Hey guys, I'm back! So, I watched 13x17 and my heart broke. So, I turned to my outlet and started writing and this came out. For the purposes of this story, the portal to Apocalypse Word stays open indefinitely. It just fades in and out of existence from time to time, but still reappearing in the same place it opened until someone closes it. Titles are from Skillet's Never Surrender and Would it Matter. Hope you like it.
Gabriel didn't know how long it had been. Years, probably. How many, he wasn't sure. Perhaps that was for the best. Since the Angels Fell and Metatron captured him, he'd stopped keeping track. It's not like it mattered anyway. None of it mattered.
Castiel hadn't gotten the message he'd tried to give when he had the chance, and after Metatron sold him to Hell, Crowley hadn't let him out. Although, his living conditions had improved a little. The demon even visited him occasionally.
Then Asmodeus came around. Gabriel didn't know what happened to Crowley, and he didn't particularly care either. All he knew was that Crowley was gone and Asmodeus took his place. Gabriel's conditions were not improved.
The Prince had been ecstatic to find out that he had an Archangel in his possession. He certainly loved to see how much torture Gabriel could endure before breaking. Especially after he'd had the incredible idea to sew his lips shut when he grew tired of all the things Gabriel said.
"Let's pay homage to your alias, Loki. Though I like to think I wouldn't have been fooled by your tricky words."
Gabriel shudders. He didn't know what he was going to do. Nothing, probably. Wasn't like he could use any of his Grace. Besides, no one knew where he was anyway. Not that anyone would care.
He looks up, grasping the bars of his cage when he sees Ketch leaning against a pillar, groaning as he pulls a tooth out. The human glances up at him. "What are you looking at?" he asks, obviously annoyed. "If I had half your power, I'd . . ." he trails off, looking at Gabriel considerably. Ketch glances around. "In fact," he starts, crawling towards his cage.
Gabriel scrambles back, pressing himself into the furthest corner. No, no, no, he thinks. Not any more, not any more.
"I believe it's time to go," Ketch says, lifting the gate. "Consider this a rescue."
No, no rescue. Not now. Asmodeus would kill me. If he catches me . . . Gabriel watches with wide eyes as Ketch walks away. He reappears a few seconds later, the Archangel Blade in hand. Gabriel's eyes widen and he tries to protest against the stitches, his mouth aching.
"Come on, you," Ketch says, crouching close to him as Gabriel cowers against the walls of the cage. "Come on!" he exclaims impatiently, grabbing Gabriel's leg and dragging the uncooperative Archangel out, taking his shoulder and roughly helping him up and out the door.
"This would all go so much faster if you just flapped your bloody wings," Ketch mutters, dragging Gabriel along the hallway.
Gabriel makes an indignant noise. He couldn't fly, even if he wanted to.
"What the Hell?" one of the demons says as they round a corner, running right into it.
Ketch lets go of Gabriel and grasps the Archangel Blade in his hand, stabbing it in the stomach.
Gabriel watches with wide eyes as the corpse collapses and Ketch turns back to him, grabbing his shoulder again as he flinches away. "Where were we?"
Gabriel tries to fight against him, his protestations muffled by the stitches pulling against his lips.
They make it out quickly and Ketch takes him to a car parked in front of the sanitorium. "Get in," Ketch says, opening the passenger door and roughly shoving him in.
Gabriel whimpers and flinches away when Ketch closes the door and climbs in the driver's side. He presses himself against the door and curls in on himself, trying not to think about what would happen when Asmodeus found out he was gone.
. . .
When they arrive at their destination, Ketch gets out of the car and walks over to Gabriel's side. He flinches away when Ketch opens the door and drags him out, taking him down a flight of stairs and opening the door in front of them. He takes Gabriel down two more flights of stairs and into a large room that had a table with a map of the world on it.
It looks vaguely familiar, but he couldn't tell from where. Ketch walks him up a step, into a library looking room and off to the side, in the dark and out of sight of the main room. Gabriel cowers away from Ketch and looks around with wide eyes.
About thirty minutes of tense silence passes before the sound of the door opening echoes through the room and Gabriel hears muted voices. He only catches a few words: spell, blood, Grace, Archangel. None of them sounded good.
When there was a lull in the conversation, Ketch steps out, holding his hands up. There are exclamations from the voices in the main room and the sound of guns cocking.
