CHAPTER SEVEN

"Dean, can we talk?"

The older hunter glanced up from his breakfast and newspaper. Sam stood in the doorway with a serious look on his face. Sighing, Dean closed the paper and set it aside.

"What about?" he asked.

"Kalen doesn't have a home," Sam stated.

Dean leaned back in his chair.

"The Hell you talking about, Sammy?" he demanded.

Sam sighed before recounting what Kalen had told him about her home life.

"Sixteen?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. So get this, she works odd jobs and stays in hotels. Sound familiar?" Sam hinted.

Dean stared up at the bunker ceiling. The bunker had become their home in a short amount of time.

"She deserves a place to call home, Dean," Sam added.

Dean made an hmm sound in the back of his throat before lowering his gaze back to his brother.

"We gotta talk with the angels," Dean said.

"What? Why?" Sam demanded.

"Because this place is their home too. Way I figure it, they deserve a say in what we decide about the living arrangements around here."

Sam mulled over Dean's words for a minute before slowly nodding.

"Yeah. Yeah, I suppose so. Where are they anyway?" Sam asked.

Dean pushed himself away from the table and stood.

"I think Peewee was showing Cas something in the library," Dean said, leading his brother out into the hall.

Sam fell into step beside his brother. He cracked a small side grin.

"Are you ever gonna call Gabriel by his name?" Sam questioned.

"Hell no. He calls me every name under the sun. I figure I might as well return the favor," Dean answered.

Sam shook his head. At least Dean and Gabriel got along somewhat.

They could be worse, Sam thought.

When they reached the library, it was easy to find the two angels. Gabriel was sitting on a table with a large novel in his lap. Castiel stood beside him looking at whatever was on the page Gabriel was explaining to him. Castiel was the first to turn his attention to them.

"Hello, Dean. Sam," Castiel greeted.

Gabriel lifted his head with a smirk.

"Hey, Chuckles. Sammy-boy. What brings you from the breakfast table?" Gabriel asked.

Sam always wondered if Gabriel just knew their schedule or if he read their minds. A small barely noticeable wink made him even more suspicious. Dean chose to ignore the archangel.

"I'm sure Short Stack already knows this, but, Cas, Sam just shared with me that Kalen doesn't have a home. Her mother died in childbirth, dad's a no-show, and she lives hotel to hotel. Sammy wants to offer her a place to stay," Dean said.

"You wish to invite the Nephilim here? To live?" Castiel questioned.

The brothers tried not to squirm under Castiel's gaze.

Is he reading our minds too, Sam thought.

"Yeah, Cas. That's what we're thinking," Dean replied.

Castiel frowned. Gabriel closed the book with a snap and set it aside. He snapped a candy bar and started unwrapping it. He left his brother to do all the talking.

"I fail to see why you would need to share this information with us. The bunker is your home, Dean," Castiel said.

Sam almost missed the flash of hurt in his brother's eyes. The hunter was quick to cover it. He took a deep breath.

"Because you're…" Dean paused.

Gabriel paused in eating his candy bar while Sam shot his brother a questioning look. Castiel leaned forward as if waiting for something.

"Family," Dean finished.

Sam released a quiet sigh while rubbing his hand down his face. Gabriel rolled his eyes and resumed munching on his bar. Castiel blinked slowly.

"Family?" Castiel repeated.

Dean nodded.

"Yeah. You and tiny package over there have become like family to me and Sam. It's only right you get a say in who lives here too," Dean explained.

Gabriel smirked before snapping his candy bar away.

"You have no idea how big my package is, Dean-o," he teased, wagging his eyebrows.

Sam made a choking noise covered with a cough. Dean's face morphed into a mixture of disgust and illness.

"Well, that was more than I needed to know and I'd like this conversation to end. Kalen home here, yes or no?" Dean asked.

Gabriel chuckled with a quick, "Yes."

Castiel was slower to speak, but also added his affirmation. Dean clapped his hands together.

"Good. Now Sammy and I just have to figure out which room to set up for her."

SNAP. "Done."

Sam wrinkled his nose.

"Dean, shouldn't we ask Kalen if she wants to live here? I mean, what if she says no."

Now it was Gabriel's turn to look disgruntled.

"No. No. We need another angel in here to bring the angel to human ratio up," Gabriel declared.

Castiel turned his body towards his brother while cocking his head.

"Kalen is also half human. She would technically be a half number for angels and half number for humans," he explained.

"No one asked you, Cassie."

/…/

Kalen hadn't been answering her phone over the last couple of hours. Sam had grown worried so Gabriel had left to find her. Considering she was no longer shielding herself, it took no time at all for him to locate her.

"Hi, Gabriel," Kalen smiled.

He chuckled as he took in the sight before him. Kalen was dressed in baggy stained clothing with a paint brush in hand. There were paint smears all over her clothes and on her face and arms. There was a large mostly blank wall that Kalen appeared to be painting. There was a couple more people further down that were in similar states.

"What are you doing?" Gabriel asked, grinning.

Kalen chuckled.

"Working. Thirty bucks an hour is no joke. Might actually get me a reservation where I can call room service. Wouldn't that be a hoot?" Kalen answered.

Gabriel's smile diminished. He knew her human half would never be satisfied with any food snapped up. He doubted it was even a skill she possessed.

"Sam's been trying to reach you," Gabriel said.

"Well, that sucks. My phone is dead. He could have waited for me to charge it later and call him back," Kalen replied, turning back to slide her brush up the wall.

