Sorry I'm so late with posting this next part. I was having the same problem with this chapter that I had on the last chapter for In The Beginning. I know where I want the story to go but I had such a hard time with this chapter. I've rewrote it so many times and I'm still not happy but like in my other story I need to suck it up and push past so that I can continue.

Thank you so much Franki3Winchester and Blondie 20000 for your feedback! Oh Franki3Winchester you definitely called it, Gabriel does have one final secret that is revealed here.

Chapter 18

Dean and Sam stared at Gabriel in shock. The others weren't dead, it was just another planted memory. Not only that but their Amelia is the perfect vessel for any archangel dick that wanted to use her.

Dean looked up at Jo who was chewing on her lower lip. "You think I would ever let you near my daughter… that I would allow you to use her as a vessel!" He hissed as he shoved the angel against the wall, his angel blade at his neck.

"Dean," Jo said as she reached out and put her hand over his. "Stop it."

"Stop it…stop it…" he sputtered as he turned and looked at her.

"Dean you can't, he's defenseless," Sam reasoned with his brother.

Dean sneered in disgust at Gabriel before turning towards Cas. "Did you know…did you see that too?"

"No, I didn't but it makes sense. You were created to be Michael's vessel, his sword. Joanna was resurrected from Heaven."

"I wasn't resurrected, I was denied back into Heaven," Jo whispered sadly.

"You're very special Joanna." Castiel told her softly and it was the truth. He had never seen an aura shine as brightly as hers. He wondered if it was a reminisce from her time in Heaven

Sam looked at his brother and Jo and sighed. "Are you saying that all their children...that they would all be ideal vessels for angels?"

"Yes, technically all of Dean and Jo's children will be ideal vessels." Castiel said as he watched Dean's reaction.

Dean glared at Gabriel. "I will kill you before I let you near my daughter!"

"Dean, calm down!" Jo said before turning to the others. "Can you three give us some privacy."

"Sure," Sam said as he grabbed Gabriel and the three walked out of the room.

The older hunter stood watching Jo. "Why aren't you fuming? You should be furious!" He snapped.

Jo went over and grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator, popped it opened and took a healthy sip before holding it out to Dean who shook his head. "It will never be our decision Dean. Ami will be an adult and it will be her decision whether to accept to be Gabriel's vessel."

Dean stared at Jo in shock. "You're joking right! We'll tell her to say no! End of story!"

Jo glared at Dean and threw the half-drunk bottle of beer against the opposite wall, beer and glass went flying everywhere. "That's it…end of story. The great and powerful Dean Winchester has spoken so…end of story….do as he says or else!"

"Jo," Dean said as he went to place his hand on her shoulder only to have it shaken off by the woman across from him.

"No!" She shouted, all her anger at how she has been controlled by others bubbled to the surface. "I've lived a lifetime with people trying to control me! Even my death and my place in Heaven were taken away because some demi-god prick decided to make me his marionette and pull my strings to control me! Since I've been back, I've been under somebody's thumb and was forced to do things…forced…force..." Jo sobbed as sank to the floor and curled into a tight ball.

Dean's heart shattered as he watched the woman he loved. Tentatively he went over and sat down next to her. "Jo," he murmured as he wrapped an arm around her heaving shoulders. He held her close even as she tried to move further away, finally she stopped trying to push him away and turned so that he could pull her into a hug.

He didn't know how long that sat that way but eventually her sobs slowed down, and he said gently, "you can tell me."

He could feel the confliction coursing through her and when he thought she was going to push him away and shut down on him like she had when she first got to the bunker but instead he was shocked when he heard her begin telling him of her journey through her memories.

They spent several hours sitting on the floor together as Jo told Dean everything. They shared some laughs, more than a few tears and their anger at over what she had endured over the past eight years.

SPNSPNSPN

Sam and Cas stared at Gabriel. They had been waiting for Jo and Dean for a few hours now. Sam had even headed down to the kitchen but stopped when he heard not only Jo but Dean crying as they spoke in hush voices.

He slunk away and rejoined the two angels. He still couldn't believe what Gabriel intended. "Why would you ever think we would let you near my niece?"

"It wasn't my original intention." The archangel said.

Cas was studying his brother. His vessel seemed to be breaking down but nothing too serious. He had another thirty or forty years most likely with his vessel. Even longer if he rested and let his grace heal him from within.

"What do you mean it wasn't your original intention?" Castiel asked.

"I didn't intend to ever ask Amelia, I just wanted to protect her and Jo from Michael." He said as he looks down at his cuffed hands. "Any chance…"

"No!" Sam said with a shake of his head.

Something gnawed at Cas about what Gabriel was saying and he asked, "why did you wait so long to come back? Jack had defeated Michael over two months before you came back. Why did you wait to bring Jo back until after Chuck ripped open Hell?"

"I didn't know Michael was gone," he argued.

"You're lying," Castiel said. "You were here in our dimension and you would have felt it when Jack defeated him. What aren't you telling us?"

Gabriel looked between the two of them and sighed when he heard Jo and Dean walk up behind them. "Is that true Gabriel? Are you keeping something else from us?" Jo asked as she stepped in front of him.

"I'm sorry," he told her honestly. "I tried to protect you as much as possible, but I failed you."

