Word Count: 5497 words (Thriteen pages again, geez)

Warnings: Team Free Will crashing in on Gadreel's normal life,

Summary: Gadreel survives his suicide attempt and tried to blend in - pretending to be homeless - and the reader one day sees him and gives him a place to stay. He ends up falling in love with her but the Team Free Will finds Gadreel and that reveals his secret of being an angel and all...

AN: Ayyyyy this is my first Gadreel/OC (Reader) fic (I don't know why, I loved his character). Hope you enjoy it, anonymous hon. :) You're completely right, he did survive.

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural

Take My Hand

"The only thing that matters in the end is the mission. Protecting those who would not - and cannot - protect themselves. The humans. None of us is bigger than that." Gadreel started move restlessly in his cell. "We will not let our fears, our self-absorption, prevent us from seeing it through. Not anymore."

"No. No, of course not." Castiel agreed from his adjacent cell.

"Move to the other side of your cell, Castiel." Gadreel warned his comrade, revealing the markings on his chest. "And keep your head down."

"What are you doing?" Castiel asked hastily, but Gadreel could hear the angel move away from the cell wall.

"When they say my name," The angel tried to explain.

"Don't-" Hannah warned, rushing to the cell with the key in her hand.

"Perhaps I won't just be the one who let the serpent in. Perhaps I will be know as one of the many-" Hannah dropped the key and tried to pick it up off the floor with urgency, looking up at Gadreel in concern.

Gadreel-" Castiel cautioned, hoping to steer his brother clear of the sacrificial path he was about to take.

"-Who gave heaven a second chance." Gadreel looked turned to look at Hannah. "Run sister." He advised and watched her dart away from his cell.

"Gadreel," Castiel's voice was the last thing he heard before he plunged the wooden stake into his chest, bursting into white light as he sacrificed himself.

Gadreel crouched on the dirty pavement of the sidewalk, not unlike many of the other homeless people of this large city.

He recalled the last time he saw his brother and sister before disappearing into the night, looking for a place to heal until he could vanish off of what the Winchesters had called the 'Angel Radar'. Once he was restored to health, he retreated to the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he tried to blend in with the population as one of the overwhelming amount of vagrants that inhabited the city.

He had been in this city for the most of two months now, sleeping on whatever he could find - whether it was a park bench, a store window, a parking garage. He also participated in the daily event of begging for money or food. He wasn't very fond of it, but in order to blend in with the rest, he had to take part in what they did. Although sometimes he watched as some wretched people sat on the sidewalks, collected money for an hour, and then went on their ways, wearing business suits - but that was none of his business to comment on.

Gadreel was staring aimlessly out into the street when he heard her voice. "Are you cold?" He looked up and saw a young woman staring down at him in concern. Earlier that day, he had heard that the temperatures were supposed to drop to below freezing during the night, and he made the mistake of getting to his parking garage after it had closed for the day.

"I'm fine." He reassured the woman, but at that moment, a cold gust of wind past them, causing them both to sway back at the force and him to shiver.

"Liar." She smirked humorously at him.

"I am fine." He repeated, hoping for her to just go away.

"Look, your pride's not something to get hypothermia over." She joked, looking down at him. "Take my hand. Let me help you." She stuck out her hand. Gadreel looked at her for a long moment, and - deciding that she wouldn't kill him once they were alone - took her hand. She helped them up and the two walked down the sidewalk, her hands clasped in front of her and his stuffed away in the pockets of his jeans. "My apartment's not too far from here. There's a second room you can stay in if you like. Or you can just sleep on the couch if that's more your thing." She explained, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her coat.

She introduced herself and he did the same.

"Gadreel, sounds biblical." She commented. He looked at her questioning, speculating about whether she knew his identity. "Sorry," she apologized after seeing the look he gave her. "I work at the library a couple blocks from here. You tend to read a lot there." She chuckled as she looked straight ahead of her, but Gadreel kept his gaze on her a few more moments before observing the surrounding buildings.