"Wait," Ketch says. "I come in peace."
"Yeah, right," a semi-familiar voice says.
"And, I brought you a gift," he says, reaching over towards Gabriel and pulling him out of the dark corner. Gabriel looks on in confusion as he realizes who was in the main room. The Winchesters. But they looked different than he remembered. How long had it been?
A look of confusion crosses their faces before they recognize him.
"Wait a second," Sam says, lowering his gun. "Is that . . ."
Ketch pulls Gabriel with him down the mini-staircase and roughly puts him in a chair.
"That Gabriel?" Dean asks.
Gabriel glances around the room, trying to figure out where he'd seen it before.
"No, no, that's impossible," Sam says. "He . . . he's dead. We . . . we saw him die."
Gabriel looks at him, feeling confused. Sam hadn't been there. Neither had Dean.
"Or did you?" Ketch asks.
"What did you do to him?" Dean asks, lowering his gun.
"Not me, Asmodeus. The Prince was holding him prisoner until I liberated the poor man. And I understand you may need an Archangel for a spell, perhaps."
Gabriel looks down, wishing the ground would swallow him.
"Well, what luck," Ketch continues.
"We need his Grace," Sam says.
When he hears this, Gabriel starts shouting against his stitches and tries to get away, a panicked look in his eyes.
"Calm down. Calm down," Ketch says, grasping his arm and keeping him in the chair. "Nervy," he mutters. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a vial of Grace he'd taken, carefully setting it on the map-table. "Here. Take that. And, uh . . ." He reaches into his coat and pulls out the Archangel Blade and sets it down next to the Grace. "The Archangel Blade."
"Why would you . . ." Sam starts. He pauses and a grim understanding comes over his face. "What's the catch? What do you want?"
"Protection. From Asmodeus."
"The one you're working for?" Dean asks.
"Was working for," Ketch corrects. "But when he finds out that I stole his prize milk cow, well, I imagine that he'll hunt me to the ends of the Earth. This is the only safe place I know."
Sam scoffs. "What? Do you think you're just gonna move in?"
Ketch gives a miniscule shrug. "Dibs on the top bunk?"
"No," Sam says, shaking his head.
"Deal," Dean says at the same time.
"What?" Sam asks, looking at his brother in surprise.
"I don't know what the Hell's goin' on here," Dean says, uncocking his gun. "But if this helps us get mom back, helps us get Jack back, then . . . sure." He tosses his gun on the bag on the table. "Whatever you want."
There's a long silence. Sam disarms his gun and puts it next to Deans and shakes his head. "So, are we just going to stand here?"
"No," Ketch says. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to my room." He nods at them before walking to the hallway.
Sam scoffs. "Great, he's already picked out a room."
Dean shrugs. "Like I said, if this helps, then so be it." He glances over at Gabriel, an indiscernible look in his eyes. "You do something with him, I'm gonna get started on the spell," he says, walking forward and grabbing the Grace and Archangel Blade.
Gabriel flinches away and glances over at Sam, a frightened look in his eyes. Sam takes a deep breath and carefully walks closer, still staying a few feet away. "Hey, Gabriel," he says carefully. "I'm gonna go get some stuff from the med-bay, are you okay here?"
The Archangel doesn't face him, but Sam could see his eyes glancing around, making sure he knew where everything was. Sam knew that feeling. With a sad sigh, he deliberately walks in a wide arch around Gabriel and towards the med-bay they'd found a few months ago in an undiscovered part of the Bunker.
He quickly glances around the room and tries to decide what he needed. A scalpel and tweezers for the stitches he noticed in Gabriel's lips, some butterfly bandages for the cuts, and a washcloth to clean the grime and blood off him. With a decisive nod, he grabs all the items and gets a bowl of warm water from the sink before walking back out to the main room where Gabriel was, turning the lights on in the library and setting the materials on a table.
The Archangel had turned the chair so he was facing the direction Sam had disappeared. He glances up before looking away, keeping his head down.
"Gabriel," Sam says, walking up to him, "do you think we could move this to the library? Well, can you move?"
There's nothing before a tiny nod he almost misses.
"Good. Do you need any help getting up?"
