Author's Note: This is the continuance of the last chapter.

Other: And, a continuing thank you to my beta for this story, vrskaandrea - any remaining errors are solely my own.

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Undergrad

Dean had no idea how many times he'd tried calling Gabriel, but it had gone to voicemail EVERY TIME! The last time he'd called had been with Chuck's phone and it still went straight to voicemail. Now, while he'd typically say that Gabriel was busy filming and that being ignored was nothing concerning…but Dean had found out from Sam, while nobody really knows why Dean took Chuck offstage, the fans know it's not good…and if Sam and Cas BOTH know - one's a lawyer and the other's a cop, so they have HORRENDOUS hours in their own right - why the hell hasn't Gabriel called?

'Dean?' Dean looked into the seat to his right at Ben who had spoken.

'What?' Dean asked curiously, not wanting to admit that he wasn't sure whether he should be concerned or pissed at Gabriel's behavior.

'Benny texted me since you're ignoring his texts while trying to get hold of Gabriel on the phone, he's wanting to know what happened.' Ben said simply. And, THAT was a further point for Dean's thoughts…BENNY knew! Why the fuck was it that everyone Dean legitimately gave a damn about - Bobby didn't use a computer so he had a legitimate excuse for not knowing - knew and was concerned about Chuck but his own soulmate wasn't picking up his damn phone?

'Oh boy, uh…tell him that when we got here, I explained everything that I knew about what had been happening throughout the day, that they then took him for a CT, and that it showed he was having a stroke. Um, his uh...carotid artery split causing a blood clot in his brain which is what caused his aphasia, but they gave him a shot in the ER to…um, burst it, I think is how they explained the shot they gave him. And, with aphasia…even getting to it as quickly as they did…it's very likely he's going to have to go through speech therapy. Uh…um, if he had been brought in much later…he probably wouldn't have…' Dean stopped and turned his attention to Chuck who was sedated in the hospital bed. There were honestly very few people in Dean's life that he'd become emotionally invested in - it was a necessity to keep his sanity - Sam, Cas, and Bobby were his core family and that would never change. Benny has since been added to that group due to Dean's relationship with him and the fact they're soulmates. Ben was worming his way into that group…even if it was in a sort of cock-eyed way considering he was Dean's son but was bonding with Benny. But Chuck, he'd been a part of that small group before Benny, or even before Chuck had met Gabriel…they'd been friends longer than they'd had their soulmates.

'Alright.' Ben said softly.

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Dean was tired, he wasn't even sure what day he was on, he wasn't sure what day Ben had asked to go back to Louisiana and that was why Ben was back with Benny, and he wasn't sure how many calls from Sam, Cas, and Benny he'd missed - ignored - over those days. All he knew for certain was that Chuck was being released and that before they headed to Vancouver so Dean could knock some sense into Gabriel, he was finding a hotel to get some sleep - and a shower.

Dean knew that Chuck was going to need speech therapy, so he'd expected that, but it was still messing with him that however many days ago it had been since that damned Con, that he'd went from being Dean first thing in the morning to Diane by that afternoon, and that the one word Chuck had been able to come up with since he'd been given that shot was some garbled version of 'safe' - or at least, that was what the doctor got out of the word, Dean hadn't been able to get anything out of it - which was apparently in reference to Dean himself. But, even with that thought in his head…he couldn't imagine what Chuck was going through…anyway it was looked at …Chuck needed Gabriel!

Dean knew they'd done other tests after Chuck had woken up from the sedation that he'd needed to be awake for, but besides the obvious need for speech therapy and some minor physical therapy, the latter of which could even be done at home…Chuck would most likely be back to Chuck-normal within a couple months. And, for some reason…Dean figured he'd be the one having to help Chuck with that.

When Chuck was finally dressed and had been officially discharged, Dean had fallen asleep in the chair. He woke up to the feeling of someone staring at him. He blinked his eyes open and looked at Chuck who really was staring at him. 'I would say son a bitch, Cas…but you're not Cas and I got over being jumpy over that when I was a teenager and he did that NIGHTLY!' He said, slightly annoyed but with a slight smile on his face.

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It took almost a week for Dean to drive from Toronto to Vancouver but that wasn't just counting the trip back into the US and then back out, but also rest and food stops…and his one teeny little incident of getting lost in North Dakota for the better part of three days which resulted in him and Chuck camping in the Impala on two of those nights - the car by no means was a camping vehicle - because it was storming on one of those days and just a heavy downpour on the other, the third was essentially spent sleeping on the trunk of the Impala and leaned back against the rear window…or in Chuck's case, using Dean as a pillow, which Dean just added to his list of 'things he was NEVER talking about.'

Leaving Chuck in the Impala once arriving at the studio where Dr. Sexy was filmed, it didn't take him long to find Gabriel's trailer - besides having to explain in some half-assed round-about way what he was doing there. He knocked and knocked and knocked and decided that either Gabriel was actually on-set or was just ignoring him, either way…he figured the little bastard eventually had to go through the door so he stayed next to it, WAITING!

It was almost ninety minutes later before he saw Gabriel walking back to his trailer. Gabriel stopped about four feet from Dean. 'What the fuck, Gabriel? I tried getting you on your fucking cell phone for over a week!' He snapped.

'I've been busy.' Gabriel said vaguely.

