A/N: Hihi! Still dealing with aftermath, just expect that from here on out, ok? That way, I stay safe and you...will still be dealing with a combo of fluff and angst? Sorry, not much of a consolation.

Shoutouts to: monkeygirl77, Kathy, Spyrofury767, Diane279, Krislyngera, PrincessMagic and 1Corinthians 1313! Thanks so much for reviewing! I know that chapter was a little rough but I'm not gonna lie...the rest probably won't be much better.

For anybody who's curious, I went back and threw in a little more description for Gadreel. I realized I'd passed up a perfect opportunity to give our beloved Sentry his wings, so I did...in a way.

Enjoy!

Samandriel shifted in his nest, again. The babe was fighting hard to stay awake but at the same time was more than happy to let Eliyon rub between his wings, which was what was making him so sleepy. Esme had put them all to bed for the night and as soon as she'd walked away, Samandriel had climbed from his nest and went in search of his new playmate. To his dismay, Eliyon left his sleeping spot only to carry him back to his nest. Then, to his delight, Eliyon stayed and told him stories about Earth and the ocean and the crabs and the wolves…

He rubbed his eyes and yawned hugely. "No s'eep," he grumped.

Eliyon smiled and stroked a downy wing with his free hand, making the feathers fluff happily and the muscles relax until both wings laid over Samandriel like a blanket.

"You don't have to sleep," he said and Samandriel pried his eyes open in sleepy surprise. "But, if you don't sleep, you'll have to wait a very long time for morning to come."

Samandriel gave him a puzzled look. "S'eep go faster?"

"Mm-hm," Eliyon nodded, raking his hand through the babe's soft hair. "Sleep makes morning come faster."

Samandriel snapped his eyes shut, lay perfectly still and promptly fell asleep. Eliyon laughed softly and headed back for his spot. He sank down onto the soft, warm grass and wrapped his wings around himself loosely. He was tired but wasn't sure he wanted to sleep himself. For the first week since his return to the garden, he had been plagued by nightmares. Now, after nearly three months, they weren't nearly as frequent. In fact, he hadn't had one at all in the past few weeks. Still, his thoughts tumbled over themselves as he tried to relax. Where was Gabriel? Was he still angry? What was happening to Gadreel? Where was Michael? Was he healed yet? Why was he letting the Sentry be hurt so badly?

None of this was Gadreel's fault. I wish I could get him out of the dungeon. I wish I hadn't promised I wouldn't go back.

He huffed in frustration and gazed up at the swirling stars. After a moment, he became so preoccupied with trying to follow the movements and predict a pattern that his mind fell quiet. Soon after, he fell asleep.

—The sky burned and lightning flashed, fracturing the very foundations of Heaven. Bodies lay everywhere, surrounded by shredded wings, feathers and silver Grace—

—The grass and trees in the garden were burned black and the air was excruciatingly cold. Eliyon flew through the ruins, calling for Castiel and Balthazar, Samandriel, any of the Fledglings—

—Lucifer's midnight blue wings spread to take flight and the Morningstar's rumbling chime rippled through the air as he laughed. His footprints tracked silver Grace across the frozen ground and Eliyon saw the remnants of his Flock—

—Esme lay sprawled, her yellow wings horribly twisted—

—Castiel's and Balthazar's broken bodies lay in pool of Grace, each of his friends missing a wing because he knew, he knew, they had fought together—

—The nests were in pieces, soft down covered the ground like snow and Eliyon saw a flash of color…a small scattering of bright orange and yellow feathers—

Eliyon shot upright, a scream lodged in his throat. He clawed his way to his knees and took flight, vanishing in a blink. He crashed to a stop inside a small grove of trees and bit down hard on his fist to muffle his screams while his other hand gripped the ground, digging furrows in the dirt in an effort to stop the earth from pitching beneath him.

He couldn't breathe and in his mind, unable to completely escape the nightmare, he could still hear Lucifer's rumbling laughter.

He's going to kill Castiel and Balthazar! Samandriel! What am I supposed to do?!

His Grace flared bright with terror.

"Gabriel!"

The air in his aerie was comfortably warm and after laying awake for hours, tossing and turning restlessly, Gabriel had finally fallen asleep.