Gabriel shakes his head and carefully places a hand on the map table, gingerly getting himself into a standing position. He starts walking after Sam, but stumbles and almost hits his head on the steps before Sam catches him. Gabriel flinches away and cowers in his grip.
"Hey, Gabriel. It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you," he says soothingly as he helps the Archangel into the library and to the closest chair. "There we go," he says. "I'm gonna take those stitches out now, is that alright?"
Sam sees a look of fear in Gabriel's eyes, but he still tentatively nods.
"You don't need to be afraid," Sam says, gingerly picks up the scalpel, holding it hilt first and showing it to Gabriel. "I'm just gonna get the stitches out, okay. Nothing more." Gabriel still doesn't look at him, but nods minutely.
Taking this as the best sign he was going to get, Sam takes the tweezers and uses them to hold each stitch out so it was easier to cut them. He tries to ignore Gabriel's muffled grunts of pain, flinching as he did, until he cuts the last stitch. "Gabriel . . . man, what happened to you?" he asks, not really expecting an answer. He puts the tweezer and scalpel down as Dean walks in.
"Alright, let's do this," Dean says, bronze bowl in hand as he strides up to the other table.
"Well, shouldn't we wait?" Sam asks, twisting in his seat.
"Wait?" Dean asks, turning to face him. "Why?"
Sam gestures at Gabriel as his brother continues talking.
"We got everything we need. Everything else is just burnin' daylight. Come on. Let's open this door." He turns around and starts preparing the spell.
Sam lets out a sigh and glances at Gabriel. "Alright," he says, getting out of his seat. "I'll gather my gear."
"Uh . . . hold on," Dean says, facing him. "I'm headin' in alone."
"What?"
"Look, we got a busted-up Archangel here," Dean says, gesturing to Gabriel. "And who the Hell knows what else, okay? Somebody's gotta stay here just in case."
"And I'm coming with you," Ketch says, walking up to them. "As I said, Asmodeus will be hunting me to the ends of the Earth, so it's better if I'm not on this Earth."
"It's not that much better over there," Sam says. "You know it's a war zone, right?"
"Won't be my first, shan't be my last. Hm?"
"Fine," Dean says.
"Fine?" Sam asks, looking at his brother in surprise. "So you want Ketch to go and not me?"
"I don't care if he dies. Hell, I'm kinda rootin' for it." He glances over and the corners of Ketch's mouth turn up.
"Still, you can't—"
"No, I have to. It takes something that's been over there before to open up the right door, so that's either you or me. So I'm gonna go. And if something happens to me, then I need you to come and save me and save mom and save whoever else, okay?"
"It's safer if we go together."
"Oh, there's no such thing as safer over there, you know that. I know you don't like this, okay? I don't expect you to. This is the way it's gonna be."
Sam stays silent for a few seconds. "Fine," he says, walking over to the ingredients and starting the spell.
Dean takes out one of his hairs and puts it in the bowl. "Something that's been there, right?"
Sam finishes mixing the ingredients. "Alright. Remember, it might not be open when you need it. Just wait and stay safe." He holds the stone over the bowl and starts chanting, "Koth Munto Notox."
A purple light shoots out and opens a rift a few feet away. Dean glances at his watch then looks at Sam. He places a hand on his brother's shoulder for a few seconds before letting go. "Okay," Dean says. He walks up to the rift and looks back at Sam. Sam glances down and Dean walks into the rift, Ketch following.
Sam stands there for about a minute before the rift fizzles and disappears. Fighting the panic he feels, he takes a deep breath and turns back to Gabriel. The Archangel hadn't moved from his seat, still not looking at Sam as he glances around the room. "Okay then," he says, starting over to Gabriel. Sam had a job to do, and right now that was taking care of the Archangel.
He sits in the seat across from him and picks up the tweezers. "Alright, let's get those threads out," he says, holding the tweezers up and carefully pulling the wires out. Gabriel flinches and lets out a muffled noise of pain. "I know it hurts, just stay with me." He alternates between the top and bottom threads until they're all out.
"There we go. Why don't we get all that stuff off your face," he says, picking up the washcloth and carefully cleaning the blood and grime. "Okay," he says when he's done. "Now we can get those cuts closed up." Sam takes the butterfly bandages and starts putting them on the cuts on Gabriel's face.
"Do you wanna change clothes, or something?" Sam asks when the wounds are closed. "I can probably find you something, but it might not fit."
