Gabriel was lounging on the couch with a tray of strawberries on the coffee table. Hermione had been trying to get him to eat healthier, and strawberry was a fruit, right? It definitely counted in his own mind, even if they were covered in chocolate. He was waiting for her to get ready for work, so he could try to persuade her not to go – it never worked, but he had to at least try. At the moment, she was singing along to the music she was listening to in the shower – he was trying very hard not to think about her naked, with water running down that lovely –

Luckily (or unluckily, depending how you look at it), that string for thought was interrupted, when the front door was slammed off its hinges. Gabriel jumped up, knocking over the tray, to look at none other than Dean Winchester, who had just entered the living room, closely followed by his brother Sam.

"Hey! Do you mind?" Gabriel hissed at them. Luckily Hermione had stopped singing. He would prefer if they didn't realize she was there, now he just hoped she would stay put.

"No, I don't, actually." Dean answered, scowling at him. "Nice digs you've got here." Sam whistled lowly, stepping further in to the living room.

"Hey, I hadn't pegged you for the reading type" Dean said, picking up a worn book from the side table "'Potioneering in the 19th century' – a real page turner that must be." He said sarcastically as he fiddled with the book mark.

Gabriel's eyes widened. "You put that down, carefully." He told Dean warningly. Dean threw the book down on the couch, making the archangel wince.

"Seriously, dude? It's a just book." Dean told him. Sam was walking around, studying the pictures on the wall with a frown. He turned around to say something, but was interrupted before he could say anything.

"Gabe? Have you seen my car keys?" A distinctly female voice called out. Dean's eyes bugged and Sam choked.

"Uh, keys are in the kitchen, sweetheart!" Gabriel yelled back at her.

"Sweetheart?" Dean mouthed at him incredulously.

Gabriel closed his eyes, willing her to just summon the keys, leave and not look into the living room. Of course, luck was not on his side

"Ugh! You've made a mess of the hall. You didn't have to break the door, you can just angel your way in, and the boot prints? You're worse than a dog, seriously! Please just tell me you aren't licking your own balls in the living room. Agai-" She stopped short, taking in the 'guests' standing in the living room.

Dean was in shock. When he heard a woman's voice, he hadn't exactly known what to expect. Maybe strippers like last time. Definitely not what came down the small set of stairs. She was young, but she held herself with the grace and dignity of a woman who had been through a lot and was proud to live to tell the tale. She was wearing a light blue button down shirt, a tight black pencil skirt and black pumps that made him think of things he probably shouldn't. It was her face that took his breath away though. She was gorgeous for a lack of better word.

He was literally shaken out of his reverie, by Sam, who had picked up on the way the woman was glaring and Gabriel, who looked like he might smite the both of them at any minute

…

Hermione was furious, but to the surprise of the Winchester brothers she turned on Gabriel.

"Didn't I tell you?!" She hissed. "I told you, that you were going after people too close to home!"

"Well, you should have stopped me!"

"Oh, please, we both know that it really isn't my fault, when you get cocky!"

"Oh, I don't know about that, Honey." He smirked deviously and she rolled her eyes.

"Let me guess; it was the human Ken-doll?" She asked the Winchesters. Dean smiled and nodded sheepishly.

"Come on! He was pressuring teenage girls to get plastic surgery. I'd say he got what was coming to him. Some of my best work too." Gabriel argued.

"Yes, but we live here, Gabriel! You don't piss, where you eat!" She yelled at him.

"Ooh, language, Hermione." Gabriel teased. "What do you two mutton heads want anyways? Help saving the world? Again?"

"You know, you could have just told us you were alive." Sam turned on the puppy dog face.

"And be on your beck and call? Hell no." Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"We searched for you. Cas searched for you."

"Castiel looked for me?" Gabriel asked, unbelievingly.

"You are his brother, after all. And he seemed pretty adamant that you were alive." Sam pointed out.

Gabriel squirmed uncomfortably. "Well yeah. He was right, obviously."

"Yeah, right." Dean snarked. "Anyways, your dad wants to see you."

Hermione raised her eyebrows "Dad, as in –" She pointed upwards.

"Wait a minute – you found him?" Gabriel asked incredulously.

"More like he found us. Also, you should know, that Lucifer's out of his cage." Sam butted in.

Gabriel's eyes widened. "Lucifer?" He hissed. "You shitheads let Lucifer out of the cage? Are you insane?"

Sam sighed "Well, technically it was Castiel. And now Lucifer is possessing him"

"What? What the hell would make him want to do that?"

"Well, maybe if another Archangel had stepped to the plate, he wouldn't have felt the need!" Dean thundered.

Gabriel raised his hands in surrender. "I take it our dear Auntie Amara is still on the loose?"

"And killing people as we speak" Sam ground out.

"She's the one you had to lock up, because she tried to eat the world before it began, right?" Hermione asked, trying to wrap her head around the situation.

"No offence, sister, but who are you, even?" Dean turned to ask her.

"You back off" Gabriel growled.

"So, this is where you've been? Shacked up with this – what are you even? Some kind of primordial goddess?"

"Well, I appreciate the compliment, but no. I'm human."

"Huh. Just human?" Dean looked at her skeptically and she rolled her eyes.

"Are the details really that important to what we're doing here?" She asked him.

He narrowed his eyes. "They might be."

"Nope, not those details." Gabriel interrupted. "So, I suppose you wanted me to sign up?"

"Yeah. We need you to come with us." Sam said

"Okay, where are we going?" Hermione asked.

"Oh no, missy. You're staying put." Gabriel told her.

"The hell I am. If you're going, then I'm going." She argued.

"Just a second guys" Gabriel told the Winchesters and snapped his fingers, expelling them to the outside of the building.

Hermione stood, glaring at him.

He sighed. "I can't keep you safe out there. Remember? I just want to keep you safe."

Her glare turned into a reluctant smile. "I can keep myself safe, just fine." She whispered.

"That's not the point." He grumbled, looking at the ground.

"I know. But I'm coming with you, like it or not." She took his hands.

"Fine." He relented and kissed her forehead.

Hermione closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of his lips on her skin. Even such a chaste gesture made her tingle. She still didn't know what to make of him. He could be fun and flirty, but she never knew if he was serious or not. And then there were moments like these, that generally threw her off kilter. She was in big trouble, and she knew it. After all, what would an Archangel want with a human?