"Gabriel!"

The terrified cry slammed into his Grace and he fell out of bed in his haste to untangle himself from the sheets. He dove out of the window and his wings surged with a faint crack of thunder as he flew for the garden.

He'd know that Grace anywhere.

He plummeted through the wards, ignoring the sharp stabs that raked across his body and wings and landed, spreading his Grace wide open, looking for his Fledgling.

He couldn't find him. Eliyon had cut him off from his Grace the day he ran and he hadn't opened the connection again.

How scared is he that he'd do it by accident?

Fear settled in Gabriel's core and he reached farther.

"Eliyon? Where are you, kiddo?"

Nothing answered him.

"I can't find him, Castiel."

Gabriel glided toward Balthazar's worried voice but stopped just out of sight. The Fledglings were speaking in harsh whispers but he could hear them well enough.

"I can't either," Castiel replied worriedly. "Where did he go?"

"If we knew, we wouldn't be looking for him," Balthazar retorted. "I can't even feel his Grace."

Gabriel withdrew thoughtfully. Eliyon wouldn't have cut himself off from the two Fledglings, so why couldn't they find him? Then, realization dawned. They didn't know he was in the garden, either, and he certainly wasn't hiding.

Maybe it isn't that he's cut off from them…

He remembered the night he'd prodded Eliyon's Grace too much and the Fledgling had flared on him. No normal Angel could actually hurt him and certainly not a Fledgling.

But he did…

What if…?

Gabriel stopped his desperate searching and just let his Grace open, forcing himself to relax. Almost immediately, he felt himself brushing against something almost as vast as himself and his first thought was to reach out to Michael and see if his brother was in the garden, too.

He stopped himself just in time. If Michael was in the garden, he would have made his presence known when Gabriel careened through the wards.

And the last thing I need is for him to find out I'm in the garden when he told me to stay away.

Castiel and Balthazar knew Eliyon was in the garden, just like they would know when an Archangel was nearby. However, they wouldn't be able to sense exactly where the Archangel was because they couldn't truly grasp something that enormous. Eliyon's Grace was spread all over the garden and Gabriel could actually feel the air shifting.

He started flying, following the potency of the Grace and the farther away from the Flock he went, the more puzzled he became. Only seconds had passed since Eliyon's cry for help and Gabriel's arrival in the garden. How far could he have gone?

He came to a small grove about ten Earth miles away and saw the snapped branches of nearby bushes. Then, in the stillness, he heard a quiet sob. He stepped through the trees and found Eliyon huddled in a ball, his entire being trembling uncontrollably.

The sight pierced Gabriel through the heart. "Eliyon?" he reached out without thinking and touched the Fledgling's shoulder.

Eliyon shrieked in terror, his chime echoing throughout the garden and he scrambled back from Gabriel, his eyes wide, yet vague.

"NONONONO!" his wings beat the air frantically. "CASTIEL! BALTHAZAR!"

Gabriel dove forward and grabbed his arms. "Eliyon! It's alright! Listen to me! Everything's alright!"

Eliyon kicked out, hard. His bare feet hit Gabriel square in the chest and the Archangel lost his grip momentarily. He caught Eliyon again from behind and wrapped his arms around the Fledgling, trapping his arms and wings. Their Graces clashed as Gabriel tried to subdue him, but the struggle only lasted briefly. Eliyon sagged in Gabriel's arms and his head fell back against his shoulder and it wasn't that he'd woken up finally, it was that he'd surrendered to whatever nightmare he was trapped in.

"He's killed them all," he keened painfully. "Lucifer, he…Samandriel…he…"

"Eliyon, listen to me, kiddo," Gabriel urged in a low voice as Eliyon jerked in his arms, trying to escape his hold. "You have to wake up. Alright? It's just a nightmare. Castiel's safe. Balthazar's safe. Samandriel's in his nest dreaming about clouds and playtime. They're all safe, I promise."

Eliyon drew in a deep, shuddering breath. "Gabriel?"

"Yeah, kiddo, it's me," Gabriel assured him.

Eliyon stopped squirming. The nightmare finally faded but wakefulness brought him no comfort. He couldn't move, Gabriel's grip was unbreakable and his Grace was wrapped around him, preventing all but the tiniest movements.