Gabriel shakes his head and pulls away.
"Alright then," Sam says, smiling sadly. "Do you need me to help you get up, or are you good?"
Gabriel looks away and nods.
"Okay, I'm gonna pick you up so it's easier. Is that okay?"
Gabriel nods again.
"Good," Sam says, getting out of his seat and kneeling next to Gabriel. He puts an arm under Gabriel's knees and the other against his back and picks him up bridal style, starting to walk to the hallway. "Which room do you want to stay in?" Sam asks when they're at the entryway.
Gabriel shrugs.
Sam glances around and chooses the one next to his. This way, it would be easier for him to help Gabriel if he needed it. Sam lays him on the bed and gets a blanket for Gabriel. "Just, uh, give a shout if you need anything."
Gabriel looks away and shakes his head.
"Oh, uh, right. Gimmie a sec," Sam says, walking out of the room and into his. He should've guessed Gabriel wouldn't want to speak, or perhaps not be able to. He searches through his desk and brings out one of the extra phones they had and walks back to Gabriel's room. "Here you go," Sam says, handing him the phone. "Just call me if you need anything."
Gabriel nods.
"Okay. Uh, have fun, I guess," Sam says, walking out of the room and into his. He lies on his bed and closes his eyes. Now that he had some time to collect his thoughts, he wasn't sure what to think. Gabriel was back somehow and had obviously been through some serious shit. Sam wasn't sure he was equipped to deal with this. He dealt with all his trauma by shoving it down and letting it fester. It was gonna come back to bite him one day, but he'd take it when it came.
Sam also didn't know the first thing about helping other people with trauma. Dean did the same thing as him and neither of them ever talked about anything. He supposed he'd just have to figure it out.
Deciding thoughts like this were better left for morning, he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep.
. . .
The next morning, Sam woke up when his alarm went off. He followed his typical routine, got dressed, went on a run, made breakfast, then settled in the library. It wasn't until about eight thirty that he remembered the events of yesterday. Not that he could really forget, what with the rift that kept appearing and disappearing sporadically near him. He'd just somehow managed to let slip from his memory the not-so-dead Archangel in the room right next to his.
Rubbing a hand over his face, Sam gets out of his seat and walks to Gabriel's room. He carefully knocks on the door, hoping Gabriel would let him in. There's a vague noise that sounds something like a mix between an acknowledgment and the words, 'come in'. Taking this as a yes, he opens the door and steps in, looking around in astonishment.
The walls were covered in Enochian writing. Sam lets out a noise of surprise as he glances around the room. He notices one of the cans of paint they kept sitting mostly empty next to the desk, a paintbrush sticking out of it. "That's uh . . . nice," he says, feeling dumbfounded.
Gabriel nods slightly from where he was on the bed.
Sam shakes his head and looks over to the Archangel. "Uh, I was just coming in to check on you. See if you're doin' okay."
A look of consideration passes Gabriel's face before he shrugs.
Sam nods. "Okay. Um, you want anything to eat, or . . . change your clothes or something."
There's a pause. After a few seconds Gabriel nods and does the sign for food. Then brushes both of his hands over his chest before making an 'L' with his left hand, placing the thumb on his right palm and moving his left hand like a lever.
Sam, trying to recall the sign language he knew, gathered Gabriel wanted food now, and clothes later. "Got it. Uh, what kinda food?"
Gabriel tilts his head and looks at him, confused. He glances down, a considerable look on his face. After a few seconds, he signs, 'Surprise me.'
"Okay. I'll be right back," Sam says, walking out and to the kitchen. He didn't know what would be best for Gabriel after whatever he'd been through. If he remembered anything from before, probably something sugary. However, he wasn't sure that was appropriate. Deciding to go with one of the leftover burgers Dean had made a day or so ago, he heats the patty up in the microwave and puts it together with bread, cheese, lettuce, and tomato.
Getting it on a plate, Sam walks back to Gabriel's room and goes in. The Archangel was sitting on his bed, looking blankly at an Enochian-covered wall.
"Uh, hey Gabe," he says carefully.
Gabriel starts and looks at him, his eyes wide. He shakes his head and takes a deep breath.
"Sorry. Um, I got you some food," Sam says, holding out the plate.
Gabriel gestures to the end of the bed.
