Chapter Thirty-Six

There and Back Again

TW/CW: Grief, depression, and talks about mortality and having to bury children.

(See Author's Note at end)

Gabriel's Dimension: July 22, 2010

This was the first time being pulled through time made Dean sick. He wasn't sure why, but chalked it up to 2002 Gabriel pulling his whole dimension with him rather than just transporting them one or two people at a time. There was an ear-shattering boom, and suddenly everything became very still. He blinked a few times, trying to get his bearings. The first thing he noticed was a second Gabriel, staring at them all in shock. The other thing was that the penthouse style area was the same as the one they'd just been in, minus being far messier.

"Home sweet home," 2002 Gabriel sang. "Now fuck you all kindly, I'm going to go get drunk and wipe my memories." The archangel left, leaving a painful silence behind.

Their Gabriel slowly stood up, his eyes glued to Azrial. "You're alive?" he rasped out.

Azrial visibly swallowed and nodded. "Seems so. Guess I don't know how to stay dead."

Gabriel shot forward, pulling Azrial into a tight hug. His wings had materialized, and Dean jumped back to avoid getting slapped in the face by gold feathers.

"You're alive." Dean could hear the tears in Gabriel's voice, even though he couldn't see the archangel through his wings.

"Yeah," Azrial said softly. "I'm alive."

Gabriel slowly pulled away, his wings falling against his back. His eyes were glassy with tears, but the smile he gave Azrial was almost heartbreaking. Dean had forgotten that before this, the archangel was under the impression his sister was dead. Castiel was right, he clearly hadn't been in his right mind prior to pulling this stunt..

"Hey Gabriel?" Azrial asked.

"Yeah, what is it?"

Azrial shot forward, closing the distance between them and decked Gabriel. Dean winced, but couldn't help the small thrill of satisfaction. At least someone had punched the bastard.

"What the fuck!" Gabriel gasped, using his hand to stem his bleeding nose. "We were having a damn moment!"

"And I let us fucking have it!" she snapped. "But that doesn't change the fact I just spent two weeks in fucking turn of the 17th century Scotland with a drunk and bitchy warlock!"

Crowley made an offended sound, but didn't object to Azrial's tirade. Her face scrunched up and she looked at Gabriel sadly.

"I get being depressed," she said. "Fuck, I've been there, Gabe, but messing with time? There's a reason we're meant to use that power sparingly."

"I didn't expect anyone to come looking!" Gabriel defended. "I just..."

"Wanted to be alone," Azrial finished. "I know. I get it, but this was so reckless, Gabe. You've gotta see that."

Gabriel looked away, and Dean winced at the self-loathing look that flashed across his face. He'd expected the bastard to be partying it up while they suffered, but looking around the room all he saw was signs of grief and maybe even depression. The room was in a semi-messy state, and there were pillows and blankets thrown all over the large couch. The coffee table was littered with snacks and booze, none of them quite finished. He couldn't be sure how long Gabriel had been doing this, but it was clear Azrial's death had him spiraling. Especially since the bastard could easily snap his fingers and make everything clean.

"I know," he finally muttered. "I just...didn't want to deal with anything or anyone. The spell seemed a good way to prevent that."

Azrial sighed. Sam had lost the majority of his anger, but still looked rather ticked off. Bobby and Crowley seemed more annoyed than anything, and he and Castiel were just fucking exhausted.

"I won't say it's fine," she said. "But...we can move on from it. We need your help."

Gabriel looked at her strangely, and glanced around the room. "With what?"

"Michael stood down and closed the gates of Heaven."

Gabriel stared at her, mouth agape. "He...you're joking, right?"

"No," Azrial chuckled. "He simply said it wasn't time, according to Castiel."

"That's fucking wonderful news!" Gabriel exclaimed. He looked around the room, and Dean knew everyone's somber appearances must be throwing him off. "Why do you all look like someone died?"

"Lucifer didn't stand down," she said sadly. "He's raising an army, and wants to force Michael's hand with a war."

"Why the fuck would he do that?" Gabriel demanded.

"Because he's a sore fucking loser," Sam huffed.

"There's something else," Azrial said carefully. "And you won't be happy."

"What is it?" Gabriel asked.

Azrial took a deep breath. "I know who killed me at the meeting, and they've been doing other shady shit."

Gabriel frowned, his eyes flashing gold for a moment. "Who?" he hissed. "And what other shit?"

Azrial visibly hesitated, and Dean didn't blame her. Given her own reaction to the news, there was no telling how Gabriel would respond.

"It was Raphael," she said. "At the meeting, and back in Heaven. He didn't just do it to me though." She paused, and Dean winced at the furious set of Gabriel's face. "Gabe, you have to keep your cool, okay? If you bring down this dimension in your anger it's gonna kill everyone but us."

Gabriel winced, and took a steadying breath. "Okay. Okay, I'm calm."

"He set a trap in Iceland," Azrial said carefully. "He killed three of your flock."

One of the glasses on the table exploded causing several others next to it to break. Dean stepped further away from the siblings, hoping to avoid any more fall out. Castiel pulled him close, watching the two archangels wearily.

"Who?" the word was hissed as Gabriel's eyes took on a molten gold color.

"Ezekiel, Sophia, and," Azrial paused. "Gabe, deep breath," she implored.

"I'm calm," Gabriel hissed. "Now tell me."

"He tried to kill Cassiel. She ripped out her grace, and banished him from the area. She died human."

The dimension started to shake. Azrial rushed forward, throwing her arms around Gabriel.

"Send them out!" she begged. "Send them out and I'll stay with you, but please Gabe, don't hurt them!"

