Hello my dears. I would like to thank Tie-Dyed Broadway, linusfan13 and Khoshekh42 for the lovely reviews. I would also like to thank those of you who have followed and favoured since my last update.
So here is the next chapter, I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
Gabriel finished up the work he was doing for his client and checked the time on his computer. And in doing so his eyebrows rose into his hair. Dean-o should have been here a good half an hour ago, and yet he hadn't heard the door go. Did that mean Cassie had actually answered it and let his husband in? Cos if so that was a major step forwards for the guy who just last night wasn't sure if he could even look at Dean, let alone speak to him. As such Gabriel got up out of his chair and moved to the door. Time to see what was going on downstairs.
He moved quietly, not wanted to disturb his brother, and when he got to the bottom of the stairs he heard muffled voices coming from the living room. One was definitely Castiel's, and the other he was sure was Dean's. So he had come then, and Cassie was giving him a chance. With a smile plastered on his face Gabriel moved to the door, pushing it open a crack to see if he should join them or leave them be. What he saw make his smile go from beaming to soft. Because there sitting on the floor, were the blonde head of Dean right next to the dark curls of Castiel. And they were looking at a photo album. That was good, getting them talking, getting Dean telling Castiel the stories he had forgotten was good. With that in mind he gently closed the door once more. He would leave them in peace, and hopefully talking of their first love would kindle a spark in Castiel to make him consider idea of trying it again. Yes, this was going even better than he thought it would. With that he returned to his makeshift office, though this time he had a massive smile on his face as he felt lightened by what he had seen. He wasn't alone in this. Dean was at his side, and together they would help Cassie to become the man they both knew he could and would be. A wonderful man that they both loved unconditionally.
Dean stood in the middle of his brother's living room, bottle of scotch in one hand and glass in the other. With shaking hands he filled the glass to the brim, and with two swallowed had emptied it. He then repeated the process, again and again. He knew he shouldn't be drinking, hell it was barely midday, but the realisation he had, sitting next to Cas in his own living room was enough to drive anyone to drink in his mind. It was the hardest thing he had ever had to do, stay sitting there besides the man who had his husband's face but not his memories. But he had done it. He had promised Cas he would help him through this, he had promised Gabriel his support, and he didn't go back on his promises, no matter how much they killed him inside. He would just have to learn how to deal with this. How to grieve the loss of his life without effecting those around him. At that thought he let out a bitter laugh. Here he was, suddenly realising he had to grieve for everything he had ever had, and yet he still had to play nice with the pretender who had stolen it from him. No, that wasn't fair. This was no more Cas' fault than it was anyone else's, in fact, if it was anyone's fault it was his own. He was the one who forced for the surgery after all. This was his doing, he was gonna have to man up and deal with the consequences. Cos while sure, his Cas was gone and that broke something inside of him that he hadn't even known was there, and he sure as he'll didn't know how to fix, there was still a Cas in the world that needed him. That was what he wanted right? A Cas alive and well? That was why he went for surgery rather than letting the man he loved die with dignity. So he was gonna have to deal with it all. But not now, no right now he was gonna get wasted. It was the only way he could even think of trying to process all the thoughts in his mind, or was he rather just trying to remove them from it? Either way, right now, alcohol was definitely the answer. With that thought he downed yet another glass of scotch, and then discarding the glass, unsteadily putting it on the coffee table. It was to slow, as such he started drinking the scotch straight out of the bottle as he tried to make his mind go bank, tried to stop it from thinking, or feeling anything. Cos that was one think he was damn sure of, he never wanted to feel again.
Sam returned from work in the early evening to find his brother passed out on his couch, the empty bottle of scotch on the floor as if it had just fallen from Dean's lax grip. He had no idea what to do. I mean he hadn't seen his brother like this since⦠well ever actually, not this bad. What had happened that had made Dean drink almost a full bottle of whiskey? Then it hit him. Dean had gone to see Castiel this morning, and something had obviously happened. There was no point trying to wake his brother to get answers, as such he covered him with a blanket and made his way to his room, pulling his phone from his pocket as he did so. There was only one person he could ask, he just hoped he had an answer.
Gabriel was just finishing up his work for the day when his phone rang. He didn't check who it was, no doubt it was another client, but when he heard the voice down the line the carefully put down his pen. If Sam was calling him, then this needed his undivided attention.
"Gabriel, hey." Sam said somewhat guardedly, he really wasn't sure how to get the answers he needed from Castiel's older brother.
"Sam, what's up?" Gabriel asked frowning. Why was Dean not the one on the other end of the phone? Had something happened to his brother-in-law? Oh god, he hoped not, they had enough to deal with as it was right then.
"Um, well, I came home to find Dean passed out on the couch. What happened today?" Sam asked deciding to get straight to the point. They both wanted to help their family after all, and to do that they both needed all the facts.
"What? Nothing, that I know of at least. When I went down he and Cassie were talking happily." Gabriel replied resignation settling into his tone as he felt his happy bubble burst at Sam's words. He should have known it wouldn't be that simple.
"Okay. Well I'm guessing he probably won't be round tomorrow, no doubt he'll feel like shit when he wakes." Sam responded with a sigh running his hands through his hair. It looked like he was gonna have to wait for Dean to wake to find out why he got so drunk. Hmm, he should probably take the day off work tomorrow to deal with this. It seemed Dean needed him, he just wished his brother had said something, asked for help, rather than him coming home to find him comatose.
"Okay, I'll let Cassie know." Gabriel replied in an equally weary tone. They never got a break did they?
"Cheers." Sam replied hanging up the phone and sighing once more before he moved to organise everything for when Dean woke. His brother needed him and he would be there.
When the line went dead Gabriel slowly lowered his phone. For a few hours, brief shining hours, he had been happy. He had thought that they could all get through this, that things would go back to how they should be. But that one phone call crushed those dreams into dust. He had no idea what had happened to make Dean do what he had, but he knew that in somehow had something to do with Castiel. When it came to Dean it always did. With that realisation lowered his head onto his desk and closed his eyes. He knew he should get up, go ask Castiel what happened, but he couldn't. It was all too much, too much responsibly, too much to fix. He couldn't do it. He didn't even know where to start to try. And there was no one he could turn to talk to about this. No one out there who would understand. Cos this was his family, his reasonability, and whether they succeeded or failed, it would be on him. It was all on him, and that was a weight he didn't think he could carry. But he knew he would, even if it crushed him, he would carry it. That was his job now, his new role in this household. To carry the world, he just wished there was someone else he could give the burden too, someone more suited to the position, someone who could withstand the weight of it all. But it seemed that the only suitable one had crumbled. Dean could not help him now. He was alone, and for the first time in his life, that concept terrified him.
