A/N: Special thanks to DayanKnight for the Beta job!

Sam stepped through the door into the bank and bit back a groan at the long line that awaited him. He had planned to get there right when they opened but had been unable to pull himself out of bed in time. Today was the first full day he had off in the last fifteen, and he had really needed the sleep.

Last month he had celebrated three years at the Dallas PD and received a promotion to Lieutenant. It was something he had been wanting for a long time and had been very happy to receive the news. Even his father, who liked to give him a hard time about becoming a cop instead of a fire fighter like him, his Uncle Bobby, and brother Dean, (John always said that choosing the law enforcement path was Sam's way of rebelling) had been unable to keep the proud smile off of his face.

The happiness had dimmed somewhat the following Monday morning when he came to the station and was told he would be working with the Major Crimes Unit. The idea of working Major Crimes was exciting, but the reality not so much. He had spent hours upon hours reviewing phone records, surveillance footage, financial records and witness statements. Some days he ended up skipping lunch just so he could get through everything.

Dean had teased him for trying to brown nose his new superiors, but that hadn't been the case at all. The first assignment Sam was assisting the team with was for the purpose of catching a serial rapist. The pictures and details of each attack haunted Sam and he was unable to stop working, even to eat, until the guy was caught. It had been extremely stressful, and there had even been one night where he had ended up so frustrated he cried himself to sleep. For the first time since Sam had decided to become a cop, he began to truly question that decision. Two days later, they caught the guy. The euphoria that came with the hard earned win banished the doubts Sam had. Yes, this line of work was difficult and sometimes the bad guy would win, but sometimes the good guys win and that makes it worth fighting.

Sam spent a ten hour day on paperwork after the suspect was caught, dotting every "i" and crossing every "t" not allowing anything to be overlooked that might let the guy walk on a technicality. After that was done to his satisfaction he had gone home and slept eleven hours straight.

Even though he had gotten good sleep, he was still yawning and struggling to keep his eyes open as he waited in the long line. Sam's attention was suddenly captured by the guy in front of him. The man was shorter than him, though at six feet four inches, most people were shorter than him. He had longish thin brown hair, with side burns and a high forehead. That forehead was currently dotted with sweat as the man nervously looked around. His light brown eyes seemed to turn golden when they hit the light and were currently searching the crowded bank as if expecting someone to jump out at him.

Sam surreptitiously glanced around but didn't see anything unusual. He cleared his throat and tapped the guy on the shoulder. The nervous man jumped almost two feet in the air, and turned terrified eyes to him.

"Sir? Are you alright?" Sam asked, automatically taking a step back to give the guy some room.

The guy looked him up down blinking furiously, a hand over his pounding heart.

Sam was a pretty big guy and could easily intimidate suspects, but he also had a knack for dealing with fragile victims as well. If something was going on and this guy knew about it he would probably be more likely to confide in someone offering comfort than intimidation.

Sam held up empty hands in an 'I'm harmless' gesture.

"I'm Sam. What's your name," he asked starting with the basics in an effort to calm the guy down.

The man took a deep breath, briefly shutting his eyes.

"G-gabe," the man answered.

"Nice to meet you, Gabe. I see you're a Royals fan," Sam commented and Gabe looked amazed.

Sam laughed and pointed to the bright blue and white baseball jersey that the other man was wearing. Gabe looked down and let out a startled laugh of his own. Sam watched the fear bleed away as the man relaxed and spoke.

"Yeah, I know they're not very popular here in Texas, but I spent most of my formative years in Topeka, and they will always be my team."

"My brother hates them. He's a Rangers fan through and through," Sam admitted, smiling widely as he thought of Dean.

"And where do you stand on baseball teams?" Gabe asked, giving him what could only be a flirty smile.

"Depends. If I'm watching the game with my brother, it's whatever team is playing the Rangers so I can give him a hard time. If the Rangers win, he gets extra happy when he can rag me about it, and if they lose I can be just as bad to him," Sam explained, chuckling as he remembered being so caught up in the Rangers loss a few months ago that he dumped a beer over Dean's head in celebration.

"You must be the little brother!"

