Gabriel looked over at Lisa, who was staring wide-eyed at his sudden appearance. Ben stood behind his mother, peeking around her arm at him.
Lisa, however, had not lowered the poker.
"You may want to put that down before you put someone's eye out," Gabriel said. He snapped his fingers again, and the poker was turned into a Tequila Sunrise.
In fact, everyone was suddenly holding drinks. Gabriel had a Singapore Sling; Bobby was holding a Rob Roy; Inias had a Harvey Wallbanger; Adam and Samandriel each had a Shirley Temple; and Ben had a Roy Rogers.
"That's better," Gabriel said. "Now, long story short. I'm the Archangel Gabriel. The hipster over there is an angel named Inias, and the kid from Wiener Hut is also an angel, but I can tell from his grace that he's one of the generations born since I skipped out on Heaven, so I'm not sure what his name is..."
"Samandriel," the angel from Wiener Hut replied. " My name is Samandriel."
Inias spoke up. "We - I mean, those of us around when you left - we thought you were dead. They told us you were dead."
"The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated," Gabriel said. He took a swig of Singapore Sling.
Lisa put her drink down on the fireplace mantel. "You're an angel? The angel Gabriel?"
"Archangel,' Gabriel said.
Lisa folded her arms. "Prove it."
"What? Me changing a poker into a Tequila Sunrise not good enough for you? Or saving you from my axe crazy little sister, Hester?"
"No," Lisa said simply.
Gabriel grinned. "I can see why Dean-o likes you,"
"You're gonna have to prove it to me too," Bobby said.
Gabriel looked at him. "You mean Dean-o and Sam-a-Lam didn't mention our last encounter? I'm surprised..."
"Oh, they mentioned it..."
"I did give you your legs back..."
"Any crossroads demon worth their salt, pardon the pun, can do the same."
"You called me Wings!"
"Slip of the tongue."
Gabriel rolled his eyes and stood up. "Oh, ye of little faith."
Gabriel manifested his wings.
Bobby, Adam, Lisa and Ben stood opened mouthed as golden wings appeared behind Gabriel and reached up to the house's vaulted ceilings. Each feather appeared to shimmer with its own golden light, and the room was bathed in a golden glow.
Then they were gone again.
It was Lisa who spoke first.
"Well, okay. Archangel it is," she said.
She reached for her drink that sat on the fireplace mantel and started to drink it.
Bobby drank down his Rob Roy in one gulp. He grimaced. "What the hell did you do to this whiskey, Wings?"
"I made it better than that rot gut that you're used to, that's what!" Gabriel sat back down on the sofa. "So where's Castiel? I thought he'd be around protecting the boys..."
Bobby looked at him. "He took them to where the Beautiful Room was - wasn't he there?"
"No, he wasn't!" Gabriel stood up once more.
"Balls," Bobby muttered.
"Quiet; I'm trying to concen- Oh, hell. Back in a jiffy."
Then Gabriel was gone once more.
SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN
Off Delacroix Island, Louisiana
The fishermen on the La belle Janet were in a panic at the sight of the bloodied man who had appeared out of nowhere, onto their little fishing boat.
A brave - some would later say, foolhardy - teenager named Marcus went over to where the man lay.
"Hey, Buddy - are you okay?" he asked, gently touching the man's hand.
Suddenly, there was the sharp tang of ozone in his nostrils, and the hair stood up on the back of Marcus' neck.
And then there was another man standing beside him. Marcus looked up at him, frightened.
"It's okay, kiddo," Gabriel said. "I'm just here to get my baby bro."
Gabriel turned to where the other crew members were standing, looking on in awe.
"You all should head home now. I imagine you fellas have had quite enough shocks for one day."
Then the two men were gone.
Later, the La belle Janet would arrive in port earlier than expected, but miraculously, its cargo hold would be completely full. Buyers would later call the catch the best tasting fish that had been caught in the area for a long time.