She turned and opened the door to a tall building, letting him inside before she closed to door. He followed her up the couple flights of stairs and to the door to her apartment, perplexed by her generosity. She unlocked the door and opened it up to reveal the main room of her apartment.

"It's not much," She commented as she hung up her coat on the back of the door. "But it's home." He hung his thinner jacket beside hers on the door and turned to look at the place. It was comely, with a small kitchen to his left and a round table by a large pair of windows that looked out into the city lights. In front of him was an old looking sofa facing a television set with a small coffee table in between the two.

"I'll give you the tour." She announced as she took his hand and led him through her home, indicating where her room was, where the guest room - or his, should he choose to accept it - was, and she pointed out where the bathroom was.

The two got back to the main room - or as she called it, the living room. She sat plopped down on the small sofa and motioned for him to sit down as well. Once he was settled comfortable on the cushion, he couldn't hold it back any longer. He had to ask her, "Why are you doing this?"

She glanced up at him, biting her lip and he noticed that she was fidgeting with the corner of a square pillow that rested on her lap. "It's just something my family's done over the years. You know, helping those that can't help themselves, the less fortunate than us." She looked down at the pillow before continuing, "I saw you there on my way back from work and I couldn't help myself. I just had to help you." She sighed before looking up at him.

Gadreel just smiled and laid his hand on her much smaller one, hoping to comfort her with that simple gesture. She softly smiled back. Gadreel could see that she had a warm heart and that she just wanted to help others. So he decided to stay in her little apartment with her until he overstayed his welcome.

When he informed her of his decision, her smile became brighter as she comment, "Good, I would feel terrible if you turning into a popsicle out there."

Later that night, he took a long shower. It had been too long since he had a proper bathing experience and he wanted to remember every moment of it that he could. The water trickling down his spine, the fragrance from the soaps - flowery, but he didn't really expect anything else from a woman's bathroom - filling the steamed room, and just the feeling of all the dirt and grime that had clung on to him washing away and down the drain. He wrapped his lower half in a white towel and made his way to where she was on the sofa when he discovered that his clothes were missing.

He was about to question her on where they were when she hastily handed him an extra pair of grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt - she reassured him that they would fit, telling him that the clothes were her brother's and that they looked to be the same size. She avoided looking at him as she led him to his room, again. She told him where the extra blankets and pillows were and that they would talk about what to do next in the morning, if he stayed until then.

She bid him goodnight and softly closed the door. He could hear her feet padding across the wooden flooring to her own bedroom as he changed into the sweatpants and shirt. She was right. The clothes did fit him rather nicely. The shirt was a bit snug, but that was alright.

He slipped under the grey comforter and rested his head on the white pillow, reviewing all the things that had happened that night before he closed his eyes and sleep overcame his body.

The next morning, Gadreel opened his eyes to the sounds of humming and something frying in the kitchen.

It took him a moment to realize where he was and what he was doing in a comfortable bed. Then it came to him: this woman had given him a place to stay for the night and he had fallen asleep in this room - her guest room.

He got out of the bed and left his room, heading towards the smell of food cooking. He silently wondered what she had planned for him.

He walked into the kitchen and stopped in his tracks when he saw her. She was bouncing around the stove, with a frypan in her hand, humming along to the radio that was tuned onto some popular music station. But what stopped Gadreel was the fact that she was only in an oversized t-shirt and a pair of short shorts. He noticed that her hair had been put up in a mess on top of her head.

She turned towards him and opened her eyes, stopping when she saw him standing there, staring at her. She blushed as she looked at him, taking in his appearance - the snug white shirt and the loose fitting sweatpants.