Sam nodded and the two of them shared another laugh and a high-five.

At this point Sam decided the guy was relaxed enough to address the pink elephant in the room.

"So what happened, Gabe? What had you so freaked out?" He tried to keep his voice steady and nonchalant.

Instead of a return of fear, Gabe blushed a bright red and dropped his eyes to the floor.

"It's really stupid," he said, quietly.

Sam carefully placed a hand on Gabe's shoulder, leaving it there even after the other man looked up.

"Gabe, you looked at me like you thought I was going to kill you. And before that you were looking around like you were afraid something bad was going to happen. What is going on?" Sam said, pleased to feel Gabe pushing his shoulder firmer into Sam's hand. It was an unconscious act on Gabe's part as he sought comfort and Sam was careful not to draw attention to it.

Gabe seemed to consider his words for a moment before sighing.

"It's nothing really... just a phobia that I have," he confessed, looking at the ground again.

"Phobia? Of what, banks?" Sam asked, perplexed.

"Well, not exactly banks per se... It's just, you know how many movies and TV shows have portrayals of bank robberies? And it's not even the robberies as much as the hostage situations. And look at me! I look like the hostage that gets an example made out of him!"

Sam tried really hard not to smile, but Gabe's glare told him he had failed.

"I'm afraid of clowns," he offered and was pleased when Gabe snorted in amusement.

"I know it's ridiculous, and I know nothing is going to happen, but it's an irrational fear. I can't help it. Usually one of my brothers comes with me, but today everything fell through and unless I want to get kicked out of my apartment I have to deal with this today," he said, absently waving an envelope that was slightly rumpled from his hands clutching it so tightly.

Sam nodded and was pleased to see that there were only a few more people ahead of them in line.

"Well, it's almost your turn so the whole ordeal will be over with soon," Sam said, and was surprised that he didn't want it to end.

Gabriel studied his face for a moment. "It actually wasn't as bad of an 'ordeal' as I thought it would be. You did a good job distracting me. My brothers aren't even that good at it," he confessed.

Sam couldn't think of anything to say. He wanted to ask for Gabe's number or at least agree to meet somewhere later. He had enjoyed their short time together and didn't like the thought of never seeing Gabe again.

The quiet went on as they just looked at each other for a few minutes.

"Or maybe it was easier with the big strong guy here to protect me," Gabe continued earlier statement looking at Sam slyly.

Sam blushed, but added, "Actually I'm a big, strong, off-duty cop."

Gabe's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

"Wow, this really is my lucky day. I should buy a lotto ticket on the way..." Gabe was interrupted by a woman's scream.

"Shut-up! Everyone on the ground!"

Two men wearing ski masks had incapacitated the lone bank security officer and were walking toward the tellers. One had a gun, the other an empty duffel bag.

Sam dropped to a crouch, and nodded in encouragement at other people who began to do the same. From the ground he did his best to analyze the situation. He noted the height and approximate weight of the two robbers, that one had a slight limp, and the slight glimpse of skin on the forearms showed him they were Caucasian. He turned expecting to see Gabe crouched beside him, but the other man had frozen in fear. The only movement was full-body trembling as his new friend watched his worst nightmare play out in front of him.

"Gabe, get down here," Sam hissed, tugging on his hand.

But Gabe didn't budge. Unfortunately all Sam's effort did was catch the attention of the robber holding the gun.

"Well, it looks like someone wants to play hero," he growled and stomped toward them.

Robbing a bank was one thing. There were always circumstances that twisted people and pushed them to such desperate acts. Sam knew this, and had always prided himself on being able to keep his head in intense situations. However, as the gun wielding robber stared Gabe down, the short man let out the most pitiful terrified squeal and Sam saw red.

Later, he would watch himself on the surveillance footage in awe. The robber had been so focused on Gabe that he hadn't even noticed that Sam was there. No, the first time the robber actual saw the grim expression on Sam's face was when he was lying on his back with his own gun pointed down at him.

When the other robber saw what happened, he dropped the empty bag and raised his hands in surrender. It quickly became apparent to Sam that the gun in his hands was fake. He removed one of their ski masks to see it was nothing more than some punk teenager. It was probably a good thing that Sam realized that the guy was just a kid, because if it had been a real gun, and the robber had been aggressive, Sam would have killed him.

