When Dean entered the kitchen, he found Cas in there hunched over the sink. Concerned, he hurried to the angel's side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Cas?" The angel flinched away from him with a cry and lurched backwards. Dean stilled. "Hey, Cas. Chill out, man." The angel held himself rigid and smoothed his features into a neutral expression.

"Do you need something, Dean?" he asked, dully.

"Just a beer," Dean said easily. "But I'd like it if Cas could come out to play, too." The angel quivered, but Robo-Cas was still in control.

"I don't know what you mean," Cas said mechanically. Dean ran a hand through his hair.

"Don't do this to me, Cas. Please. You're killing me." That had more of an effect. Cas' lips parted for a second and he huffed out a breath. Dean raised one trembling hand to Cas' jaw, watched the angel's eyes go wide and felt the thrum of his Grace under his skin. Stroking his thumb along Cas' jawline, his mouth went dry at the tremor that wracked the angel's frame. He stared at Cas' mouth, taking his time to really look at the soft, pink mouth and stubble-dusted chin. Cas' tongue slid out to wet his lips and Dean sucked in a breath. He dragged his eyes up to meet Cas' gaze, the angel's blue eyes had darkened and were shimmering with unshed tears. Dean gave the angel a soft smile.

"It's OK, Cas. We're OK." Cas blinked and that was enough to cause two tears to run down his face. Dean wiped them away with the back of his hand, then resettled his fingers on Cas' jaw. They stood there like that, just staring at each other in a suspended moment. This... this was the moment to move forward. Dean stepped back.


Sam opened the door to his room to find the archangel all tangled up in the sheets, a light sheen of sweat on his skin. Sam swore under his breath and touched Gabriel's forehead with the back of his hand. Gabriel shifted restlessly at his touch, his skin burning. Sam swore again, he'd have to go get Cas. He sighed and squared his shoulders, not wanting to deal with the angel in his current mood but there was no help for it.

He found Cas in his room, the TV on but the volume muted. He sat up straight as Sam burst into the room and blurted out. "It's Gabriel. He's got a fever."

"He can't get a fever," Cas contradicted. "He's an archangel." Sam shook his head frantically.

"He's hot and sweating and tangled up in the sheets. Looks like a fever to me."

"Show me." Cas said, standing.

Running down the hallway back to Sam's room, they encountered Dean who fell in step behind them at Sam's breathless explanation. Once at Gabriel's side, Cas touched his fingers to the archangel's forehead and concentrated. Dean and Sam exchanged glances. Finally the angel looked up, his brow furrowed.

"I don't understand. None of this should be happening, even with his Grace so badly depleted. I don't know what to do." Cas sounded a little panicked and Sam's stomach lurched.

"OK. Cas and I'll call Martin again. Sam, until we learn differently, let's treat this like a human fever. Stay here and keep watch over Gabriel, maybe try and get his temperature down." Dean decided. The angel gave a nod and they left hurriedly. Sam stared at Gabriel, who was tossing and turning in the bed, his lips silently moving. There was a fan on the dresser that he switched on and pointed towards the bed. That was a start, but it wouldn't be enough. Remembering how Dean had cared for him as a kid when he had the flu, he dashed to the bathroom to grab a towel and soaked it in cold water. Back in his room, he began wrestling Gabriel out of his borrowed clothes. At least the awful bruises that had previously marred that pale golden skin had mostly faded away. Sam swallowed, this was no time to get distracted, and focused on the task at hand, wiping the cool wet towel over Gabriel's skin, until Gabriel's restless movements slowed. Cold water dripped on his jeans and he cursed. He pulled away for a moment and removed his boots and then with a twist of his mouth, flopped onto the bed next to Gabriel. He kept the wet towel moving over the archangel's skin, and watched closely for any changes.

Slowly, Gabriel's ragged breathing evened out and he settled against Sam's side. Sam tucked his arm under the archangel's head, wondering if his own body heat would make things worse again. But Gabriel continued to improve. The archangel was plastered against Sam's body and Sam relaxed as he felt the febrile skin cooling, clearly the worst of the fever had receded as quickly and mysteriously as it had arrived.

Gabriel's hand slid under Sam's t-shirt and across Sam's stomach, and despite his worry and stress, he couldn't prevent a moan from slipping out. He chastised himself for behaving so inappropriately- Gabriel was sick! The hand continued to move and Sam leaned his head back trying desperately not to react to the slide of Gabriel's skin against his own. Finally, the hand came to rest over the Grace anchor mark on Sam's chest and it was as if he'd been plugged into an outlet. His entire nervous system was burning, screaming, pain tearing along every nerve ending like white hot needles. And just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. Sam opened his eyes carefully, to see Gabriel propped up on his chest, his eyes wide.

"Sammy…" he said, awestruck.