'Don't you know what's happened with Chuck?' Dean asked curiously.

'Something happened onstage in Toronto and you had to get him offstage.' Gabriel said simply.

'He spent TEN motherfucking days in the hospital after having a stroke! Now, I'VE been the one having to sit with him when he can't even fucking talk because his goddamn soulmate is to busy with his TV series to give a shit about the person he's supposed to -' Dean began yelling but stopped when he saw the door he was still standing next to open.

Dean looked at the person who'd opened the door, at Gabriel, back at the person, and repeated this action multiple times before focusing on the person who had stepped out of the trailer and over to stand in front of Gabriel. 'Hello, Kali.' Dean gritted out. He'd never liked the woman to began with, he honestly had no idea what Gabriel's relationship with her had been beyond 'occasional fuck buddy', and right now…this wasn't looking good for either of them, but he was really trying to keep from jumping to the obvious conclusion.

'I think it would be wise to continue this inside.' Kali said, oddly acting as the voice of reason and while Dean wanted to wring her damn neck, he also happened to agree in this situation.

Dean followed Kali and Gabriel into the trailer, closing the door behind him. Kali walked back toward what Dean was pretty sure was the 'bedroom' or if it was anything like his own trailer…small bed with curtain blocking off sight of bed.

'What the fuck is going on, Gabriel? I'm trying not to jump to conclusions, but…you're making it VERY difficult.' Dean admitted.

'Have you ever seen my Soulmark, Dean?' Gabriel asked, completely ignoring Dean's question.

'No.' Dean said immediately.

Gabriel pulled his left sleeve up to his elbow and held his arm up so his Soulmark was more visible. Dean looked at the words 'You would make a good character for my series', it actually fit on two lines which wasn't unheard of…just sort of rare considering most were much shorter marks. 'I'm guessing that's what Chuck said to you when you first met?' Dean asked curiously, already knowing the answer due to how Soulmarks work.

'Yes.' Gabriel said simply. 'But, look around the words.' He pointed out.

Dean looked around the words. 'Your arm looks burnt underneath your mark.' He said carefully.

'I got my Soulmark when I was fourteen, it turned to a burn mark when I was twenty-two. Do you know why?' Gabriel asked curiously.

'Your soulmate would have had to die, but -' Dean began confused.

'My soulmate is dead, Dean…I never met them. I love Chuck but he's not my soulmate and never would be and while I know with what you've said that I'm going to come across as extremely cruel…I'm not going to continue my relationship with him. I can continue as Master of Ceremonies if the higher ups decide they want me to, otherwise…I'm done.' Gabriel explained.

'You just said you fucking love him! Why in the hell would you admit to something like that and then turn around and say that you're not going to continue your relationship?' Dean snapped.

Dean was honestly surprised by the sudden fury on Gabriel's face…damn, he never thought he'd miss the 'Trickster', makes-everybody-laugh Gabriel! 'Because, I'm tired of playing second fiddle to YOU!' Gabriel snapped.

'What?' Dean asked confused. 'What the hell are you talking about?' He added.

'You cannot possibly be that naïve! Actually, you could but you're a fairly smart man, so I don't think you are.' Gabriel said annoyed.

'What are you talking about, Gabriel? What am I missing here? Why the hell do you think you're playing second ANYTHING to me in regards to your relationship with Chuck?' Dean asked confused.

'Dean, I know that Chuck loves me…I'm not ignorant enough NOT to realize that. But, you're obviously missing a VERY important fact here.' Gabriel explained.

'And, what is that, Gabriel?' Dean asked annoyed. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Gabriel's habit of dragging shit out until HE was good and ready to talk about it.

Gabriel shook his head. 'Dean, he's in love with you. How have you NEVER realized that?' He asked curiously.

'What the hell are you on, Gabriel? He's not in love with me!' Dean snapped.

'Just keep telling yourself that. But, maybe you should start watching him more closely and maybe you'll see it for yourself.' Gabriel said calmly.

Instead of responding, Dean turned and stormed out of Gabriel's trailer, slamming the door behind him.

Gabriel collapsed back onto his couch, immediately burying his face in his hands. He'd been telling the truth about his 'Soulmark' not being real, about that his REAL soulmate was dead, but he would've stayed with Chuck because they did love each other, anyways. But, any further thoughts on the matter were distracted from when he heard the sound of something hitting the small coffee table in front of him. He lifted his head to look at the open folder and multiple pictures of him and Chuck, he lifted his head to glare at Kali. 'I did what the hell you wanted, Kali…now, fucking drop it!' Gabriel snapped.

Kali closed the folder, before picking it up off the table, and began walking back toward the bedroom. 'Just remember, Gabriel…you EVER even THINK about going back to him and EVERYONE will get to see what...naughty little boys you two are.' She said mockingly before laughing.

Gabriel's head dropped as he couldn't help but think that Chuck had been right…they should have been more careful and not done that shit where they could be caught by any Tom, Dick, Harry, or Jane…but like everything else in his life, he hadn't listened.

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Author's Note: 1) So yeah, what this is loosely based on was Rob's stroke. 2) Now, what's going to come of the blackmailing of Gabriel?

Reviews/Comments/Constructive Criticism welcome!

Flames will be used to roast marshmallows and then promptly deleted!