He really would have. It was disturbing for Sam to realize that a man he met an hour ago could cause such a protective reaction from him. Of course, most people you meet don't reveal their deepest fear to you and then have it play out in front them. Regardless, there was something about Gabe that made him different from anyone Sam had never met.

The police arrived quickly, responding to a silent alarm that one of the tellers had activated. The first officers on the scene knew Sam, and he gratefully turned the two suspects over to them.

After answering a few questions and promising to come into the station with the Gabe to go over a few things later, he got permission for them to leave.

"Stupid kids, it's a good thing no one got hurt," the officer said and walked away.

Sam looked over at Gabriel who was seated in a chair with his head buried in his hands. Someone had put a blanket on him and even from ten feet away Sam could see that he was still trembling. The officer had been wrong, someone had been hurt.

He walked over to Gabe and knelt down in front of him.

"Hey Gabe, how ya doing?" he asked softly.

Gabriel looked up with haunted eyes. He tried to speak but made no sound.

"C'mon man, let's get you home," Sam said and stood up straight.

Gabe still didn't move, so Sam put a hand on his back and gave him a slight push. He got to his feet and allowed Sam to guide him out of the bank and into Sam's truck.

Gabe remained silent the whole drive except to give him occasional directions. Sam filled the silence chatting about Dean and some of their more amusing antics.

They reached the apartment and Sam pulled into a space but did not turn off the engine.

Gabriel looked up at him, slightly panicked.

"P-please don't... I can't be alone right now," he stammered.

"It's okay, Gabe. We'll get one of your brothers to come. I won't leave til they get here, okay?"

Gabe nodded and Sam killed the engine. He followed Gabe, who seemed to be more coherent, up two flights of stairs to his door.

It was a nice two-bedroom that over-looked a small park. The decorations were tasteful and the kitchen well stocked. Sam helped Gabe settle on the couch and was surprised when his new friend handed him a cellphone.

"Can you call Castiel for me? If I h-hear his voice right now, I'm gonna lose it again," he confessed, looking down.

"Sure," Sam said and took the phone with him into the kitchen to make some tea.

He scrolled to through the contacts until he found Castiel's name and hit send. He answered on the fourth wring.

"Gabriel, I told you not to call me unless it was an emergency," a gravelly voice said in lieu of a greeting.

"Uh, is this Castiel?" Sam asked, uncertainly.

There was a slight pause.

"Yes. Who is this and why do you have my brother's phone?"

"Sam Winchester, I'm with the Dallas Police Department..."

"Oh my God! What happened? Is he okay?!"

"Yes! He's okay! However there was a situation at the bank a little while ago.

"Oh, no no no! This is all my fault..."

"No it's not. Like I said, he is okay, just a little shaken."

"You don't understand, officer. My brother has a huge phobia about being in a hostage situation..."

"Call me Sam, and yes he told me that. That's why I'm here with him at his apartment."

There was another pause and Sam heard a car door open and shut.

"I'm in my car now. I should be there in three minutes."

"Okay."

Sam looked into the living room and saw that Gabe was resting his head on the arm of the couch and had his eyes closed.

After hanging up, Sam filled a kettle and put it on the stove to boil. Then he went to check on Gabe. The shorter man looked exhausted and Sam wished there was something he could do.

"Castiel will be here soon."

Gabe nodded and was able to muster a small smile.

"Thanks, Sam. I'm sorry for being so much trouble..."

Sam shook his head.

"Hey man, it's really not a problem."

"Today is your day off! You should be enjoying it, not dealing with some crazy guy freaking out over nothing," he lamented looking away.

"I'll have you know that I've had a very enjoyable day off. I got to sleep in, stop a bank robbery, and make a new, hot friend," Sam defended, blushing.

"Yeah, but... You think I'm hot?" Gabe asked, flabbergasted.

Sam grinned and nodded shyly.

Suddenly the front door flew open and a trench-coated man with messy dark hair and wide blue eyes rushed into the room.