The noise Sam had made had been so terrific, it had actually set off one of the bunker's alarms. Cas had silenced it with an irritated motion as he sprinted out of the library, Dean tearing helter-skelter behind him. The bizarre scene that greeted them brought them both up short. Gabriel was clad only in boxer shorts and lying on top of Sam with his hands under his shirt. They were staring at each other with shocked looks on both their faces.

"Gabriel!" Cas shouted. Sam and Gabriel turned to see their brothers tumble into the room. Gabriel rolled off Sam, huffed out a breath and closed his eyes.

"What the Hell is going on in here?" Dean demanded. Sam closed his eyes briefly.

"You said I should treat Gabriel like a human with a fever," he explained. "When I had flu, you used to cool my skin with a wet towel. So, that's what I was doing, and it seemed to be working." Dean's eyes narrowed.

"And this required you to take off all his clothes and get into bed with him?" he snarled.

"I could hardly do it with him all bundled up in sweats. I climbed on the bed because it was easier to work on cooling him down. What's the matter with you?" Dean bared his teeth but didn't articulate an answer. "Anyway, Gabriel started settling and I guess he reached out and touched his hand to the Grace anchor mark. That hurt like a son of a bitch, which is why I was yelling. When it stopped and I opened my eyes, he was awake." Sam looked at Gabriel, who was lying so serenely next to him, he began to wonder if he'd imagined it.

"That's strange. You felt pain when Gabriel touched the mark?" Cas asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe. Terrible, burning hot pain, like all my nerve endings were on fire. Just for a moment. Then it stopped. And when I opened my eyes, Gabriel was awake." He looked down at the archangel. "Has he gone back into the coma?"

"I don't think so," Cas replied. "I think he's faking." There was a soft snort from Gabriel and his eyes flickered open.

"Tell them to go away, Sammy." he muttered. "I need to rest."

Sam looked up at his brother and Cas. "You heard him."

"We'll make up another room for him, so you can have your room back." Cas offered. Sam shook his head.

"No, I want him here where I can be on hand in case the fever returns." Dean looked dubious, but Cas shepherded him out of the room.

Sam looked down at Gabriel, who was looking at him with half-lidded, sleepy eyes. The archangel gave a lopsided smile.

"It's good to see you, Sammy." He turned onto his side and steadily looked up and down Sam's body with interest. "It's really good to see you," he added, raising one eyebrow. Sam flushed.

"I should probably get off the bed." he mumbled, but didn't move.

"Bah! Ignore my prudish brother. And yours. I'm too exhausted to debauch you anyway." He gave Sam a more suggestive look up and down and Sam's color deepened. "Maybe later…" He licked his lips and Sam almost leaped off the bed.

"Stop. Or I'll go sleep somewhere else and if you get sick again you'll be on your own." He turned his back on the archangel.

"Relax." Gabriel drawled. "I'm messing with you, that's all. Your virtue is safe. Come back to bed." Unsure why he was doing this, Sam lay back down and allowed Gabriel to poke and prod him until they were arranged to the archangel's liking. Gabriel was curled against his side again, his head on Sam's shoulder. "I'm sorry I hurt you," he said, his tone somber.

"Did you know that was going to happen?" Sam asked.

"No. I swear. I mean, yes I knew what it would do to me, I didn't know it would cause you pain." Gabriel trailed his fingers across Sam's stomach, making the muscles tense and twitch in a way that was much too pleasant.

"Please stop doing that." Sam told him. Gabriel withdrew his hand. "What do you mean, what it did to you?" Gabriel sighed.

"Do we have to talk about this now?" he asked plaintively. Sam nodded. "OK, you obviously know about the Grace anchor I placed on you."

"Why did you do that, by the way?"

"Later. It's a long story and I really do need to rest. When I touched the Grace anchor, I was able to use it to replenish some of my Grace through your soul." Sam sat up suddenly and Gabriel tumbled awkwardly out of bed. "Hey!"

"You...sucked on my soul!" Sam demanded, horror clawing at his throat.

"It sounds bad when you say it like that." Gabriel said from the floor. "Not to mention inaccurate. Help me up." Sam stared down at him and he sighed. "Your soul's intact. I used it as a conduit, that's all. Human souls are connected to Heaven at birth. When you sin, really sin, it begins to sever that connection, and normally it has to completely detach before a soul can go to Hell. I've been cut off from Heaven for a long time, but I'm an archangel, so I have other ways to recharge my Grace. But my options here are limited, and you were lying right there next to me. I figured you wouldn't mind. Of course, I didn't know it would hurt you. As soon as I realized, I stopped." Sam held out a hand and Gabriel struggled upright. He flounced back onto the bed and wrapped himself around Sam once more. Sam lay stiffly for a moment, but couldn't hold onto his anger with Gabriel plastered against his side and his fingers trailing across his stomach again. He tried futilely to repress the curl of desire that Gabriel was gently coaxing from his body.