"Well," She started, "Looks like the clothes fit you." She smiled and went back to whatever it was she making. She pulled the pan off the stove. "You wanna grab two plates from this cupboard here?" He moved quickly to where she had pointed. "And there's some forks in this drawer there." She pointed to a drawer under the cupboard with the plates. He took the objects and took them to the round table, placing them at two chairs that were next to each other.

She came up behind him with the pan and put the food on the plates. She then sat down and he followed suit, sitting down in one of the other wooden chairs. He brought a forkful of eggs to his mouth and she did the same.

She spoke when she had finished her plate, "So, did you sleep okay?"

"Yes, thank you."

"You're welcome." After a few minutes, she spoke again, "I have to go to work in about an hour. You can come with it you want."

He thought about the offer. What would he do in an apartment by himself all day? He would be bored out of his angelic mind. "That sounds good."

"Great! I'll get your clothes out of the dryer for you. And then after work today, we can stop at one of the stores on our way back here and get you some clothes, too." She explained as she picked up the dishes and set them in her small dishwasher. He followed her with hs and set them right behind hers in the kitchen appliance. She turned around and almost ran into him, losing her balance. He swiftly brought his hands to her waist to steady her and her hands reached for his shoulders. He noticed her skin growing red again as he held onto her.

"Did I do something wrong?" Gadreel asked, confused as to the reason why her cheeks were reddening.

"Not that I know of." She chuckled nervously and stepped away from him. Her hands left his shoulders and Gadreel was surprised to find that he didn't mind them there. "I should get ready for work." She announced before she walked away from him and down the hallway.

He went to his room and waited for her to bring him his clothes. When she did, he changed back into his clothes from the day before. He heard the water turn on in the bathroom as he exited his room. He sat on the sofa and waited patiently for her to finish so that they could go.

When she stepped out into the room, ready for work at the library, the angel was skimming over her small bookcase that was overfilled with books and movies.

"Do you like to read? Or watch movies?" She asked.

"Never had time." He answered, which was true. With being Metatron's second hand angel, he didn't really have free time to read or watch movies. And when he was on the streets, he never had enough money for books or movies, either.

"Well now you do!" She commented brightly as he got up from the sofa. She went to get her coat but Gadreel was faster and grabbed it before her. He held it open for her to slip her arms inside.

"Thanks." She said as she buttoned up the black coat. He slid on his own jacket.

"It is the least I can do." The angel replied as he opened the door for her. She locked it and finally the two were off to the library.

Gadreel had been in the same position for three hours now. Just sitting next to her as she worked on sorting all of the returned books. He watched as she looked fondly at each book before putting them in a certain place on the mobile bookshelf. She had tried to make conversation with him to find out about his past, it didn't go very far. He wasn't used to people not knowing what he had done in his past, much less talk to him like he was a person of equal status.

Once she had all the books categorized on the small shelves, she left the book room, gesturing for him to come with her. He followed her through the labyrinth of old wooden bookshelves that were taller than he was until she stopped, chose a book out of her selection, and placed it between two other books on the shelf.

"Books are categorized by the Dewey Decimal System." She explained as she flitted around the shelves, squeezing books into their proper places. She took one of the books off her little shelf and held the spine out to him. "Here," She pointed to the sticker at the bottom as she spoke, "In these three lines is all you have to know. 'Ref, 221, and PRE'." She read off the sticker.

"The first line is the classification of the book, whether it's fiction or nonfiction. We mainly use 'Dewey' for the nonfiction books." She looked up at him. "You with me here?" He nodded in affirmation. She smiled, her eyes brightening with the knowledge that someone was listening to her.

"Good." She nodded before continuing, "See the number sequence here in the second line? That's the system at work. We only put the first three or four numbers on the stickers, but in our records we have at least twelve - it's the call number for the book incase something happens to it. It's unique. No other book in the library has the same call number as this one does. The numbers on the sticker tell us which kind of sub-section to put the book in. Anything from 200 to 299 goes in the Religion & Theology section, which is down this aisle." She announced quietly as she led him to a deserted row of books.