Gabriel's vessel was starting to glitch in the same manner Azrial's had in Iceland. Dean covered his eyes, hoping Sam would do the same. He winced as a sharp, high pitched screech filled the air.

"Meet me back at Bobby's," Azrial yelled. "I'll be fine!"

They weren't given the chance to argue. Dean couldn't see what was happening, but suddenly the world wasn't shaking anymore and there was silence so he slowly opened his eyes. They were standing in the abandoned warehouse Gabriel had used to hide the portal to his dimension. Dean looked around at everyone, noting the various stages of shock.

"Well, somehow I doubt he'll be turning down our request for help."

He wanted to sound happier about it, but at the moment all he could think about was Gabriel's face when he'd heard the news. Heartbreak seemed to overwhelm the normally cheerful archangel. He'd gotten Azrial back from the dead, but lost three of his other siblings. The world wasn't fucking fair, and as annoyed as he was with Gabriel his heart went out to him. After all, losing Sam had torn him apart. He doubted Gabriel felt any better.

Line Break

Bobby practically collapsed into his desk chair once they reached home. He'd changed at the motel before hitting the road, but the toga he'd been given was in his suitcase. He couldn't bring himself to throw it out. It was a piece of history, and despite the chaos he actually enjoyed his time in the past. They'd been back for about an hour, and everyone was slowly settling back in. The house was too damn full in his opinion, but there wasn't much to do about that. Crowley was seated across from him, nursing a glass of scotch. Thankfully it had only been two days in their time, so no issues had come from being flung into the past. Small miracles. The sound of feathers made him look up. He sighed in relief at the sight of Azrial and Gabriel. They both looked exhausted, but there was a hard look in Gabriel's eyes.

"I'm in," the older archangel said. "It's time we stop this shit."

"Thank fuck," Bobby chuckled. "Welcome to the damn team."

Gabriel nodded, glancing around curiously. Azrial walked forward, and dropped herself in Crowley's lap. The demon wrapped his arms around her, and shot him a concerned look. Bobby winced, knowing they'd need to sit her down and chat sooner rather than later.

"You should head downstairs and touch base with Sam and Rowena," Bobby suggested. "I know they both need to talk with you."

The archangel raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. "Alright. I wanna reinforce your warding first though. You've got some holes that need to be plugged."

Gabriel walked away, leaving the three of them alone. Bobby dragged his chair over to Azrial and Crowley, taking the archangels outstretched hand.

"Talk to us," Crowley whispered. "What happened?"

"He lost it about as bad as I did."

"Guess that makes sense," Bobby sighed.

"I had to leave my vessel again, so I'm exhausted. This stupid fucking collar leaves me feeling drained when I have to over power it. It just didn't seem like a great time to mention it."

Crowley hummed, carding his hand through Azrial's hair. "Tell me my fool arse didn't offend you too much."

Azrial chuckled weakly, butting her nose into Crowley's neck. "Nothing I couldn't handle, my king. He did kiss me though. After covering me in deer guts."

Bobby snorted at the absurd statement, and couldn't help but laugh. "The two of you are a fucking handful, no matter the era."

"He was still a douchebag," Azrial mumbled tiredly. "Did you enjoy the villa?"

Crowley rolled his eyes. "Minus being forced to sew, it wasn't too horrible."

Azrial giggled, pulling away from Crowley's neck. "I don't remember any of it," she admitted. "Guessing it was too much of a risk."

"That was your reasoning," Bobby said.

"Who did you meet?" she asked curiously. "Besides Marcus and myself."

"I worked with the blacksmiths and construction guys," Bobby said. "Good men, and the work wasn't too bad."

"Heh, explains the new muscles." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Looking sexier than normal."

"We also met Marcia and Felix," Crowley added.

Azrial exhaled sharply. "Oh."

"Cute kids," Bobby said. "Still wondering why they looked so much like you."

Azrial snorted, shifting on Crowley's lap so she could look at both of them. "My blessing messed with their genetics a bit. Kids are so open to change, ya know? When I tied the family to me, they clung to the gift. They basically had two moms and two dads. Enough grace to grant power, but not enough to make them a Nephilim."

"You must miss them," Bobby said.

She smiled sadly. "Every day. It's an ache I can never quite ease. Same as Marcus and Aeliana. Everyone, really."

"Parents should never have to bury their kids," he sighed. "Guess for you that was always gonna be a struggle."

"Yeah. I think that's one of the big reasons angels mostly obey the rule against Nephilim. Grief and immortality don't mix will."

A comfortable silence washed over them, and Azrial shut her eyes as she leaned into Crowley's chest. There wasn't much else to say at the moment, so he decided to enjoy the moment. He wasn't sure how long they sat there, but Azrial's soft breathing signaled she'd fallen asleep.

"We should put her to bed," he said. "Need help?"

"I have it," Crowley said. "I'll be back down in a moment."

"Sounds good. You gonna update Gabriel on the collar thing? I wanna get that thing off her ASAP."

Crowley hummed in agreement before vanishing from the chair with Azrial. Bobby rolled his eyes, but couldn't blame the demon for not wanting to walk up the steps after the shit they'd been through. At least they were home, and there would be no more interruptions.

Sharp banging on his door made him wish he'd never thought that.

He growled, getting up and making his way to the door, grabbing his shotgun as he went. When he saw the person standing there, he cursed as he threw the door open.

"What the hell are you doing here Rufus?" he asked.

"Well, ya see," his friend sighed. "I need help hiding a body."

Bobby wanted to slam his head against the wall. Couldn't he catch a damn break?

Author's Note:

I suffered from an organ infection, so writing fell by the way side. Normal posting will resume this week, and you may see extra chapters between now and Saturday as I play catch up!

The next update is Saturday, November 19, 2022