Sam nods and places the plate where Gabriel pointed.
The Archangel looks at it for a few seconds before hesitantly reaching out and takes it. After Sam doesn't try and stop him, Gabriel starts quickly eating the burger.
"Guess you were hungry, huh," Sam says.
Gabriel doesn't acknowledge him and finishes the burger. He glances up at Sam. 'Clothes, please,' he signs carefully.
Sam nods. "Okay, I'll be right back," he says, walking out of Gabriel's room and into his. He starts rifling through his dresser and pulls out a pair of sweatpants and an old Stanford shirt of his. Then, he goes to Dean's room and takes a pair of his underwear. It was closer to Gabriel's size.
Deciding he had everything, Sam walks back to Gabriel's room. "Hey, Gabe. I, uh, got you some clothes," he says, placing them on the edge of the bed. "Do you want a shower or something to get you cleaned up, or need help with any with anything?"
Gabriel stares at him with something akin to shock for a few seconds. Then, he glances at the clothes and signs, 'Shower. Chair. Help.'
Sam nods. "I'll go get a chair. The shower room is a few doors down, you'll know it when you see it," he says, starting to walk out. He pauses. "Unless, uh, you still have trouble walking."
Gabriel shakes his head.
"Okay, meet you there," Sam says, walking out the room and to the kitchen to get one of the stools. After he had one, he got a towel and a washcloth from the laundry and starts walking to the shower room.
Gabriel was leaning against one of the walls, staring at the knobs that controlled the water. The clothes Sam brought him were lying on the floor nearby.
"Hey, Gabe," Sam says carefully.
Gabriel blinks and glances over at him. He moves an open hand up and brings it to his temple before giving him a vertical salute.
The corner of Sam's mouth quirks up. "Okay. I got a stool," he says, holding it up. "We can use my shower since Dean doesn't have any of the good stuff," he says, putting the towel next to the clothes before walking over to the spot he used and gesturing at the products he had.
Gabriel narrows his eyes slightly and nods, gingerly walking over to where Sam was setting the stool down.
"Do you, uh . . . need any help getting undressed?" Sam asks tentatively.
Gabriel pauses before shaking his head.
Sam nods and faces away as Gabriel starts taking his clothes off. After a few seconds, there's a tap on his arm. He turns around and sees Gabriel sitting on the stool, not looking at him and seemingly trying to make himself smaller, his dirty clothes out of the way.
"It's okay," Sam says soothingly as he starts fiddling with the shower knobs, trying to find the right temperature. Once he was sure he had it, he took his body wash and handed it to Gabriel along with the washcloth. "I can get your hair if you got everything else. Well, except your back."
Gabriel nods, taking the stuff.
Sam rolls his sleeves up and gets the shampoo before starting to work it into Gabriel's hair, trying to get it in around the knots. At least his conditioner should be able to help with that.
Gabriel lets out a noise that was a mix between a whimper and a groan.
Sam stops and asks, "You okay?"
Gabriel nods and signs, 'Don't stop.'
"Got it," Sam says, continuing his ministrations while Gabriel starts washing his arms.
After he worked the shampoo all the way in and got the dirt and grime out, he helps Gabriel lean forward to wash it away. Then he grabs the conditioner and starts flattening the Archangel's hair with it, carefully teasing the knots out.
It takes him a while, but eventually Sam gets them all and leaves the conditioner to set. He picks up the washcloth Gabriel had put down and cleans it off under the water, getting most of the blood and dirt off it. Then, he takes the body wash and puts it on the cloth before starting to wash Gabriel's back.
He had to be careful because of the wounds that crisscrossed his skin. Sam was pretty sure they were from a whip or something like that, and underneath them he saw old scars. It made him angrier at Asmodeus, because he knew what it was like. Torture was never fun.
After he finished, Sam cleaned the washcloth and let Gabriel get up so he could get the soap and conditioner off himself. Sam gets the towel and clothes from where they were a few feet away and hands the former to Gabriel and sets the latter on a dry spot on the floor. "You need any help getting dressed?"
Gabriel takes the towel and shakes his head.
"Got it. I'll be in the library if you need anything," he says, turning to walk away.
Gabriel stops him and signs, 'Thank you.'
Sam smiles softly. "You're welcome. See ya later," he says, walking away and waving good-bye.