"And then there's the last line on the sticker." She pointed to the third and last line. "It's the first three letters in the author's last name. That way, if you're stuck with a stack of books with the same three numbers, you can look for the author's name. " Gadreel found himself smiling at her enthusiasm as she put the book away between two other ones with similar stickers on their spines.

She looked up at him from the book she had just put away in its rightful place and blushed profusely before looked down at her hands, which were now fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "I know this stuff must seem dull to you."

"You should not feel ashamed about something you are passionate about." He simply told her and she looked up at him with a smile that made him breathless for some reason unknown to him. He spent the rest of their time at the library doing things that would make her smile, whether it be reaching up to put things away on the top shelf for her or pushing the cart-bookshelf for her. Anything to make her smile at him like that again.

The two were about to leave at the end of the day when they were stopped by a older man. He looked at her suspiciously before turning his beady eyes onto Gadreel. "I don't remember hiring you, young man." He announced, an air of authority to his baritone voice.

"He's with me, Mr. Evon." She explained and the angel watched as he squinted down at her. He was just a little shorter than Gadreel himself was and used it to his advantage against her, who was at least a head shorter than him.

"Well," Mr. Evon stated, "Let's just hope that he doesn't take you away from your work." And then his long legs took him back into the library.

The two stood at the entryway for a while before she huffed and started to walk down the sidewalk, angrily buttoning up her coat as she moved. He had never expected her to act this was and he was taken aback for a moment, before walking towards her. It wasn't hard to catch up to her and Gadreel quickly kept pace with her as she made her way to the department store. He had almost forgotten that they were going to get him clothes, making their already long day even longer.

She almost stomped over to one of the racks and started to pull clothes of for him to try on. The angel did as he was told, not wanting to get onto the young woman's bad side.

Half and hour later, the two were walking out of the store, multiple bags in their hands. They stopped at a nearby diner and grabbed some food to take back to the apartment.

The two had gotten to the apartment and she ripped off her coat as soon as she opened the door. She walked briskly to the round table and he followed with the paper bag of food in hand. He gave her her food and sat down with his. She mumbled a 'thanks' before taking a bite out of her sandwich. He did the same and the two ate in silence.

"That's embarrassing." She commented after she failed to throw her wrapper into the waste basket. She bent over to pick it up and dropped it straight in.

"Who was he?" Gadrel found himself asking after he made his own basket shot. He felt as if he needed to know what was bothering her so much, and he figured that it must have had something to do with this Mr. Evon.

"My boss." Was all she said before handing him his clothes and heading to her room, saying something about how she was tired and needed to get some sleep.

Gadreel looked at the clock on the wall of the hallway and realized that it was in fact getting late. He walked to his room, the bags of clothing in his hands, and put them away and the dresser drawers before changing into the sweat pants and shirt that she had given to him the night before. He slipped under the comforter and let his body fall asleep to the quiet sounds of the city outside the apartment.

This routine of theirs had gone on for about a month. They'd wake up, eat breakfast, get ready, and then go spend their day at the library. He would help her wherever he could and tried not to run into her supervisor again - the man didn't seem to like Gadreel, but the feeling was mutual.

She had apologized to the angel, explaining that her boss just had a way of always getting under her skin. It was alright. He could understand being around someone who was persistently irritating.

One night the two were sitting on the bed in the her room of the place that Gadreel had come to call home. They had spent the night watching the Star Wars movies that she had made him watch with her, claiming that it was for his own good. At least he understood what Castiel had meant about 'playing Wookie'.

The movie had just ended and Gadreel could barely keep his eyes open. He looked down at her and found that she was already asleep, her body nestled into his side. She looked so peaceful, so calm and he didn't want to wake her. He tried to extract himself from the bed but he felt her grip on his side wanting to wake her, he laid back down and pulled her rather colorful comforter over them both before pulling her closer to him. His body fell asleep to the sounds of her quiet breathing.

