Title: "Of Children and Protection"
Rating: T
Warnings: A little blood I guess
Word Count: 1,891
Summary: Sam and Gabriel are partners in the Narcotics division and are on the job when things suddenly go wrong.

Prompt: General AU day

A/N: Cop AU (because it's kind of ironic and because I have a weakness for them thanks to Sanami Matoh's FAKE). Also I kind of wanted to continue the whole theme of "never trust the kids" in SPN, so somehow we got this…yeah…

"Hey Sammy!" called a familiar voice when Sam entered his office on Friday morning. He looked up, eyebrows raised in surprise to see his partner already sitting on his desk. To say that Sam was surprised would be an understatement. Gabriel Milton was notorious for being late.

"You're already here?" Sam asked incredulously, dropping a pile of files onto his own desk.

Gabriel pretended to look hurt. "You say that as if I'm never here on time," he whined, pouting around the white stick of the lollipop in his mouth.

Sam shot him a pointed look, which Gabriel waved away.

"Yeah, yeah. So, what's on the list for today?" he asked, leaning forward. Sam rolled his eyes and sighed before opening the file on the top of the pile and scanning its contents.

"Looks like the usual," he commented, "There were a couple guys brought in on possession last night, suspicious activity reported over on Twelfth Street, and someone called in a possible meth house."

Sam closed the file, looking up to find Gabriel staring intently at him. For a moment, it didn't seem as if the blond had heard a word he'd said. His eyebrows lifted suddenly though, dispelling whatever scolding Sam had been mentally preparing, and he let out a huff.

"Sounds like a busy day," he complained good-naturedly.

"For me," Sam snorted, "You're just tagging along."

"Sammy!" Gabriel responded indignantly, grinning, "I'm hurt! You think I would just leave all the dirty work to you?"

"No," Sam replied as he picked the less time-consuming cases out of the pile, "I know you would."

Gabriel just shrugged and slid off his desk, sauntering over to Sam's side of the tiny room. He peered around the taller man, studying the open case file with sharp golden eyes. Sam could hear him sucking at the candy in his mouth, humming softly. His shoulders tensed, trying not to let on how much his partner's behavior affected him. If his brother knew…But Dean was down the hall in Homicide; he couldn't see the two of them right now.

He shook the inappropriate thoughts from his mind as Gabriel straightened up, taking one of the files with him. Leaving Sam to clear his mind, he sauntered over to the door.

"Coming?" he asked when he reached it, holding up the file with an inquiring look on his animated features. Recovering, Sam nodded and grabbed his jacket, following Gabriel from the tiny, cramped room.

The ride in the cruiser that followed was uncharacteristically silent. Usually Gabriel was chattering away about things that neither he nor Sam really cared about, but it was a nice way to fill the silence. Today, however, the blond seemed to have something serious on his mind. His brow was furrowed and he stared straight ahead through the windshield. Unfortunately, he apparently wasn't so out of it that he forgot to annoy Sam by propping his feet up on the dash.

Sam couldn't help but glance over every few minutes, concerned by the other man's strange behavior.

"Gabe?" he asked finally, startling his partner, "Is something wrong?"

Gabriel looked startled for a moment, but quickly covered it with his familiar grin.

"What? No way, Sam!" He chuckled and relaxed, though it was obviously forced. He ran one hand through his blond hair, tousling it in a way that Sam found incredibly attractive, though he would never admit it. It was a few moments before the lack of the usual nickname actually caught his attention, but he decided to let it go. When Gabriel wanted to talk, he would. He always did.

He pulled up outside a run-down, one story house, the likes of which were all too common in this part of town. He parked the cruiser and got out, motioning for Gabriel to check the area before following him. The blond nodded, his sharp eyes and intense expression reminding Sam why he'd become a cop. Offering a small smile, he turned his back on Gabriel and made his way up to the front door.

The off-white paint on the door was flaking off, and Sam had to knock because the doorbell remained silent when he pressed it. He shifted from one foot to the other as he waited for a response, his eyes scanning the dilapidated area around him.

Seconds before the door opened, Gabriel joined him. They barely had time to exchange a look, blond eyebrows raised questioningly, when they found themselves looking down at a dark-haired little girl. She was maybe six or seven, and she watched them with cautious, almost fearful grey eyes.

"Hey," Sam greeted, crouching down to her level, "Um, are your parents home?"

She nodded, staring back at Sam so silently that it freaked him out a little.

"Can we talk to Mommy or Daddy or whoever?" Gabriel asked, his tone more casual that Sam's had been.

The girl looked up at him, but still didn't move. The silence dragged on, growing more uncomfortable. Gabriel's brows lifted again, prompting a response that didn't come. Sam was just beginning to fidget when a much larger figure emerged from the doorway at the back of the front room.

"Mellie, whosat?" asked a deep, slurred voice.

