AN: Don't hate me, pretty please?

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Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for his friends

-John 15:13

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Mary explained everything. How she was raised as a hunter. How she made a deal to save her beloved, selling her son for John Winchester; dying, going to Heaven, only to be snatched away and put back on Earth.

"I didn't understand why I'd been brought back," Mary told Gabriel. "I mean, I was in Heaven. I was happy. And I went to bed with my baby boys, and I woke up walking in a forest, hearing someone that wasn't one of my boys calling me Mom." Mary smiled bitterly.

"I'm not perfect. I—I don't think I explained myself well enough, at times. I had to leave for a little bit. I didn't want to abandon Sam and Dean—but they weren't my Sam and Dean. Not then at least. They were grown men. Haggard, war-worn. They had lived the very life I wanted to keep them out of.

"But they're good, strong men. Heroes. They'd even made friends with an angel. Castiel. He was part of their family and—" Mary swallowed thickly. "And I couldn't help but come to love him too."

Sometimes she still had nightmares of that horrible, horrible night at Ramiel's house. The way Castiel, injured, in pain, dying, looked at all of them and said, "I love you. I love all of you."

She remembered later, when her ruse with the British Men of Letters came undone. How Dean had looked at her with disgust.

"Cas almost died."

It hurt even more to remember it now.

"Was?" Gabriel prompted.

"Hm?" Mary asked.

"You said 'He was part of their family'."

Mary swallowed. "He died. Lucifer killed him."

Gabriel was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry," he said. Gabriel chewed on his lip. His eyes were downcast. "I think I do know him."

Mary looked at him, but he wouldn't meet her eyes. "Yeah. Yeah. It's coming back to me now. Castiel. He died a long, long time ago. In the first fight with Lucifer. He was one of the first to stand up to Lucifer and—and he died trying to defend humanity."

Mary inhaled. The sandy air hurt her lungs.

"I need to get back to them. They need me."

"And you think I can help you?"

"I know you can. You're an archangel. If anyone can help me, it's you."

"So you can get back and babysit Lucifer's baby?"

Mary snorted. "Please, Gabriel."

Gabriel sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. His brow was furrowed in deep consternation.

"Dimension hopping isn't that easy. I don't even know what dimension you're from. I kind of need to know that to send you there."

"I'll help you in whatever way I can," Mary said, too eager for her own liking. She was sure she reeked of desperation, but she couldn't afford to hang onto her pride.

Gabriel sighed. "I need to know everything about your universe. All the history. Anything you can tell me that'll help me sift through the literal infinite number of universes it could be."

"Yes," Mary said. "Anything!"

Mary spent a long time going over the history of her World. She really hadn't had proper time to learn the facts from after Amara brought her back to life. Sam and Dean tried to catch her up, but there was just too much.

"The Union won the American Civil War. Hitler lost World War Two," she said. "He shot himself. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The current president is Jefferson Rooney."

Gabriel listened without interruption. His eyes were focused, up in the corner, concentrated on every word Mary spoke.

"I married Johnathon Winchester in 1972. Our first son, Dean, was born January 24, 1979. Sam was born May 2, 1983."

Mary licked her lips, recalling each of those dates. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been. The day Sam was born, Mary had a countdown in her head. Her ten years were nearly up, and whatever it was that Azazel wanted, he would get.

But then Sam took his first breath, filled the room with his cry; and John was looking at her, so brightly, holding her hand so tightly, she forgot all about it. The nurse put Sam on her chest and Mary was in love.

"I need more," Gabriel said. "I've it got narrowed to one thousand possible universes."

Mary's heart dropped into her stomach. "One thousand?"

"Hey," Gabriel scoffed. "It was over a million just a few minutes ago. We're making progress. Come on. We don't have much time. The Dynamic Duo's gonna find us sooner or later. I don't care how mundane it might seem, tell me everything."

Mary had to focus hard on everything she could remember from the present time period. She spent so much time hunting with the Brits, she didn't time to acclimate to the new environment.

"Um. There's someone called Taylor Swift. She's a singer, I think. Dean likes her." What else had she heard Dean and Sam talk about? Or even Ketch?

"Sam and Dean like a TV show called Games of Thrones. It's pretty popular. Sam went to Stanford, actually. Full scholarship. He was going to go to law school when—" Mary's throat tightened, recalling the story Dean told her one night, soon after she had initially returned. "When he got pulled back into the hunting life."

Gabriel nodded. "Getting closer. Come on."

Mary gritted her teeth, frustration sinking in. She didn't know what else to tell Gabriel. She didn't know anything. She was so close, so, so close, but still too far away. It was within her grasp, but just barely out of reach.

"Shit," Gabriel said, looking over his shoulder. His face paled. "Mary, come on. You gotta think faster. They're looking for us right now, and they've almost found us."

Bobby groaned. Mary looked at him. Bobby pushed himself onto his elbows and spat a mouthful of dirt out. "Mother—" he said, voice hoarse.

"Keep it down, gramps," Gabriel snapped. "We might have to move again."

"Gramps? Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" Mary was relieved to hear the grouchiness in Bobby's voice. He sounded like himself. Bobby groaned again, arms shaking, struggling to support his weight. "Son of a bitch."

"You can't move him," Mary said.

"You want me to leave him here and be Lucifer meat?"

"He's too hurt to move."

Gabriel snorted. "His chance of survival is higher with us than staying here."

"Mary," Bobby coughed. "I'm fine. Trust me. I've been way worse. That really the best Lucifer can do, huh? I think I've gotten bigger beatings from ten year old girls."