Gadreel woke up to something tickling his nose. He opened his eyes and saw her hair. He accidentally breathed it in and coughed. She moved and he silently chastised himself for indirectly waking her up.

"What time is it, Gadreel?" Her voice was rough like gravel from lack of use.

Too early. "Go back to sleep." He advised as he ran his hand up and down her back. She was soon lulled back to sleep and Gadreel got out of bed, intending to go back to his room. He found himself in the kitchen, attempting to make something for breakfast, instead.

She opened her eyes to find her bed empty. She could have sworn that Gadreel had been there, at her side. The other side of the bed was still arm. She smiled at the memory of waking up in his arms and everything feeling so right.

She extracted herself from the comforter and wandered out of her room, hoping to find him. She did find him making something that might have resembled eggs if it hadn't been burned until it all looked black.

She leaned up against the wall as she watched him dart around the kitchen, uttering phrases like 'where's the milk?' or 'Hers don't look like that, do they?' paired with facial expressions that made her smile.

"You know you can always make cereal for breakfast, right?" She asked when she couldn't handle it anymore. He looked up at her in surprise before glancing sheepishly down at the mess in the fry pan. He looked back up at her and gave her what she could only describe as the bitch face.

She chuckled at the expression before walking up behind him and getting a box of Cheerios, the gallon of milk, and two bowls and spoons out. She handed the supplies to Gadreel and watched as he prepared their breakfast. She chuckled again before heading back to her room with her bowl of cereal and milk. She turn on the TV to one of the morning shows and sat down on the bed, Gadreel not far behind.

As he sat there with her on the unmade bed, eating cereal and watching the morning television, Gadreel finally understood why his brother, Castiel, was in love with humanity.

He felt something grow inside his chest when she slipped her arms through his bent elbow. This feeling spread to his feet when she laid her head on his shoulder. He wanted to rest his head on top of her own. It felt odd. He had never felt this way towards someone before, much less a human.

He doubted if she could ever feel the same way. Not with his shameful past.

With that in mind, he grabbed her now empty bowl and took it out to the kitchen with his. He heard her soft footsteps drawing nearer as he loaded the dishwasher.

"Thanks." He heard her say. She stood on her toes, grabbed his shoulder, and kissed him on the cheek. Gadreel was stunned, frozen in place.

She lowered herself back to her normal height and let go of his shoulder, her fingers slightly trailing down his arm. Their fingertips brushed each other and his hand held onto hers tightly, as if it was afraid to let go.

She turned around to face him, a look of surprise on her face. "What-" Gadreel cut her off, his lips touching hers. He was about to pull away when she kissed him back. His hands cupped her face - hoping that she wouldn't pull away - and her hands reached up to the base of his neck - pulling him even closer. He now understood what all the music that she listened to on the radio was talking about. He understood the looks that couples walking down the sidewalk would give each other.

She pulled away slightly, out of breath, and smiled. Her eyes were still closed. He wondered what she was thinking of. Was is the kiss? Was it good or bad? He had to know.

"Was it satisfactory?" Gadreel asked.

She giggled. "Better than satisfactory." She answered before opening her eyes and looking up at him.

He smiled at her answer and was about to lean in again when there was a pounding on the door. "Expecting anyone?" He asked, looking at the door.

"Not this early." She responded before moving to the door. He followed closely behind, should anything happen.

She opened the door a little to a man about with his hand raised up in a fist, prepared to knock again. "Can I help you?"

She opened the door all the way and Gadreel looked around her. He thought he's never see these men again. In front of them were the Winchesters and his brother, Castiel. He watched as Dean Winchester gave her a once over before looking behind her to find Gadreel.

"Gadreel." Sam Winchester said, coming from behind his brother. "We need your help."

Gadreel looked at Sam Winchester incredulously. "Why?"

"Who are you guys?"