Sam straightened up and forced a smile onto his face at the sight of the man who must have been the girl's father. He had dark brown hair which was thinning at the temples and a beer gut which hung over a worn leather belt which held loose, threadbare jeans in place.

"Hi," he greeted, hoping he sounded at least half as cheerful as Gabriel usually did, "I'm Officer Winchester and this is my partner, Officer Milton. One of your neighbors had a concern for your safety. Do you mind if we come in?"

The man studied Sam with beady, suspicious eyes for a moment, but then he shrugged and stood aside for them to enter. Exchanging a quick glance with Gabriel, Sam stepped over the threshold and they began the usual routine-while Sam asked the questions, Gabriel checked the room for signs of suspicious activity. The girl had disappeared somewhere into the depths of the house, but neither of them worried about her.

"Well, thanks, I think we've got just about enough," Sam said finally, gesturing for Gabriel to join him. The blond complied, though he still glanced around the room warily. Sam turned to leave, keeping the man with the beer gut in the corner of his vision.

"Sam!" Gabriel barked suddenly. It was his rare, all-business voice, which sent a chill down Sam's spine faster than anything else could. A hand shoved him forward as a gunshot rang out through the room.

Sam rolled as he hit the ground, sitting up to see Gabriel clutching his upper arm, thick, red blood oozing out between his fingers. His face was contorted with pain and grim determination. Sam's first instinct was to go to his side, but he fought it in favor of following protocol and surveying the room.

Beer-Gut looked just as shocked as Sam felt, his face pale and his mouth working soundlessly. It was his daughter who held the fun, her eyes wild and her hands shaking. It dropped from her hand as she began to cry, blubbering something about them taking her father away.

The situation was diffused rather quickly. Sam called for backup and let them handle the scene while he drove Gabriel to the hospital himself. Gabriel's face was pale and drawn and for once his feet weren't propped up on the dashboard. There was a bandage wrapped around his arm now, and Sam had never been more glad that he kept the first-aid kit in the cruiser up-to-date.

The hospital trip went by in a blur. Sam fidgeted nonstop, confined to the waiting room, while someone patched up Gabriel's arm.

"Hey Sammy," Gabriel called cheerfully when he finally emerged. Sam felt equal measures of relief and guilt flood through him, though Gabriel didn't seem bothered by the thick layer of bandages on his upper arm.

"Ready to go?" Gabriel asked as he stepped into Sam's shadow. Despite the younger's height advantage, he seemed to be the one in control of the situation.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked instead. His fingers itched to take hold of Gabriel's shoulders and hold him in place until he was completely satisfied that there weren't any other injuries he'd missed-or any psychological damage, for that matter.

"I'm fine, Sammy, trust me," Gabriel assured him, with an indulgent smile, "Let's just go back to my place and get some takeout or something."

Sam nodded numbly and followed Gabriel back out to the cruiser. He drove them back to Gabriel's little apartment. He liked being here, if only because it was usually stocked with candy rather than Dean's lunch-turned-science experiments like his own home. He made the call for takeout while Gabriel set up a movie. Within half an hour they were settled into a comfortable silence on the couch with food in their laps, the screen providing the only light in the room.

Sam hadn't realized he was staring at Gabriel until the blond paused the movie.

"Look, Sam, I know I'm a hot piece of ass, but you're starting to freak me out," he told his partner, leveling a golden stare at him.

Sam blushed. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay," he mumbled, "I mean, you took a bullet for me..." He trailed off, as doubt, guilt, and the urge to pull Gabriel into his arms nearly overwhelmed him.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Of course I did," he snorted, "I mean, the office would be a little dull without your pretty face around."

Sam fixed him with a skeptical look, and after several long moments, Gabriel caved.

"I mean it Sam," he sighed, "You're not just my partner, you're my friend. And, y'know, whatever else you want to be." He waggled his eyebrows, leaning into Sam's personal space with a smirk.

It wasn't the first time he'd made the offer, and it wasn't the first time Sam had been tempted by it. He found himself leaning in as well, until mere inches separated them.

"We could get fired," he argued without any feeling behind it.

"I'll quit," Gabriel retorted matter-of-factly.

"Dean will kill me," he tried again weakly.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Dean has Cas to comfort him," he snorted.

Sam smiled, now close enough to feel Gabriel's breath on his lips.

"What if Dean kicks me out," he asked. It was probably the only thing that still worried him about the unfolding situation.

"He wouldn't," Gabriel assured him, "But if he needs some time, you can always stay here." His golden eyes were bright and earnest, and Sam thought he saw just hint of fear that Sam might pull away-yet again.

Maybe that was what sealed it. Sam leaned in the last few millimeters and pressed his lips firmly to Gabriel's, wrapping his arms around the smaller torso as he pushed him back into the couch. Gabriel responded enthusiastically, sliding his arms around Sam's waist. The tension that had been building between them for the last three years finally broke, leaving them giddy and passionate.

Work, Dean, and even the food on the table were forgotten for the rest of the night.