"It's actually something he'd rather talk to you in person. Preferably now," Gabriel replied.

With her brush still raised up, Kalen fully turned towards him frowning.

"In person? Why?" Kalen asked.

Gabriel stuck his hands into his jean pockets.

"Not my place to say, kid," Gabriel answered.

Kalen barely held off a sigh. She glanced up at the position of the sun. Then she turned head to look down the wall.

"We should be done around two. Tell Sam I'll stop by the bunker then, okay?"

Gabriel nodded.

"See you later, kid."

/…/

"So this is the bunker, huh?"

Sam smiled as they walked down the hall. Marbles walked between them with his tongue hanging out.

"Yeah. The kitchen is in there. The library is that way. It is massive," Sam explained.

He walked around giving her the full tour of the bunker. She didn't question where Dean and the angels had disappeared to. As Sam predicted, Kalen's favorite areas were the garage and library. She raised an eyebrow when they poked their head in the firing range.

"Impressive amount of firearms," she noted, looking at the collection they had.

Sam narrowed his eyebrows.

"Do you shoot?" he asked.

She winked. "Wanna find out?"

Grinning, Sam put up some targets while Kalen looked over the selection of firearms. They spent the next half hour shooting up targets with various guns. Sam whistled as he looked at their sheets.

"That's impressive," Sam told her.

"Thanks. One of my foster parents was a police officer. He liked going to the firing range and he would bring me along. I learned a few things from him and the others," Kalen explained.

Sam started to speak but was silenced at the entrance of Dean and Gabriel. Dean snatched the target paper from Sam's hand. Grinning, he handed it back to him.

"Hey, hey, good coupling there, Sammy. Right on target. You been practicing," Dean complimented.

Sam groaned. Dean raised an eyebrow in question.

"That's Kalen's," Sam reported, passing the sheet to her.

Dean's other eyebrow joined its brother as he glanced at a smirking Kalen.

"I knew it," Gabriel said.

The archangel looked away when a bitch face was shot his way. Dean reached over to pat Kalen on the back.

"That's good shooting, Calamity Jane. So what's the verdict?" he asked.

Kalen scrunched her face up. "Huh?"

Dean shot his brother a look. Sam sighed.

"I hadn't asked her yet," Sam replied.

Kalen turned her attention from Dean to Sam.

"Haven't asked me what, Sam?" she asked.

Dean took that moment to excuse himself. He made some excuse of starting dinner. Kalen crossed her arms over her chest as Sam hesitated. Rolling his eyes at his lover's sudden shyness, Gabriel stepped forward.

"Sammy boy and Dean-o want to offer you a home here in the bunker," Gabriel explained.

Kalen's eyebrows shot up and her mouth threatened to drop open. Her eyes darted back and forth between Sam and Gabriel. Sam almost expected her to suddenly leave.

"Wh-? I…what?" Kalen stuttered.

"We want you to stay. The bunker has plenty of room for all of us. I mean Bobby even has a room he sometimes uses," Sam explained.

Kalen slowly shook her head.

"I don't think that me and Marbles…" she started.

"I think Marbles decided for you," Gabriel piped up.

"Huh?"

Kalen turned around to face where Marbles had been. The canine was nowhere in the room. Curling his finger at her, Gabriel beckoned her to follow him. He led her out into the hall. Sam fell behind and darted into the kitchen to join his brother.

Gabriel and Kalen found the Saint Bernard Hell Hound laying in a big dog bed resting at the foot of a bed. The room was small, but had all the necessities and its own bathroom with a full bathtub and shower.

"It's yours if you want, kid," Gabriel said. "We…we want to be your family. We want you here."

"What about Castiel? Him and I still tiptoe around each other," Kalen pointed out.

Gabriel shrugged.

"He'll come around. Just give him time. Your whole timeline thing…that takes a while to wrap your head around," he replied.

Kalen smiled.

"He told you."

Gabriel returned the smile.

"What are big brothers for?"

The side of Kalen's mouth twitched.

"You guys doing this because you feel obligated to help the little orphan halfling or because you actually want me here?" she asked.

Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest and showed her a serious look on his face.

"What do you think?"

Kalen thought over that while looking up in no particular direction.

"I think…"

Marbles lifted his head. His tongue crept out as he sniffed the air. Kalen chuckled.

"I think I smell lasagna," Kalen finished.

Gabriel chuckled.

"I hate to admit it, but old Dean-o is a whizz in the kitchen. At least with cooking anything that isn't a dessert," he explained.

He nearly let out a whine when Kalen confessed that she could bake. He stepped forward and grasped her upper arms, squeezing gently.

"Please stay," Gabriel said.

Kalen started to speak, but Gabriel cut in. His hands moved up to hold her face. He leaned close and spoke softly.

"You've done a lot for Sam and his brother. Me and Cassie too. I don't know how hard life has been for you, but you don't have to keep running. I speak from experience, little sister. It becomes a lonely and empty life," Gabriel added.

Kalen closed her eyes. She breathed slowly as she felt Gabriel press a kiss to her forehead. He held her close as he leaned his head down on top of hers.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

Kalen opened her eyes to look up in his hopeful face.

"Okay."

Gabriel broke out in a big grin. He embraced her and spun her around.

"Okay!"

Marbles woofed before jumping up to join the two.

"Fine! You too, you big slobbery mess!"

END OF CHAPTER SEVEN