"Gabriel? Oh my God, I'm so sorry..." his deep voice resonated throughout the small apartment.

Sam stepped out of the way as the brothers embraced and headed to the kitchen to finish the tea and give them some privacy.

A few minutes later he had poured the tea into three mismatched mugs he'd found in the cabinet above the stove. He heard footsteps and looked up to see Castiel in the doorway.

He opened his mouth to introduce himself and was suddenly pulled into a tight hug.

"Thank you for taking care of my brother," Castiel said before releasing him and stepping back.

Sam was startled at the sincerity in his deep blue eyes.

He cleared his throat in embarrassment and rubbed at the back of his neck.

"How's he doing?" Sam asked growing uncomfortable under Castiel's piercing eyes. Geez, did the guy ever blink?

Castiel looked back toward the living room.

"He's sleeping. I think the whole thing took a lot out of him," he said, voice tinged with worry.

Sam nodded and handed Castiel a mug.

The two men sat at the small kitchen table and sipped at their tea.

"So, can you tell me exactly what happened?" Castiel asked after a moment.

Sam gave a brief run-down of events beginning with Gabriel's obvious nervousness as they waited in line.

Castiel listened, wincing with guilt at Sam's description of his brother's terror.

"I should have been there. I was supposed to be there! But there was a meeting I had to present at that got changed at the last minute..."

"Castiel, this was not your fault. It was just a freak thing that no one could have predicted. Even if you had been there, I don't see how it would have turned out any different," Sam pointed out logically.

Castiel sighed and his shoulders slumped.

"You're right, Sam. I know you're right, but I still can't help but feel like I let him down. He's had a rough year. Seems like he just can't catch a break and now this... It's just not fair," he said staring down at his tea.

"I think he's lucky to have a brother who cares so much," Sam told him.

Castiel gave him a grateful smile.

"Speaking of brothers, I'm supposed to meet mine for dinner in a little while," Sam said getting to his feet.

"Oh, right. If you need to go that's fine. I'll be staying for the night at least," Castiel said standing as well.

Sam stuck his head into the living room to see Gabe sleeping soundly on the couch.

"Yeah, I guess I'd better get going," he said reluctantly.

Castiel walked with him to the door.

"Thanks again, Sam," he said opening the door.

Sam hesitated in the doorway and looked back at the couch. Castiel stared at him in confusion for a moment before finally giving him a knowing grin.

"Hold on a moment, Sam," he said, and opened the hall closet. He reached in and pulled a business card and a pen out of his trench coat. He scribbled something on the back then handed it over.

"My contact information is on the front and I wrote Gabriel's cell number on the back," he said and gave Sam an exaggerated wink.

Sam blushed, but nodded his thanks and made a quick exit after carefully slipping the card into his pocket.

He hurried to his truck and climbed inside. He pulled his cell phone and the card Castiel had given him out of his pocket and entered both of their contact numbers before turning the key to start the car. Nothing happened. He tried again. The car didn't make a sound. At the moment, there was a loud crash of thunder and the heavens opened up quickly flooding the streets.

Ten minutes after he left, he was at Gabe's door again dripping onto the doormat. He knocked and a minute later Castiel opened the door.

"Sam? Are you alright?" He asked stepping back and gesturing for him to come inside.

"Uh, yeah. My truck won't start. My brother's on his way to pick me up, but with this freak storm it might be a little while before he can get here. I was wondering if I could wait here and maybe borrow a towel?" He asked, dismayed to see the puddle that was forming beneath him in the entryway.

"Sure. Wait here, I'll go get one," Castiel said walking away.

Sam was surprised to see Gabe peek around the corner. He still had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and it trailed the ground behind him like a cloak.

"Hey Gabe. Feeling better?"

"You left," he said with definite accusation in his voice.

"Oh, yeah, I mean, Castiel was here and I wasn't sure how long you would sleep..." he trailed off as Gabe started to glare at him.

"You saved me, took me home, told me I was hot and then just left!"

"No, I got your number from Castiel before I left," Sam said defensively.

"You did?" Gabe asked sheepishly.

Sam nodded and pulled out his cell phone. He pulled his contacts up and held the phone out to Gabe so he could see.