. . .
It was only after Sam had worked his way through a few books that he thought of calling Castiel. Feeling like an idiot, he dials up his friend.
'Hello, Sam?'
"Hey, Cas. How's it goin'?"
'I've had no luck finding the Seal of Solomon, but I have high hopes.'
"It's okay Cas, we already got it."
'Good. Now we just need to get some Archangel Grace. I've been trying to locate—'
"No, we already got it."
There's a pause. 'How?'
"Gabriel."
There's another, longer pause. Then Castiel draws in a breath. 'And you didn't think to tell me this until now?' It was obvious he was restraining himself.
"Yeah, sorry."
He sighs. 'It is alright. I suppose this means that we have everything we need?'
"Uh-huh. Actually, Dean's over there right now."
'What?! Why are you not with him?'
"He didn't want me there."
There are a few muttered words that Sam doesn't catch before the Angel inhales and exhales in a calm manner. 'I'm coming over. Make sure Gabriel is aware, I wish to speak with him.'
Sam draws in a sharp breath. "Uh, that might be difficult."
'Why?'
"Do you know ASL?"
'Of course, what does that have to do with anything?'
"He's not talking, Asmodeus stitched his mouth together. I got them out, but I think he's still tentative about it."
There's a muffled curse. 'I still want to talk with him, but I won't if he doesn't want to. I should be there in a few hours.'
"Got it. See ya soon."
'Likewise.'
The call cuts out and Sam puts his phone on the table. He probably should've done that sooner.
Gabriel walks out from the hallway, looking even smaller in the too-large shirt and sweatpants with the legs rolled up.
"Hey, you doin' okay?"
'Yeah.' He gestures to the phone.
"Uh, Cas. He's on his way."
A look of what was either fear or relief flashes in Gabriel's eyes. He nods.
"You wanna read? I'm sure there's something here you'd like."
Gabriel pauses considerably for a few seconds before he starts looking through the shelves. Eventually, he picks out one of the books and sits across from Sam.
. . .
A few hours later, the two of them look over to the Map Room when they hear the Bunker door open and see Castiel walking down the steps.
"Hey, Cas," Sam says as the Angel walks up to them.
Castiel acknowledges him and freezes when he sees Gabriel, who had stopped reading and was averting his eyes. He walks forward, carefully reaching a hand out to his brother's mangled wings and the Archangel flinches away, all six of them folding in tightly against his back. Castiel draws his hand back and a look of anger crosses his face. He turns to Sam. "You said Asmodeus did this to him?"
Gabriel flinches and Sam nods. "Yeah."
Castiel shakes his head and looks at his brother sadly. "I never liked him. He was always too cruel for his own good." He deliberately steps around Gabriel and sits next to him.
Gabriel keeps his eyes down.
"Brother," Castiel says. "Do you know who I am?"
Gabriel nods.
"I am not going to hurt you."
Gabriel nods again and glances at him.
"Would it be alright if we were to speak telepathically?"
There's a long pause. Gabriel shakes his head.
"Okay." Castiel glances at Sam and lets out a sigh. Then he looks back at Gabriel and asks, "Is this better?" speaking in Enochian instead of English.
Gabriel blinks in surprise and glances at his brother. He opens his mouth to say something, but stops, looking at Sam. After a few moments of indecision, he says, "Yes." his voice rough because of misuse.
Sam grins and gets back to his book as Castiel asks, "Are you doing alright?"
Gabriel shrugs. "I've been better. Your wings don't look to good."
"Neither do yours, brother."
"The demon stole my feathers and I didn't get the chance to molt properly."
Castiel grimaces. "You will in a few months. I can help you."
Gabriel pauses. "Yeah," he says quietly. "Maybe sometime. What about you? It can't have been easy doing it on your own."
Castiel shrugs and glances at Sam, who was half paying attention to them. "Sam usually helps me, but I'm sure he would be fine if you wanted to join us."
Gabriel's eyes widen. "You let him help you?"
Castiel nods. "He noticed my odd behavior one time a few years ago and asked me what was going on, so I told him. I also asked if he'd like to help me because it can be difficult sometimes. He seemed surprised, but ended up saying yes."
Gabriel makes a vaguely surprised noise. "And here I thought you'd be forever alone, little bro. When's the wedding?"