"Why are you angry with me?" he whimpered. "What did I do wrong?"

Gabriel hadn't thought his heart could break anymore but hearing his Fledgling sob so brokenly was absolute torture. "I'm not angry, Eliyon. I was never angry with you. Not you." His throat tightened painfully and tears slid down his cheeks. "I was just angry and…and…I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, Eliyon. I swear I didn't. You didn't do anything wrong. You never did anything wrong."

Eliyon slowly relaxed and his sobs became weaker, finally softening to shaky breaths. "But…but you…"

Gabriel relaxed his grip on Eliyon and expected the Fledgling to pull away from him.

Eliyon didn't move.

"I hurt you, kiddo," Gabriel went on. "I know I did but I never meant to." He opened his Grace to Eliyon but he wasn't just asking Eliyon to connect with him. He opened himself completely, leaving himself utterly exposed to anyone and anything.

Eliyon turned to look at him, his wet, silver eyes wide with shock, then alarm. "No, Gabriel don't—don't do that!" His own Grace flared protectively, fear rippling through him.

Gabriel saw the memories of Michael's and Lucifer's battle flowing through the Fledgling's mind and his Grace opened farther as he sank down onto his heels. If all of Heaven wanted to crash down on him, he'd let it. He was too tired to care.

Then, he saw the nightmares. The horrible distortions and exaggerations that had twisted the memory into something that was somehow even more terrible…

He'd never once thought about how terrified Eliyon had been.

"Ah, kiddo," he breathed hoarsely, tears locking his throat. He looked at Eliyon helplessly and held his arms out, a pitiful offer of comfort and an even more pitiful plea for forgiveness.

The Archangel's wings were spread limply on the ground and his Grace, which normally swirled around him, playful yet powerful, was totally formless and vulnerable. His amber eyes were empty and his face was drawn with exhaustion and pain. Sitting on his knees with his arms outstretched, he looked as though he was pleading for mercy and expecting to be denied. He looked utterly broken.

Eliyon walked into Gabriel's arms and wrapped his arms around the Archangel's neck, enveloping him in his Grace, trying to offer him some tiny form of comfort, trying to protect him.

"Don't do that, kiddo," Gabriel told him, his voice a soft sob. "I don't deserve that, not from you." When Eliyon's arms tightened their hold, he began weeping in earnest. "Don't do that! I don't want you to forgive me! Hate me! Lash out! Do anything to me but that!"

Tears slid down Eliyon's face and dripped onto Gabriel's shoulder. "But I don't want to hurt you."

Gabriel gripped his arms and held him away from him. "No," he said fiercely and Eliyon's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and despair. "I'm supposed to take care of you. Not the other way around! And I…I can't do that!" His head dropped to his chest and his wings trembled. "I didn't check on you. Not once! I never asked if you were alright. I never thought about how scared you must have been. I never stopped to consider that you flew through the Ether by yourself. That could have killed you!"

"But it didn't," Eliyon pointed out softly.

"That's not the point!" Gabriel exclaimed. Then, he clutched Eliyon to him as though he was terrified something was going to snatch him away. "He was my best friend, Eliyon. Lucifer, he…" He froze as something soft brushed against his arms and he looked up to see Eliyon's bronze wings wrapping around him.

"Gabriel?" Eliyon queried and he heard a tremor of fear in the Fledging's voice. "I didn't think that Raphael—" he paused when he saw Gabriel's jaw clench. "I didn't mean it like that," he insisted. "I just thought that, if he could have gotten there sooner, then you and he might could have stopped Lucifer from hurting Michael so badly. I didn't think he did it on purpose."

Gabriel nodded and sniffed hard, blinking away his tears. Raphael was just as fast as Gabriel, although his usual leisurely pace led others to believe otherwise, usually to their everlasting regret. He was also stronger than Gabriel. If he had arrived before the battle was over, they could have indeed stopped Michael's wings from getting shredded.

"I know you didn't think that, kiddo," he said and sat down on the grass, pulling Eliyon into his lap. The Fledgling couldn't keep his wings around him from that position because they weren't big enough, so Gabriel wrapped them both in his. "That's just it though," Gabriel went on. "I do."