"I put you in before I even tried to start my truck. I didn't want to lose it," Sam confessed.

Gabe looked up at him with wide wondering eyes.

"So, it's not just me? You feel like there something here too?" Gabe asked gesturing uncertainly between himself and Sam.

Gabe looked so vulnerable and unsure that Sam couldn't help himself. He took two steps forward and bent down to press his lips against the shorter man's. After a slight hesitation Gabe dropped his blanket and wrapped his arms around Sam's neck kissing him back with all he was worth.

The sound of a throat clearing made Sam try to pull back, but Gabe just clung to him tighter and deepened the kiss.

Castiel placed a towel on the back to the couch.

"I'm just going to leave this here..." he trailed off and went to hide in the kitchen. Twenty minutes later Sam and Gabe were all smiles as they discussed where they would go for dinner the next night for their first date. Castiel acted a bit annoyed at them, but Sam could tell he was pleased that Gabe looked so happy.

There was a knock at the door and Castiel hurried to answer it. Sam looked up knowing it would probably be Dean. He was right.

"Hey, I'm looking for... wow, man you've got the bluest eyes I've ever seen," Sam heard Dean say in awe.

Sam and Gabe exchanged a look and turned to see their brothers silently gazing into each other's eyes like they were the only two people in the world.

Gabe snorted and Sam loudly cleared his throat. The two men turned to look at him blankly and Sam hid a grin.

"So guys, this is my brother, Dean. Dean this is Gabe and his brother Castiel."

"Pleasure to meet you, Dean," Castiel said, holding out a hand for Dean to shake. Dean shook it and seemed to be unable to stop staring at Castiel's face.

"Pleasure's all mine, Cas," he said.

Two weeks later the four men where at Dean's house eating pizza and watching the Rangers play the Royals. Gabe was perturbed because the Royals were losing, but Dean was ecstatic.

"Your brother really needs to bring it down a notch," Gabe grumbled as he followed Sam into the kitchen during a commercial break.

"Like you wouldn't be just as bad if your team was winning," Sam teased grabbing a few beers from the fridge.

Gabe stuck his tongue out but shrieked when Sam suddenly leaned down and kissed him. The height difference made it a bit uncomfortable for Sam so he broke away and set the beers down then turned back to Gabe and hoisted him up on the counter. This made Gabe's head slightly higher than Sam's, and much easier to kiss. The smaller man grinned and pressed his knees against Sam's waist as their hands began roaming and their tongues battled.

"Sam, I thought you were getting more beer..." Dean trailed off with a groan and slapped a hand over his eyes. He blindly grabbed two of the bottles on the counter next to the two men who were completely ignoring him and hurried out of the room.

A few minutes later there was a loud thud and another groan from Dean. Sam pulled away Gabe, panting and helped him down off the counter. Then they went to investigate. Sam sniggered at the sight of Castiel pinning Dean against the wall, kissing the breath out of him. The thud must have been Dean's head hitting the wall when Castiel made his move.

Gabe grabbed Sam's hand and tugged him back into the kitchen.

"C'mon Sam, we should give them some privacy," he said and waggled his eyebrows.

Sam laughed and obligingly lifted Gabe back onto the counter to resume their own make-out session.

A year later, Castiel and Dean delighted in sharing the story of how Sam and Gabe first met during their joint 'best men' speech.

Later on as they danced their first dance as husbands, Gabe whispered, "The day I met you was the best of my life."

Sam chuckled and tightened his hold. "Really? Your worst nightmare came true that day."

"No, my worst nightmare would have been if you weren't there. You made all the difference."

Personal Note: I live in Texas, and have a few Police Officers in my family and as friends. They are good men and women who constantly put their lives on the line to ensure the safety of the people. That's not to say that there aren't bad cops out there that do wrong and should be held accountable for it. There have been quite a few deaths of cops that I've seen in the news here lately and it is for this reason that I made Sam a cop in this fic. A hard-working self-sacrificing noble person that deserves so much better than they get. My heart hurts for the families of the fallen. And I constantly worry about my friends and family on the force, so when I decided to write this, I needed to put some police positivity out into the world.