Castiel tits his head and gives Gabriel a look of confusion. "Sam and I are not romantically involved."
Gabriel blinks in surprise. "Oh. I thought . . ."
Castiel shakes his head. "No. Although, I do understand why you would think that."
Gabriel hums, nodding. "Anyway, how long's it been since I kicked it? I stopped keeping track after a while."
"About eight years."
Gabriel's eyes widen. "Yipes."
Castiel nods. "How long have you been back?"
"Since Sam took a swan dive into Lucifer's Cage. Dad brought me back."
"Same with me."
"He the one who raised your rank? I noticed it last time I saw you."
Castiel's eyes widen. "Uh, yes. That was really you?"
"Yeah. I tried to tell you what was going on, but I guess you didn't get it."
Castiel looks down, sadness in his eyes. "I apologize. I assumed you were an illusion that Metatron created."
Gabriel shrugs. "It's okay, you didn't know. Did I miss anything important while I was imprisoned by Heaven and Hell? 'Cause Dean went through a portal to an alternate dimension and I've been meaning to ask about it."
A thoughtful look crosses Castiel's face and he nods. "Quite a lot. I'll fill in the details later, but right now he's looking for Mary Winchester and Jack, Lucifer's son."
Gabriel nods before he stops and shock etches itself onto his face. "Did you just say . . ."
"Mary Winchester and Lucifer's son."
There's a long pause, Gabriel staring at him with wide eyes. "I want to ask how, because Mary's supposed to be dead, and Luci isn't supposed to have a son. But at the same time, I'm afraid of the answer I'm gonna get."
Castiel shrugs. "Short version is, Amara came back and brought Mary back after she and our Father made up and left. As for Jack, Lucifer wanted someone to help him take over the world."
The look of shock remains. "Auntie Amara was back? Dad too?"
"Yes."
"And they made up?"
"Yes."
"And Lucifer's back and trying to destroy the world again?"
"Yes."
Gabriel lets out a sigh and shakes his head. "I knew I'd regret asking. So, Mary and . . . Jack are in some alternate dimension and Dean and Ketch went to rescue them?"
Castiel nods before he realizes what Gabriel just said. He turns to Sam. "Sam," he says quietly.
"Uh, yeah, Cas?" Sam asks, glancing up from his book.
"Is Dean with Ketch? In the Apocalypse World?"
Sam pauses. "No . . ." he trails off unconvincingly.
Castiel closes his eyes and sighs. "And this information wasn't relevant because why?"
Sam looks away. "I, uh . . . didn't think it mattered that much."
Castiel nods. "Didn't think it mattered? You didn't think I should be aware that Dean was in a broken world with one of our enemies?"
"No, it's not like that. He's the one who rescued Gabriel."
Castiel pauses, an indecipherable look on his face. He nods. "I will accept this development, but only grudgingly. And I'm going to berate Dean severely when he gets back."
"Get mad at Ketch too, he's not nice," Gabriel mutters.
Castiel raises an eyebrow. "Get some sleep, Gabriel. You look exhausted."
Gabriel lets out an indignant noise.
Castiel glares at him.
Gabriel looks down. "Fine. But only if you lie down with me when you're done out here."
"I promise."
Gabriel nods and gets up, walking towards the hallway. Before he gets away, Castiel reaches out and stops him. Gabriel flinches away.
"Brother, let me heal you," Castiel says.
Gabriel looks down. "No thank you, I'll be fine," he says before walking away.
Castiel sighs.
Sam chuckles. "That's the best I've seen him all day. What did you guys talk about?"
"Nothing important. How was he acting before?"
"Skittish. Wouldn't look me in the eyes."
Castiel nods. "That's not good."
"He seemed fine when you were talking with him."
"Yeah. It's always nice to be around another Angel that doesn't want you dead."
Sam gives him a sympathetic look. "I bet. You think he'll still be fine tomorrow?"
Castiel shrugs. "We can only wait and see." He gets out of his seat and says, "I promised Gabriel I would stay with him tonight. If we need your help, I'll let you know."
"Got it, Sam says as the Angel starts walking to Gabriel's room. He looks back to his book and starts reading.
Comment, please! They're the stuff that keeps writers happy and healthy. (Plus it's also incentive to write more chapters. *Wink wink, nudge nudge*)
