Warnings: Not really any. This isn't a Stephanie Meyer thing, Gabriel does NOT have the hots for an toddler. This is NOT a slash fic. Just showing how Gabriel may have looked out for/messed with the Winchesters when they were younger.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Supernatural. All characters belong to their respected creators and the brilliant actors that portray them.

Notes: Wee!Chesters. Dean is 8. Sam is 4. Gabriel is of course 2,000.

One-shot

Watching Over Winchesters

Dean ran as fast as his small legs could carry him. His little brother Sammy had just turned 4 less than a week ago and now thanks to Dean's carelessness, that might be the oldest he ever got.

'Watch Sammy, look out for Sammy, keep Sammy safe...' A mantra of his dad's voice telling him to always protect Sammy ran through his mind as his chest heaved, looking around wildly for the mop of brown curly hair. John never had to tell Dean to protect Sam, it had always been his job ever since the moment he had handed a 6 month old baby to the 4 year old to carry out of their burning home that toke the life of their mother. Dean had held on tight to Sam then and in that moment an unbreakable bond formed between him and the small bundle in his arms. He remembered the frustrated, anxious feeling when John had taken Sam away from him to cradle in his own arms as he sat on the hood of the '67 Impala and watched the firemen rushing to save what was left of their home with his 2 sons.

And now only 4 years later, John had pulled into the small town in Colorado after getting a tip about a hunt from Pastor Jim. He'd packed up in the motel room and left Dean with the same instructions he always did.

"Dont' answer the door, don't answer the phone. Gun is by the door, shoot first ask questions second."

His dad had a specific pattern for when he called so Dean would know if he was supposed to pick up but the phone had remained silent all day while John was out around town questioning people about the recent bizarre murders happening all over the place. People being murdered - ripped to peices -by something and finding dinosuar tracks in the woods and sightings of the loch ness monster hinted at something over the elder Winchesters hunting skills and he was trying to get ahold of his old buddy Caleb to come give him a hand although his pride was kicking him in the nuts for it.

Sam was sitting on the floor infront of the tv, his legs splayed out with legos forgotten inbetween them as his wide hazel eyes were glued to the screen watching the Power Rangers battle a ridiculous looking hydra monster from space and a woman who resembled the Disney villian Malificient from Sleeping Beauty or Snow White or...one of those dopey Disney movies their dad let Sammy watch, he couldn't remember which one.

Dean made a bleching motion thinking of the princesses frolicing around with their Prince Charmings and was glad to see his baby brother taking interest in something that would toughen him up for his future in hunting. He sighed, pressure and stress settling in on him in a way no 8 year old should have to deal with.

His little Sammy was still so innocent. He had no idea of what evil laid out there in the dark and how long would he be able to keep that pure out look on life? As long as he could, Dean would make sure of that. The thing that killed their mom toke away any chance Dean had for a normal childhood and he wasn't going to let that happen to Sammy too. Not as long as he'd be around to kill any evil sonovabitch before it got to Sammy to corrupt the young kids soul.

Looking around the dingey motel room, Dean made up his mind in an instant.

"Hey Sammy, wanna go play outside?"

John protested against his young boys being outside without him, especially while he was on a hunt. But Sammy was so young and Dean hated to see him wasting what little bit of innocence he had just sitting around in the dim lighting on this dirty floor. He needed fresh air and some fun. Because who knew how long it'd be before he still had that option. Before he found out the truth about what their dad did for a living and he had to join into the family buisness.

Sam's face broke into a wide smile as he excitedly nodded and stumbled to his feet. Dean hoisted him up with amazing strength for someone so young and onto the wooden chair by the door to help him put on his sneakers as his little legs swung back and forth, dangling feet above the floor.

"Hold still Sammy, I can't tie them..." Dean tried to use the same voice his dad used when giving them an order but the tone was lost when he looked at his little brother's smile and his voice turned gentle. The only response from Sam was a giggle and his small hands placing themselves in Dean's short hair that spiked wildly all over the place.

Taking Sam's tiny hand as he slid off the chair, Dean grabbed a silver knife to tuck into his pocket before unlocking the door and leading his baby brother outside into the sunlight.

Behind the motel there was a vast expanse of woods that Dean made a mental note to stay away from and opted for letting Sam run in circles in the grass on the other side of the sidewalk. He couldn't tell if Sam was pretending to be a broken airplane or a bat from the way he was holding his arms straight out from his sides and made small noises that he couldn't tell were vrooms, squeaks, or both.

He sat down in the grass, his bright green eyes carefully watching the curly brown hair blow in the breeze. There were some moments that you wanted to last forever and commit to memory to always be there even if you had ammesia. To always be there even if only in your dreams and this was one of them for Dean. To see Sam so carefree and happy was worth all the yelling and scolding he would get from John later if he found out Dean had let him outside.