"Failed me how?" she asked. She watched the way Gabriel looked over at Dean. "Nobody is going to hurt you," she reassured him. "Please, I just want the truth. I deserve to know it. I told you before, we need to be honest with each other completely or we can never move on"

Gabriel shook his head. "I swear I just wanted to keep you and Ami safe."

Jo's eyes soften, "I believe you Gabriel. Look we can't protect ourselves and Ami unless we know everything. It's time…it's time you told us everything. No more half-truths, tricks or games. Confess everything now or we are done."

Dean was shocked when he saw Gabriel raise his head and saw the tears in his eyes. "I loved my brothers…even after everything they've done, I still love them."

Jo reached out and took Gabriel's hands in hers. "Trust me, we understand your devotion to your family, and we don't judge you because you still love your brothers and I'm sure you still love your father too. Michael's gone though, what were you so afraid of? What were you protecting me and Ami from after Michael was gone?"

He sighed as he nodded his head. "Metatron, I was trying to prevent a prophecy he scribed in the last tablet that our Father dictated to him. A tablet that our father destroyed but that Metatron remembered. A prophecy he had told me about before Lucifer fell from Heaven."

"What prophecy?" Cas asked.

Gabriel slowly looked over at the other angel. "That our brother would be exiled from Heaven and Hell would be created for him. That he would rise again when the chosen brothers were born and began breaking the 66 seals. That our brother Lucifer would father a Nephilim. That Michael's sword would father a daughter with a woman fallen from Heaven . That the Nephilim would mate with the daughter of Michael's sword and that their first born would destroy him…that Jack and Ami's child would be the one to destroy our Father."

Jo sank down into a chair as she heard Dean and Sammy both suck in a deep breath. "No...no...no. Jack became an adult as soon as he was born. Ami's just a baby," she argued.

Cas stared at his brother as he took in everything being said. "You didn't bring her back because of Jack. You feared their connection? If Jack and Amelia were brought together then Amelia would mature as Jack did after he was born."

Gabriel laughed sadly. "It's wasn't a fear. It would have been a reality. There connection is deeper than what the prophecy foretold. Jack wasn't just a Nephilim, he had absorbed Michael's grace." He said taking a deep breath before he made his final confession. "The same grace that Michael had fed to Jo while she was under his control."

"I have Michael's grace inside of me?" Jo asked horrified by this thought.

Gabriel nodded his head. "It wasn't until I saw the change in your aura that I confronted him. He said he wanted to make sure you were juiced up before he turned you to ensure the baby's safety."

"I have no memories of this," Jo argued.

Gabriel bowed his head. "That's because he kept you unconscious most of the time after you got pregnant."

"Jesus," Sam said as he looked at his brother. This was worse than anything they imagined.

Cas signed as he realized that was why Joanna's aura shone so bright around the edges. He had assumed it was due to her time in Heaven, but it was because of the grace Michael had given her. "Was he aware? Did Michael know about this prophecy?"

"No. Metatron would never have told Michael or Lucifer."

"Why would he tell you then?" Dean asked.

"Because I wasn't part of it…part of the prophecy. It was the only tablet that our Father destroyed. The other tablets our Father had buried for safekeeping but the one tablet that spoke of his downfall he destroyed."

"And Metatron wanted to ensure that another would know of this prophecy, to be prepared if it was fulfilled." Cas reasoned.

"Yes," Gabriel admitted.

Sam stared at the angel and shook his head. "So, what you weren't just keeping Jo and Ami from Michael but also Jack?"

"I could feel Jack's power once he defeated Michael. I could feel what he was becoming. You think I would expose Jo's baby to him…to that prophecy any more than I would to what Michael had planned for them?. Jo's suffered enough, she deserved to have her child and to be happy."

"And if Jack was still alive? Would you have left me in that other dimension?" Jo asked.

"If it was the only way for you to have Amelia and raise her as a normal child. Then yes I would." He admitted.

Dean looked at Jo and knew that as much as he hated the idea of Gabriel leaving Jo and Ami in that other demission he would prefer that over Ami maturing overnight and being forced into that prophecy with Jack.

He could see the look in Jo's eyes and knew that as angry as she was at the thought of not having control of her thoughts and memories, but he could see that she would have accepted that fate for Ami's sake.

Sighing he turned towards Gabriel and admitted softly, "And when you realized Jack was gone, you brought Jo back here. You figured it was safe now for Jo and Ami to be with me, for us to become a family."

"I did," he told the other man before turning towards Jo and adding sincerely. "I swear I didn't do these things to be cruel Jo…I didn't know what else to do to protect you and Ami from Michael or from the prophecy."

Dean looked at Jo again, giving her a small smile as she nodded her head in silent agreement before he walked over to Gabriel as he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled a key. Reaching down he removed the handcuffs that trapped the angel. "Don't think that I'm ever going to be alright with you asking Ami to be your vessel. I will council her against it."

Gabriel rubbed his wrists as he returned Dean's gaze. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

"Dean," Sammy said. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

The older Winchester went over and wrapped an arm around Jo's shoulder. "I'm not sure about anything anymore Sammy. I just know that of all the shitty options Gabriel had available to choose from that if I was in his shoes, I'd make the same damn choices to protect Jo and Ami."

TBC