"Family." Castiel said the same time that Dean Winchester said, "Friends."

"Family friends." Sam Winchester responded, trying to cover up for the other two.

"Uh-huh." Gadreel had heard her make that sound enough times to know what was going through her head. She wasn't buying their story, not that the angel could blame her, the three men weren't exactly selling their point very well.

Castiel seemed to recognize this and took a step towards her. Gadreel moved in front of her - blocking his brother's path - but Castiel just pushed him aside and laid a finger on her forehead. He watched as she closed her eyes and fell towards the floor. He caught her before she fell.

"You must be joking, brother." Gadreel warned as he laid her down safely on the sofa.

"Gadreel, we need to find Metatron to get my angelic grace back." Castiel explained, looking at his brother with determination in his hardened blue eyes. Gadreel's eyes widened at what he was saying. He hadn't seen Metatron since he left to help the Winchesters. He looked at Sam Winchester.

"I cannot leave her." Gadreel stated, looking back at her unconscious body.

"You have to. There are already angels looking for you, brother." Castiel replied.

"Just write her a note. Your girlfriend will understand." Dean Winchester commented as he sauntered down the apartment building's hallway. Sam Winchester rolled his eyes and followed his brother.

Castiel waited for him to make his decision. Gadreel grabbed a pen and wrote down something on a piece of scrap paper, telling her that he had to leave for a 'family emergency' and that he'd be back as soon as he could - although that it might be a long time. He also wrote that he's explain everything to her once he returned. He set it on the coffee table and grabbed his jacket, leaving his home with Castiel and the two Winchester brothers.

"You know," Gadreel commented as he slid into the Impala with his brother, "I am aware of what 'Playing Wookie' is now."

Castiel just chuckled and looked out the window after seeing the expressions that the two older brothers were wearing on their faces.

Three months later, Gadreel found her in the library, shelving books. The Winchesters and Castiel had dropped him off at the library after they found Metatron and gained Castiel's grace back. He had to see her. She was all he thought about since he left her apartment that morning. He learned from Sam Winchester that the thing he had been feeling was love. And looking at her now, the emotion grew a considerable amount inside his chest.

Gadreel announced his presence, softly saying her name so he wouldn't surprise her too much. She turned around and, when she realized that it was him, she threw her arms around his shoulders, tightly embracing him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her off the ground. Her legs wrapped around his hips and her grip on him tightened. He could feel her breath on his neck and he closed his eyes as he sighed, content with her reaction.

Her breath left his neck and before he knew it, her lips crashed onto his. He was shocked. She started to pull away before he could regain himself. But when he did he kissed her back wholeheartedly. He pulled her even closer to him, if it was possible. He felt the warmth in his chest multiply tenfold as he held her in his arms, desperately moving his lips against hers.

He pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Gadreel." She admonished, looking up into his eyes.

"I know." Were the two words that he said before he kissed her again.

When they got home that night, he sat her down on the sofa and explained everything. What he was, his past, and why he left that morning. She listened and accepted all of it, much to his surprise. She also let him come back to the apartment - under one condition. He wasn't going to sleep in the guest room anymore. And he was more than fine with that.

AN: And that's a wrap! I hope you like this one, anonymous, wherever you may be! I hope it's long enough for you, too. I think we all know where Gadreel's going to be sleeping from now on, amiright? ;) Also, 1000 points for me being about to fit a whole conversation about the Dewey Decimal System into this story. Some say that it couldn't be done, but they were wrong. I may be the one to bring the System back to popularity, who knows.

Uhh, I've gotten a lot of requests to do follow ups on 'Don't Break Me Down' and 'West Coast'. I will be added a second part onto both of them! I also have a lot of requests for other stuff that I will be doing, so dear not. Hopefully they won't take me too long!

Comments, questions, concerns? Just drop me an ask via my blog or a review or PM via fanfiction. Have a good day, everyone!

Remember to Smile :)

~Becca