And here we find out what Gabriel has been doing for the past two days. Also, he's got some serious mood issues right now. And oh, I wonder who this D.W. is. *evil writer laughter*

Anyway, to Purnell2015: Yes, Cas is adorably protective. So's Dean. Also, "it"? Are you referring to an item or Dezi?

~Nobu


Two days passed by within the bunker, the group just hanging out, eating cake and watching Disney films. No one really seemed to care that Gabriel had vanished. Again. They pretty well figured that the archangel had gotten bored and flown off for some fun.

A loud crash came from deeper within the building. Everyone jumped. Dean shared a look with his brother and they jogged to the dungeon. They stormed into the room that had held the King of Hell.

"Heavy bastard." Gabriel's growl floated to the Winchesters.

Sam frowned, flicking on the lights as Dean moved the shelves. They were both startled to find Gabe pushing an unconscious Crowley into the chair. The King of Hell looked terrible. The archangel glanced up and noticed the brothers.

"Special delivery." Gabriel grumbled. He stalked over to them and shoved a small piece of paper into Dean's hands.

"What the hell?" The older Hunter asked.

"It's a note." The archangel snapped.

"What's it say?" Sam asked, eyeing Gabe with tense shoulders.

"It says, 'Hell's gates have closed. Once you hunt the demons whom remain on Earth, you will no longer need to worry over them. Be sure to set Fergus up so he can survive. ~D.W.'" Dean frowned.

"D.W.?" The former vessel of Luci asked.

"That's what it's signed with." The older Hunter grunted.

"And it's typed, so we could track them down by their handwriting." Sam sighed.

"So, it can't be Dean-O here, because Neanderthals don't know how to type." Gabriel butted in.

"You really want to start somethin', Gabriel?" Dean growled.

"What if I do?" Gabe sneered.

"Then you'll have a bad f-" Dean began.

"Enough! Both of you." Sam pushed the glowering men apart. He gave them each a leveled glare, "We're not having any of this pissing contest crap right now. We need to figure out what the hell's happened here."

"Well, Crowley there's a human now. Fully. The Gates of Hell are in fact closed." Gabriel stated.

"So, this D.W. person sacrificed themselves to do that?" The youngest frowned.

"Yes." Gabe crossed his arms.

"That actually sounds an awful lot like Dean." Sam said.

The archangel snorted. The righteous man gave his brother a glare.

"Well it does!" The younger Winchester objected.

"Shut up, Sam." Dean turned the glare to Gabriel, "And what the hell do you think we're going to do with the former King of Hell?"

"Well, they," Gabe pointed at the note, "obviously want you to take care of him. Make him another foster Winchester, by my guess."

"We should probably just kill him." Dean muttered.

"Dean, I don't think that's such a good idea." Sam said.

"Why not?"

"Well, this D.W. person has gotta be powerful to manage all those trails in so little time. I think that it might be best to heed the note."

"He sure as hell can't stay! Not with Deziela and Cas here!"

"Maybe we could set him up in an apartment someplace nearby to keep track of him."

Gabriel let out a long sigh, "Fine, I'll take him to my place. But not tonight."

"Wait, what?" Dean asked.

"Your place?" Sam frowned.

"What? Are you Deaf all of a sudden? Yes, my place." Gabe rolled his eyes.

"Then why've you been staying here?" The younger Hunter wondered.

"Um, hello? My niece? My little brother? The Mark? All seem like valid reasons to me." The archangel stated.

The Winchester brothers had to admit that that was fair and nodded for a moment. Then Sam frowned again, "Wait, why not tonight?"

"Because I'm not in the mood to cart the King of Hell around anymore than I already have." Gabriel walked out of the room before either could object.

[|]

Dean and Sam paused in the doorway of the library. Gabe was playing with Dezi and a few of her stuffed animals. And he was doing voices. The little girl giggled and clapped, grinning ear to ear. The younger Winchester noticed that, despite the large and genuine smile on his lips, Gabriel's eyes looked a bit haunted and sorrowful. Odd.

Growling from Dean's stomach pulled Sam's attention away from the archangel. The taller Hunter raised his brows at his brother.

Dean shrugged before turning to Castiel and Charlie, "Hey, I'm going to make something for dinner. Anyone want anything specific?"

"Mac and cheese?" She suggested.

"Sure." The shorter Winchester smiled. His gaze shifted to Cas, asking a silent question.

"I have no opinions on food, thank you, Dean." Castiel smiled softly at him.

"Okay." The righteous man nodded, "So, hot dogs and mac good?"

Those who would be eating agreed. Dean shrugged off his jackets, putting them on a chair and started rolling up his sleeves.

All of a sudden, Castiel was almost on top of Dean. The human blinked. Cas took Dean's right arm and turned it so that way he could see the skin. The Hunter frowned at the angel, glancing between his appendage and Castiel. He didn't get it, what had his friend noticed?

All at once the answer came when Cas' shocked whisper reached his ears, "Dean…"

"Holy hell! What happened to the Mark?" The righteous man shouted.

All eyes turned to them and Sam approached, "What? What about the Mark?"

"It's gone." Castiel stated.

Sam gaped. Charlie stared. None of them could believe it.

Thwack!

The group spun toward the noise. Gabriel was standing now, his fists clenched and his eyes burned with anger. About five feet away, an angel blade was stuck into the wall. The archangel stormed out of the room.

[|]

No one heard from Gabriel for a full week. At last, he came to give them an update on Crowley's integration back into human life and to spend a few hours with his niece. The archangel said only what needed to be said and yet it was not what Team Free Will and Charlie were wondering. Gabriel being so curt and close lipped to all but Deziela worried them further.

What had upset him so? They had discovered the Mark was gone from Dean moments before Gabe had punctured the wall. Had the archangel wanted Dean to have the Mark of Cain? No, that made no sense. The Mark was a danger to Deziela and Gabriel obviously loved her. And he'd been upset even before they'd found out. So, what was really eating the Trickster?

A few months passed before Gabriel was back to his annoying, joking self. He was visiting the bunker when something amazing happened. The archangel had begun to move to another part of the living room when Dezi's sweet little voice called out, "Eel!"

Gabriel turned to his niece to stare in shock as the little one toddled toward him. He was pretty damn sure these were her first steps. She stopped, frowning at the look on his face, and swayed with unbalance. In a swift moment, Gabe was kneeling on the floor, arms reaching for her, and grinning with encouragement, "What a good job, bubble! Why don't you come to me?"

Deziela giggled and stumbled into her next steps. She wobbled toward her uncle, arms stretch forward. The archangel continued encouraging her steps. It took a few minutes, but soon enough Dezi had fallen into his arms. Gabe pulled her close and stood, congratulating her as the rest of the family cheered with excitement.

It was a moment Gabriel would always treasure almost as much as he did his precious niece.