"Please, Gabriel. Please. Don't do this," he begged. Gabriel's fingers stilled.

"I'll try," he said doubtfully. Sam looked down at the top of the archangel's head.

"This is going too fast for me," Sam told him. "Until a few days ago, I thought you were dead. And before that, I hardly knew you. We weren't friends. Allies at best, at the end."

"Did you miss me, Sammy?" Gabriel asked quietly.

"Yes, I did. Grieved, even." His voice was clipped. No longer able to resist the urge, he tangled his fingers in Gabriel's hair. "How Dean didn't notice is beyond me. I guess he had his own concerns." Gabriel was silent. "What did you do to me, Gabriel?"

"What did I do to you?" the archangel marveled. "What did you do to me? I was having a perfectly nice life until this giant human came stumbling into the middle of it and somehow... I fell in love. Then I'm dead."

"In love?" Sam choked, appalled.

"What, you think I go around killing everybody's siblings a hundred times to try and teach them how to accept loss? Well, there was the whole triggering the Apocalypse thing I was trying to avoid as well. But really..." Gabriel's fingers were moving again. Sam tried to remember how to breathe as the archangel hand drifted south.

"Gabriel!" The hand stopped.

"Sorry."

"I don't know what kind of trick you're pulling, Gabriel. Right now it's getting har...uh, difficult to care. Which you know damn well. But give me a break. You love yourself, nobody else, and everything you do is for a selfish reason." That got a reaction. Gabriel's hand retreated and he wiggled out from under Sam's arm, rolling over to present his back to him. Shit.

"Gabriel?" The archangel didn't respond. "Gabriel, I'm sorry. I am. But you must understand how difficult this is to believe. And you surely didn't think I felt the same way about you. We barely knew each other!" The muscles in Gabriel's back stiffened further. Dammit. He didn't understand what was going on here and he was making it worse. He sat up and climbed off the bed, but Gabriel remained unmoved.

"Maybe I should let you sleep. I'm tired, and I'm not expressing myself very well. We can talk in the morning." He leaned over to pick up his jeans when he heard Gabriel whisper.

"Stay."

Sam sighed. "I don't think it's a good idea. We're not even close to being on the same wavelength."

"Please." Gabriel's shoulders shuddered and Sam relented.

"Fine. But stop trying to seduce me, or whatever the Hell it is you think you're doing. We can talk, or we can sleep. That's it." He climbed back into the bed and stretched out his arm again. Gabriel made a happy noise and cuddled back into Sam's side once more. But this time he behaved himself.


When Sam awoke, it was to find that Gabriel had turned over in the night and Sam was now spooned up behind him. Sam lay there silently, enjoying the lazy sense of arousal that came with waking up pressed against another warm body.

"Somebody woke up happy." Gabriel observed huskily. Sam jerked in guilt and surprise.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were awake."

"Oh, so you only want to molest me in my sleep." Gabriel managed to spin himself around in Sam's arms and all of a sudden his face was very, very close. Sam's breathing stuttered.

"Good morning, Sammy." Gabriel said with a sultry smile. He leaned in and brushed his lips against Sam's. The effect was electric, Sam went from half-asleep to fully awake and highly aroused almost immediately. His brain disengaged and his instincts took over as he clutched the archangel to him and savagely brought their mouths together. Gabriel's mouth yielded instantly to Sam's onslaught, hard and hot and open to Sam's tongue. Sam thrust one hand into Gabriel's hair and tugged his head back, before biting a trail down Gabriel's neck and then sinking his teeth into his shoulder. Gabriel groaned and it was the hottest thing Sam had ever heard. Gabriel's blood tasted incredible - like lightning and chaos and starlight and seemed strangely familiar but even that vague thought did not pierce the haze of lust that had overtaken him. He pulled off his shirt and kicked off his shorts before continuing to lick and kiss and bite his way down the archangel's chest and stomach. Gabriel's breath was coming in short little pants and Sam felt heady with the power he felt making this incredible creature come apart in his arms. He went to dip lower still, but Gabriel's hands tugged him back up to his mouth.

"My turn," he breathed against Sam's jaw, then set to work nibbling and sucking at his neck and throat. Gabriel's teeth were sharp, and Sam was sure he'd drawn blood in several places but he did not care. He just wanted to go on feeling like this forever. Gabriel had moved lower and was swirling his tongue in Sam's belly button in a way that should not have been as erotic as it was. But when Sam thought he might continue southwards, he instead hauled himself up Sam's body until he was straddling him and returned his attentions to Sam's neck.. He ground his hips against Sam and slid one hand between them, wringing a gasp from them both. Sam pulled Gabriel in for another kiss, and they moved against each other, faster and harder, until Gabriel suddenly threw his head back with a shout. Sam felt the beginning of the archangel's climax before he too was tumbling over the edge with a cry.