going to help his giant body off the ground). With surprising strength, Gabriel hauled Sam to his feet without hesitation. The hunter wiped off his face and dusted off his jeans and jacket.

With a snap, Gabriel replanted the rocks and bushes, and returned the tossed limbs to the trees, leaving the spot in pristine condition. "Remind me never to piss you off, there, Banner," Gabriel joked, and Sam blushed sheepishly.

"I, uh, normally don't do that," he said.

"Yeah, I've noticed. Figured if you had it in you this whole time, you would have ripped me limb from limb after Mystery Spot than simply beg for your brother back. By the way, regretting that yet?"

Sam gave Gabriel a look, and the archangel realized that those particular jokes were still off the table.

"Well, now that your emotional crisis seems averted for now, what do you want to do?" Gabriel asked, removing his hand from Sam's shoulder and watching the hunter curiously.

Sam ran a hand through his hair, hating the stiffness of his hair as it dried from the sweat from earlier. "I don't know. I'm not ready to deal with Dean. I suppose if I call Bobby I could stay at his place for a while. I just…I need some time to deal with all this, you know?"

Gabriel nodded in understanding. Suddenly, his eyes lit up at a thought and Sam was suddenly a little nervous. "I've got an idea! How about a little vacation from Dean? You two have been super-glued to each other's side since he came back from the basement, and before that you two never separated for long. You're too dependent on each other! So, why don't you come with me? For like a week or so?"

Sam's eyes opened wide. "With you? Like, with…you, with you?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "I think I've been overestimating your ability to understand English, Sam. Yes! With. Me. Come on, it'll be fun, and we won't have to worry about Dean-o walking in on us again," he said with a mischievous smile.

"Dean will kill me if I run off with you after that fight. But, I couldn't live with myself if something happened to Dean while I was gone. Not to mention the fact that it's the end of the world."

"Nothing will happen to your brother. And I can rewind the time back to this exact moment, so he'll never know you were gone, and the end will still be neigh! You'll simply be in a better place to deal this this shit when you're back."

Sam looked at Gabriel, who was beaming in pride at his brilliant plan. He knew he should have been wary of the archangel, especially at the idea of being 'whisked away' by him to parts unknown and no one knowing where he was.

And yet, he was honestly considering it. Sam wanted to time to himself, away from his life and responsibilities. He wanted away from the Apocalypse. He wanted to get away from Heaven, and Hell, and Lucifer, and Dean.

Sam wanted to get away, and he wanted to do it with Gabriel. After all, the Trickster still brought Dean back after the Mystery Spot, he was still helping them like he said he would. He kept his promises, and so far, he was the most trustworthy being on Sam's side right now.

Sam looked at Gabriel, a sigh escaping him. "Gabriel, I can't," he said, sounding upset with himself. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to get it out of his face, and tried not to look at the disappointment on the angel's face. "It'll just prove his point, that I'm a runaway who can't hack my mistakes. It'll give him ammo for later."

Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest, and managed to give Sam his most potent pout he had (lip quiver and wide eyes included), hoping it would sway the wary Winchester.

It did manage to make Sam laugh, which, in the end, was completely worth it.

"Alright, spoil sport! But, you don't have to go back just yet. We can let him stew in his juices for another hour. Why don't we do something fun, get your mind off of the drama?"

Sam's eyes lightened up at the thought. "Uh, what did you have in mind?"

Gabriel smiled widely, and bowed. "Anything you want! Trickster Archangel here, remember? I can pretty much give you whatever you want, and take you wherever you'd like to visit. Just say the word, kiddo!"

Images of faraway places flashed in Sam's mind, places like the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, the Himalayan Mountains, and dozens others. Reading about exotic places in books always made him want to travel there, but at this moment, it wasn't those places he wanted.

Instead, he let out a sheepish chuckle, and glanced at Gabriel's eyes a little nervously. "Anywhere in the world, huh? Well, how about…your place?"

Gabriel let out a surprised laugh. "You never cease to surprise, kiddo. But, sure, my place," the Trickster said, and with a snap of his fingers they were gone from the forest clearing.