And that was how it happened. One second he was watching Sammy enjoy his young life and Dean looked away for only a minute to watch an almost-car accident, distracted by the screeching of tires and loud blares of horns. When he turned back Sam was gone. And now he was running through the woods after scouring around the motel and the parking lot for the toddler. The kid was only 4 years old for crying out loud. How far could he have gotten?

Far enough. Dean heard faint crying and rushed to the edge of a deep ditch to see his baby brother at the bottom, crying his little heart out in the shallow water. He thanked whatever God existed that this town had a recent dry spell that left the ditch mostly drained and made a mental note to teach Sam how to swim soon.

"Hang on Sammy!" He yelled down, the cries stopping as those bright hazel eyes turned up and saw his big brother, his savior, to the rescue as Dean eased himself over the edge and let himself slide down the into the ditch, the leaves crunching beneath him and slightly softening the fall against the hard dirt and fallen branches.

As soon as Dean landed Sammy was on him, his tiny arms clinging around his waist for dear life and Dean let himself wrap his own arms around Sam, holding him close for reassurance that he was ok. His green eyes scanned over the small form but saw nothing but small scratches and breathed a sigh of relief.

Now he just needed to get Sammy out of here, get him back to the motel room and into a cool bath to wash him off, maybe get some antisceptic and band-aids on him and everything would be ok.

But as he looked for a way to climb out he saw only steep, slippery walls surrounding them, as far down as Dean could see in either direction. He could always struggle to climb himself back up the way he'd come down but it was quickly growing dark and he didn't want to leave Sammy alone, not even for a second. Surely their dad would be home soon with dinner and come looking for them. He'd be furious at Dean when he found them but at least Sammy would be safe and that was the important part.

He held his little brother close, the water soaking through his pants and prayed that someone would find them soon, screaming for help as loud as he could, desperation deep in his voice.

"HELP! HEY! Can anyone hear me? Anyone? PLEASE? HELP US!"

What he didn't expect however, was for his prayers to be answered as someone suddenly, quite literally, appered out of nowhere. Dean hadn't even seen or heard him approaching but all of a sudden he heard leaves crunching and the splash of someone landing in the water and looked over, his young hunter instincts on guard and sending off alarms to see a man with dark ginger hair crouching down next to the boys.

He looked younger than their dad and maybe a bit shorter. He was clean shaven, and up close Dean could see that his brown eyes were actually green with so many flecks of light brown that they seemed almost amberish green in the last rays of the evening sunlight. His nose and chin were pointed and Dean found himself wanting to play with the man's ears that didn't seem to match the rest of him and reminded him a bit of a floppy puppy's ears.

"Hey kiddos, what happened?"

His voice was gentle and concerned but had a sing-song tone to it like someone who had alot of fun and was used to handling small children, knowing how to easily keep them calm or as if he knew a secret he wasn't telling.

Dean swallowed. He wasn't supposed to talk to strangers but this was an emergency. And if this strange man could help get Sammy to safety he'd risk it. There was something trusting about him that he seemed to be able to reach out to, like a comforting aura.

"We fell..." He trailed off, implying that he'd never let Sammy out of his sight and they'd both fallen into the ditch together. Sammy was quiet in his arms, hiding his face but peeking out at the stranger with a curious gaze.

"Well here, let me help you out." He smiled and held out his arms to take Sam from Dean but Dean only held on to his little brother tighter.

"No one touches my little brother." He said defiantly.

The man looked thoughtful.

"No one?"

Dean nodded. "No one."

"Nooooot even the Power Rangers?"

Dean glared at the man. He was in the bottom of a ditch with night fast approaching and a scared little brother in his arms and this crazy stranger was actually talking about kids shows?

"The power rangers aren't real." Dean felt sorry the instant the words left his mouth as he felt Sam stiffen in his grasp. He might as well go ahead and tell the poor kid that Santa and the Easter Bunny weren't real either and he felt guilty for personally killing a part of Sam's innocent childhood.

The man nodded, smirking. "Sure sure they are, i'm actually friends with them. Why, here comes one now." His smirk crossed the line into a soft smile as he snapped his fingers and Dean looked up in time to see the sexy, Asian Yellow Ranger jump from the the top of the ledge, doing a front flip in the air before landing perfectly at the bottom with barely a splash.

His mouth hung open in awe and disbelief and he felt Sam struggle in his arms excitedly, trying to get a better look at his yellow uniformed heroine. Warning alarms were going off like crazy as the woman knelt down, taking her helmet off to let black hair cascade down her back, framing her face with slanted brown eyes.

"Come on sweetie, you can trust us." She winked, standing up and taking a running start at the steep ledge, nimbly jumping to the top, gracefully and with ease. She landed and laid down on the ground, reaching a hand over the top and down to them. "So let's get up here, ok?"

Dean looked back and forth between the Yellow Ranger and the strange man. He trusted the female much more so he stood up, half carrying Sam with him.

"Sammy first." He'd rather Sam was safe than at the bottom of this ditch with a mysterious guy they didn't know. he carefully handed Sammy's small hand that was clutched tightly in his fist to the red-head who lifted Sam into his arms.