"I worked with the British Men of Letters," Mary said, pulling at straws at this point, bordering on hysteria. Because she was sure there was a universe where she made better choices. A universe where she didn't team up with her son's torturers. A universe where she didn't lie to her boys about it. "We were trying to rid the World of monsters."

"Okay. Okay. It's a long shot, but I think I've got it."

"What if you're wrong?"

"Then you better hope there's another Gabriel in the next universe that's as willing to help you as I was." Gabriel swallowed. "Even then, it's not that easy. The portal was closed with a blood spell. It can only be opened with another blood spell."

Mary's mouth dried. "What?"

Bobby rose to his feet. His knees were wobbly, and he grunted as he limped next to Mary. He put his hand on her arm. When Mary met his eyes, her heart dropped into her stomach.

"No," she whispered.

"Look. This World is screwed to Hell. There ain't hope for us. But there is for you, in your World."

"Bobby, no. No. I won't ask this of you. You've already done so much for me."

She wouldn't have made it this far without Bobby. She would have died soon as she tripped into this strange land if Bobby hadn't been there, ready with his banishing sigil. She would have dehydrated within hours. Bobby saved her life.

"No," Mary snapped. She ripped her arm out of Bobby's grip. "You are not doing this for me. You can come with me. Come with me. Come to my World."

Bobby smiled softly. It brightened up his eyes. "I can't. This is my World. It's a shithole, but it's my shithole and I can't just leave it. This World. . . There's no hope for this World. But there is hope for yours. And I'm going to do my damndest to save your World—by sending you back there. You don't get to tell me what I can and can't do."

Bobby pulled his angel blade out of his belt loop. "Go be a hero," he said.

It happened so fast. There was a sound like a sonic boom. Two bright flashes came across the sky.

"Now!" Gabriel screamed. His voice took on a static edge, ringing in Mary's ears, making her teeth hurt.

Bobby plunged the knife into his gut.

"No!"

He fell to his knees and tipped over. Two strong hands grabbed Mary's shoulders and she was thrown to the side. Then, she was caught in a tornado. She was twisted every direction, upside down and sideways. There was yellow everywhere.

The next thing she knew, she hit the ground, hard, and everything went black.

.

.

.

The rift was still open, crackling with static. It was a sickly yellow color. Gabriel's stomach twisted at the sight. Bobby's body was sprawled out on the ground in front of it, blood staining the dirt.

"You moron," Gabriel muttered.

He heard two sets of wings flap behind him. Gabriel inhaled, already regretting his decision to help.

"Hey, guys," Gabriel said, spinning around and flashing a false smile. "How's it hanging?"

His Lucifer stepped forward, scowling at the rift. "What did you do?"

"Just restored the natural order a bit."

"You idiot!" the strange Lucifer spat, eyes glowing red. His horns peeked out just enough from the crown of hair to be visible. "You let her get away!"

Gabriel swallowed and back up, stepping over Bobby's body. "Look, it's nothing personal. I just don't want to be involved in any murdering."

Lucifer snorted. "That's rich coming from you. Don't pretend to be so virtuous. You're a heathen."

"That may be," Gabriel said, heart hammering in his chest. "But that doesn't make me a murderer. You and Mikey have had your little pissing contest, and look what's happened! Who's the winner? Huh? The way I see it, you've both lost and all you've succeeded in is dicking over everything! And guess what? Dad still hasn't come back! Don't you see? Dad is never coming back. This isn't a competition for his love. It's a dick swinging contest between you and Michael, but the catch is—and neither of you have realized it—you're both castrated!"

"Watch your mouth, brother," Lucifer snarled, fangs poking out from his gums. "What would you know about Dad? As I recall, you left Heaven."

"Because of you," Gabriel hissed. "Because of the fighting. I was sick of it."

"And yet here you are. You couldn't escape it then. You can't escape it now. Don't you get it? This is how it was supposed to be, brother. This is our destiny. This is your destiny."

"No," Gabriel said, swallowing. "It didn't have to be like this. It could've been different—it could've been way different. But you've got your head shoved so far up your ass, you couldn't see it. Daddy brought the new baby home and you couldn't handle it—you think you're so tough, but this—" Gabriel gestured to everything around him. All the death, destruction. "This is nothing more than a temper tantrum, and you're nothing more than a spoiled brat!"

Now his Lucifer's eyes glowed red, cutting through the sandy air. Lucifer growled, wings arching to the sides.

But in an instant, his eyes and mouth were shining. His wings fell down, and his body fell limp, sliding to the ground where he crumpled in a heap.

Gabriel stared at it for several seconds before he was able to process what had happened. Slowly, he looked up to the strange Lucifer, who was grinning, holding a bloodied angel blade.

"Whew," he said, wiping his forehead. "No offense, but you guys were kind of going in circles in there." He shrugged. "Sorry." He stepped over the corpse. "Now, I'd love to kill you again, but," the strange Lucifer smacked his lips. "My ride's almost gone, and anyway, I think killing you at this point would be merciful."

"No," Gabriel said, as the strange Lucifer walked past him, towards the rift. If he went through it, then Mary would be endangered again. All Gabriel's work would have been for nothing.

Gabriel drew his sword.

The strange Lucifer scoffed. "Is that supposed to intimidate me?"

"Fight me like a soldier," Gabriel said. "An honorable warrior never backs down from a challenge."

The strange Lucifer rolled his eyes. He flicked his wrist and Gabriel was thrown backwards. He tried to catch air with his wings and slow his fall, but it did nothing. He slammed into the ground, teeth chattering inside his skull. His vision was blurry, spotted, but he watched helplessly as the strange Lucifer stepped over Bobby's corpse and entered the rift.

Gabriel pushed himself to his hands and knees, slipping his blade back into the ether, but the rift closed, and there was nothing before Gabriel but empty air.