From the second he let go of his little brother panic started to set in the pit of his stomach, watching the older male like a hawk, ready to kick him in the nads and run if things went south. He hated the way Sam's arms wrapped around the guys neck as he gently held the youngest Winchester and he hated that Sam wasn't crying or scared to be held by anyone but his older brother. Jealousy twisted in with panic as the man lifted Sam up so the Asian could pull him to safety and he heard Sam let out a soft whimper, his arms reaching back to the stranger. He hadn't whimpered when Dean let go of him...he should kick this guy in the nads anyways.

Once Sam was settled in the arms of the Asian ranger who set him down on the ground next to her, ruffling his curly hair with a trusting smile before turning back to help Dean up, did Dean start to focus on himself.

"I can do it myself." He swatted away the stranger's arms that he'd held out to lift Dean up. "I...I just didn't want to leave Sammy. That's all." It wasn't a complete lie, he hadn't even tried to climb the ledge in fear of leaving his little brother unprotected for even a second in the wilderness. But as he looked up the steep nature slide he started to doubt his own words.

He attempted to mimic the asian first, backing up and trying to run as far up the slope as he could and was rewarded with his foot slipping out from under him the second it hit the leaves and getting a face full of dirt and a scraped elbow. But he was a Winchester, and Winchesters didn't give up just because they'd fallen down once. The Yellow Ranger was watching him with concern, waiting for the right moment to out stretch her hand and help him up as soon as he got far enough. The stranger was simply watching, arms crossed across his chest, with an amused look in his eyes as if he was watching someone perform a test.

Dean started out slowly the second time, kicking away the leaves until his feet found solid, steady dirt underneath for stability. He dug his hands into the hard dirt for grip and leverage as he slowly inched and pulled his way upwards, grabbing a root extending from the ground to pull himself over the ledge instead of taking the yellow ranger's white gloved hand that she was offering to help.

At the top, he reached out, digging his nails into the dirt to try and pull himself over the egde to flat ground as his feet slid underneath him still on the slope trying to grasp solid ground under the leaves. Sam's tiny hands wrapped around one of his wrists, tugging with all the toddler's strength to try and help his big brother climb up when the stranger knelt on the other side, taking Dean under the armpits and heaving him up over the top.

He hadn't even noticed or known how or when the man had gotten to the top of the ditch but he suddenly knew why Sam hadn't been scared while he had been in his arms. The man's touch was gentle, and seemed to radiate a warm, safe feeling that Dean felt like he could trust beyond logic. The hunter alarms in his head quieted as he toke the mans hand in one hand, and Sammy's tiny hand in his other and let the red-head lead them back to their motel room. He looked around, noticing the absence of the yellow and white clothed female.

"Where'd the Yellow Ranger go?"

The guy looked down at him, smiling as if he knew some big inside joke.

"Oh, she had to go. Ranger buisness, saving the world and all. Busy, busy stuff."

Dean nodded, slightly disapointed that he hadn't let her help him up. Not many 8 year olds were able to brag about the sexiest power ranger helping them out of a ditch. Not many men period could even brag about knowing how soft and gentle she was and it was a missed oppurtunity that he'd never get back as long as he lived.

The parking lot was still blissfully empty of their dad's black classic Impala, filling Dean with a hope that he could get himself and Sam cleaned and patched up in time before he returned home. He stopped outside of their door, and let go of the guys hand, pulling Sam closer to him who had remained quiet the whole walk home.

"I can't let you in." He said, slightly regretting his dad's rules since the guy seemed like he'd make good company and would be safe to keep around.

"Yea. I know." He simply nodded, leaning against the brick wall. He smirked down at Dean and made him wonder if this guy had a real smile or if he was always just constantly smirking.

Dean nodded too, sticking the key in the door and letting Sam inside first when the man said something else that made him pause.

"Your doing a good job Dean. Don't forget that. And don't forget that your mother was right...Angels really are watching over you."

He turned to look at the man but instead found empty air. His small green eyes scanned the parking lot and grass around them but found no trace that the ginger haired stranger with olive eyes had ever been there in the first place.

Slowly backing into the motel room, he closed the door and locked both locks into place before going to the bathroom to start the bathtub for Sammy who was already struggling to remove his own shirt, his curly mop of a head stuck in the neck so that the fabric covered his face as his tiny arms pulled at it.

Across the street from the motel Gabriel leaned against a telephone box, watching the small boy that had fought so hard to protect and rescue his little brother close the door. Things would be rough for the Winchesters but todays little test in the woods had proven alot and given him faith in the years to come. He'd never meant to make Dean panic so much when he'd taken Sam to the bottom of the ditch after causing two cars to almost wreck, something that would surely distract any young kid from their younger brother. But he was glad he had, Dean had passed. He just hope their bond stayed this close in the future.

"Angels really are watching over you kiddos...noooot really sure if that's a good or a bad thing though." He chuckled to himself and vanished with a soft gust of wind, like the gentle flap of invisible feathered wings.

End